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Here Are the Best Jobs in America — Is Yours One of Them?

Thankfully, the unemployment rate is far lower than its near-15% peak in April 2020. Nevertheless, it stands at around 6% now — still nearly double where it was just before the pandemic began. As a result, millions of Americans are searching for their next job.
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Find Out: The Highest-Paying Jobs That Will Let You Work From Home
In addition, the start of the year is usually a popular time to look for a new job, according to Glassdoor Economic Research. To help you land your next gig, Glassdoor put together a list of the 50 best jobs for 2021. The criteria it used are median base salary, job satisfaction rating and number of job openings. The jobs are ranked by weighting each of the three criteria equally.
Key takeaways include:
- Tech jobs continue to dominate these lists. Indeed, the top six jobs and eight of the top 10 are tech jobs. In all, 22 tech jobs make the list. And because tech is ubiquitous these days, tech jobs pervade all industries — not just tech companies.
- Technical program manager has the highest median base salary at $142,379.
- Corporate recruiter has the highest job satisfaction rating at 4.4, for the second year in a row, according to the study.
- Software engineer has the most job openings on the list, with over 40,564 job openings as of Dec. 7, 2020. Glassdoor understands the importance of job openings in the context of the pandemic, so all of its Top 50 jobs have at least 2,000 openings as of the same Dec. 7, 2020 date.
Keep reading to see the complete list of best jobs in America for 2021.
Last updated: July 9, 2021
50. Mechanical Engineer
- Job Satisfaction Rating: 3.9
- Number of Job Openings: 5,277
- Median Base Salary: $75,785
Check Out: The Pros and Cons of Continuing To Work Remotely Post-Pandemic
49. Financial Analyst
- Job Satisfaction Rating: 3.9
- Number of Job Openings: 6,705
- Median Base Salary: $70,959
48. Civil Engineer
- Job Satisfaction Rating: 4.0
- Number of Job Openings: 4,705
- Median Base Salary: $65,612
Find: 25 Tried-and-True Jobs That Will Last Through Any Recession
47. Customer Success Manager
- Job Satisfaction Rating: 4.1
- Number of Job Openings: 4,046
- Median Base Salary: $66,041
46. Corporate Recruiter
- Job Satisfaction Rating: 4.4
- Number of Job Openings: 2,390
- Median Base Salary: $70,959
Read: These Are the Job Skills You’ll Need To Land a Job in 2021
45. Finance Manager
- Job Satisfaction Rating: 3.7
- Number of Job Openings: 6,623
- Median Base Salary: $110,091
Check Out: The Pros and Cons of Continuing To Work Remotely Post-Pandemic
44. Risk Manager
- Job Satisfaction Rating: 3.9
- Number of Job Openings: 3,688
- Median Base Salary: $94,488
43. Tax Accountant
- Job Satisfaction Rating: 3.9
- Number of Job Openings: 8,829
- Median Base Salary: $67,028
Find: 25 Tried-and-True Jobs That Will Last Through Any Recession
42. Technical Project Manager
- Job Satisfaction Rating: 3.9
- Number of Job Openings: 3,043
- Median Base Salary: $103,633
41. Physician Assistant
- Job Satisfaction Rating: 3.8
- Number of Job Openings: 5,601
- Median Base Salary: $107,238
Read: These Are the Job Skills You’ll Need To Land a Job in 2021
40. Scrum Master
- Job Satisfaction Rating: 4.0
- Number of Job Openings: 2,331
- Median Base Salary: $105,000
Check Out: The Pros and Cons of Continuing To Work Remotely Post-Pandemic
39. Operations Manager
- Job Satisfaction Rating: 3.8
- Number of Job Openings: 23,181
- Median Base Salary: $70,000
38. Attorney
- Job Satisfaction Rating: 3.9
