Arab Press

بالشعب و للشعب
Wednesday, Jan 14, 2026

The No. 1 job in USA with the ‘best career opportunities’ pays $112,000 a year - and it’s not in tech

The No. 1 job in USA with the ‘best career opportunities’ pays $112,000 a year - and it’s not in tech

‘This list of jobs with great career opportunities is not limited to tech; we see several finance, health-care and marketing roles with strong career paths,’ a new report finds.

Most people want a job that allows them to advance, learn new skills and earn more money. It’s the $112,000 question: How can you have both? Is there a job out there that gives you a six-figure income, and all of that too? As unemployment hovers a 49-year low, there are more professions to choose from that will give people the one thing that gets them out of bed in the morning: a meaningful job with the possibility of advancement.

Access to career momentum opportunities in the workplace is one of the strongest predictors of employee satisfaction based on millions of reviews left on Glassdoor, in addition to culture and values and quality senior leadership, according to a study released Wednesday by the company. “This list of jobs with great career opportunities is not limited to tech; we see several finance, health-care and marketing roles with strong career paths,” the report said.

Tax managers have the strongest career opportunities rating, according to employees in this position. They had a median base salary of $112,021 a year and 4,803 job openings on Glassdoor as of July 5. With the infiltration of technology into financial services, there’s a renewed emphasis for tax managers to build closer client relationships, the report’s authors said.

The report used the following criteria: a median base salary over the past year of $80,000 a year or higher, well above the June 2019 U.S. median annual pay of $53,411, and at least 2,000 job openings as of July 5 on Glassdoor. Employees rated their job on a scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being the highest level of advancement. Tax manager had a rating of 4.1 compared to the average rating of 3.0 across all jobs on the Glassdoor website. Here’s a list of the top 25.

Tax managers were followed by Salesforce developers ($81,721 a year with 3,193 job openings), product designers ($102,054 a year and 2,045 openings), strategy managers ($142,328 a year and 3,131 openings), HR managers ($84,700 a year and 4,351 openings), audit managers ($102,521 a year and 3,050 openings) and data scientists ($110,160 a year and 6,789 openings).

Read MarketWatch’s Moneyist advice column on the etiquette and ethics of your financial affairs. This week: ‘My dad is difficult and even refuses to use his oxygen tank — will our stepmother get all his money if he dies without a will?’

Data scientists are also in high demand. They ranked No. 1 on Glassdoor’s recent “Best Jobs in America” for 2019 — for the fourth straight year. They boast median base annual salary of $108,000, but Glassdoor also says there are signs their salary growth has been leveling off. They were followed by nursing managers at No. 2 ($83,000), marketing managers at No. 3 ($82,000), occupational therapists at No. 4 ($74,000) and product managers at No. 5 ($115,000).

There were other six-figure jobs on Glassdoor’s top 20 list with a relatively high number of job openings, job satisfaction and earning potential, including DevOps engineers, who work with developers and IT staff to oversee code releases, at No. 6 ($106,000 a year); data engineers at No. 8 ($100,000); software engineers at No. 10 ($104,000); physician assistants at No. 12 ($105,000); strategy managers at No. 16 ($140,000) and security engineers at No. 17 ($102,000).

Data scientists and software developers use programming language such as Python, followed by R, SQL, Hadoop and the more well-known Java, according to Glassdoor. A mid-level data scientist is likely to be proficient in Python, R and SQL, Java, Python and JavaScript and make close to $130,000 a year. Google GOOG, +0.15%, Aetna US:AET and Microsoft MSFT, +0.10%  typically hire people for these roles.

The labor market is getting stronger, judging by the latest jobs figures released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics last month. The unemployment rate was unchanged at 3.7% in July and remained near a 50-year low. What’s more, more people entered the labor force in search of work. The labor force participation rate was 63% in July, up slightly from 62.9% in June.

There’s probably never been a better time since the Great Recession to start looking. The U.S. economy added 164,000 new jobs in July, the government recently reported. Analysts polled by MarketWatch predicted 171,000 new jobs last month.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Arab Press
0:00
0:00
Close
Trump Designates Saudi Arabia a Major Non-NATO Ally, Elevating US–Riyadh Defense Partnership
Trump Organization Deepens Saudi Property Focus with $10 Billion Luxury Developments
There is no sovereign immunity for poisoning millions with drugs.
Mohammed bin Salman’s Global Standing: Strategic Partner in Transition Amid Debate Over His Role
Saudi Arabia Opens Property Market to Foreign Buyers in Landmark Reform
The U.S. State Department’s account in Persian: “President Trump is a man of action. If you didn’t know it until now, now you do—do not play games with President Trump.”
CNN’s Ranking of Israel’s Women’s Rights Sparks Debate After Misleading Global Index Comparison
Saudi Arabia’s Shifting Regional Alignment Raises Strategic Concerns in Jerusalem
OPEC+ Holds Oil Output Steady Amid Member Tensions and Market Oversupply
Iranian Protests Intensify as Another Revolutionary Guard Member Is Killed and Khamenei Blames the West
President Trump Says United States Will Administer Venezuela Until a Secure Leadership Transition
Delta Force Identified as Unit Behind U.S. Operation That Captured Venezuela’s President
Saudi-UAE Rift Adds Complexity to Middle East Diplomacy as Trump Signals Firm Leadership
OPEC+ to Keep Oil Output Policy Unchanged Despite Saudi-UAE Tensions Over Yemen
Saudi Arabia and UAE at Odds in Yemen Conflict as Southern Offensive Deepens Gulf Rift
Abu Dhabi ‘Capital of Capital’: How Abu Dhabi Rose as a Sovereign Wealth Power
Diamonds Are Powering a New Quantum Revolution
Trump Threatens Strikes Against Iran if Nuclear Programme Is Restarted
Why Saudi Arabia May Recalibrate Its US Spending Commitments Amid Rising China–America Rivalry
Riyadh Air’s First Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner Completes Initial Test Flight, Advancing Saudi Carrier’s Launch
Saudi Arabia’s 2025: A Pivotal Year of Global Engagement and Domestic Transformation
Saudi Arabia to Introduce Sugar-Content Based Tax on Sweetened Drinks from January 2026
Saudi Hotels Prepare for New Hospitality Roles as Alcohol Curbs Ease
Global Airports Forum Highlights Saudi Arabia’s Emergence as a Leading Aviation Powerhouse
Saudi Arabia Weighs Strategic Choice on Iran Amid Regional Turbulence
Saudi Arabia Condemns Sydney Bondi Beach Shooting and Expresses Solidarity with Australia
Washington Watches Beijing–Riyadh Rapprochement as Strategic Balance Shifts
Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 Drives Measurable Lift in Global Reputation and Influence
Alcohol Policies Vary Widely Across Muslim-Majority Countries, With Many Permitting Consumption Under Specific Rules
Saudi Arabia Clarifies No Formal Ban on Photography at Holy Mosques for Hajj 2026
Libya and Saudi Arabia Sign Strategic MoU to Boost Telecommunications Cooperation
Elon Musk’s xAI Announces Landmark 500-Megawatt AI Data Center in Saudi Arabia
Israel Moves to Safeguard Regional Stability as F-35 Sales Debate Intensifies
Cardi B to Make Historic Saudi Arabia Debut at Soundstorm 2025 Festival
U.S. Democratic Lawmakers Raise National Security and Influence Concerns Over Paramount’s Hostile Bid for Warner Bros. Discovery
Hackers Are Hiding Malware in Open-Source Tools and IDE Extensions
Traveling to USA? Homeland Security moving toward requiring foreign travelers to share social media history
Wall Street Analysts Clash With Riyadh Over Saudi Arabia’s Deficit Outlook
Trump and Saudi Crown Prince Cement $1 Trillion-Plus Deals in High-Profile White House Summit
Saudi Arabia Opens Alcohol Sales to Wealthy Non-Muslim Residents Under New Access Rules
U.S.–Saudi Rethink Deepens — Washington Moves Ahead Without Linking Riyadh to Israel Normalisation
Saudi Arabia and Israel Deprioritise Diplomacy: Normalisation No Longer a Middle-East Priority
As Trump Deepens Ties with Saudi Arabia, Push for Israel Normalization Takes a Back Seat
Thai Food Village Debuts at Saudi Feast Food Festival 2025 Under Thai Commerce Minister Suphajee’s Lead
Saudi Arabia Sharpens Its Strategic Vision as Economic Transformation Enters New Phase
Saudi Arabia Projects $44 Billion Budget Shortfall in 2026 as Economy Rebalances
OPEC+ Unveils New Capacity-Based System to Anchor Future Oil Output Levels
Hong Kong Residents Mourn Victims as 1,500 People Relocated After Devastating Tower Fire
Saudi Arabia’s SAMAI Initiative Surpasses One-Million-Citizen Milestone in National AI Upskilling Drive
Saudi Arabia’s Specialty Coffee Market Set to Surge as Demand Soars and New Exhibition Drops in December
×