- Number of Job Openings: 3,954
- Median Base Salary: $86,071
Find: 25 Tried-and-True Jobs That Will Last Through Any Recession
37. Electrical Engineer
- Job Satisfaction Rating: 3.9
- Number of Job Openings: 6,255
- Median Base Salary: $80,033
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36. Realtor
- Job Satisfaction Rating: 4.4
- Number of Job Openings: 8,148
- Median Base Salary: $52,022
35. Data Analyst
- Job Satisfaction Rating: 3.9
- Number of Job Openings: 7,748
- Median Base Salary: $70,000
Read: These Are the Job Skills You’ll Need To Land a Job in 2021
34. QA Engineer
- Job Satisfaction Rating: 4.0
- Number of Job Openings: 2,654
- Median Base Salary: $85,000
Check Out: The Pros and Cons of Continuing To Work Remotely Post-Pandemic
33. Construction Superintendent
- Job Satisfaction Rating: 3.9
- Number of Job Openings: 6,438
- Median Base Salary: $80,738
32. Project Manager
- Job Satisfaction Rating: 3.8
- Number of Job Openings: 34,362
- Median Base Salary: $80,562
Find: 25 Tried-and-True Jobs That Will Last Through Any Recession
31. Marketing Manager
- Job Satisfaction Rating: 3.9
- Number of Job Openings: 12,811
- Median Base Salary: $68,042
30. Technical Program Manager
- Job Satisfaction Rating: 4.0
- Number of Job Openings: 2,618
- Median Base Salary: $142,379
Read: These Are the Job Skills You’ll Need To Land a Job in 2021
29. Business Analyst
- Job Satisfaction Rating: 3.9
- Number of Job Openings: 13,677
- Median Base Salary: $76,201
Check Out: The Pros and Cons of Continuing To Work Remotely Post-Pandemic
28. Clinic Manager
- Job Satisfaction Rating: 4.0
- Number of Job Openings: 5,132
- Median Base Salary: $74,562
27. Clinical Nurse
- Job Satisfaction Rating: 4.0
- Number of Job Openings: 7,702
- Median Base Salary: $74,031
Find: 25 Tried-and-True Jobs That Will Last Through Any Recession
26. Sales Manager
- Job Satisfaction Rating: 3.9
- Number of Job Openings: 16,458
- Median Base Salary: $72,560
25. Product Designer
- Job Satisfaction Rating: 4.1
- Number of Job Openings: 2,420
- Median Base Salary: $104,120
Read: These Are the Job Skills You’ll Need To Land a Job in 2021
24. UX Designer
- Job Satisfaction Rating: 4.0
- Number of Job Openings: 4,122
- Median Base Salary: $90,881
Check Out: The Pros and Cons of Continuing To Work Remotely Post-Pandemic
23. Cloud Engineer
- Job Satisfaction Rating: 3.9
- Number of Job Openings: 5,482
- Median Base Salary: $105,565
22. Solutions Engineer
- Job Satisfaction Rating: 4.2
- Number of Job Openings: 2,654
- Median Base Salary: $90,942
Find: 25 Tried-and-True Jobs That Will Last Through Any Recession
21. Consultant
- Job Satisfaction Rating: 3.9
- Number of Job Openings: 9,841
- Median Base Salary: $83,069
20. Program Manager
- Job Satisfaction Rating: 3.9
- Number of Job Openings: 18,963
- Median Base Salary: $80,066
Read: These Are the Job Skills You’ll Need To Land a Job in 2021
19. Tax Manager
- Job Satisfaction Rating: 4.0
- Number of Job Openings: 4,052
- Median Base Salary: $111,046
Check Out: The Pros and Cons of Continuing To Work Remotely Post-Pandemic
18. Product Marketing Manager
- Job Satisfaction Rating: 4.1
- Number of Job Openings: 2,998
- Median Base Salary: $120,267
17. Machine Learning Engineer
- Job Satisfaction Rating: 4.1
- Number of Job Openings: 2,977
- Median Base Salary: $104,837
Find: 25 Tried-and-True Jobs That Will Last Through Any Recession
16. Back End Engineer
- Job Satisfaction Rating: 4.3
- Number of Job Openings: 3,001
- Median Base Salary: $90,757
15. Automation Engineer
- Job Satisfaction Rating: 4.1
- Number of Job Openings: 4,123
- Median Base Salary: $86,445
Read: These Are the Job Skills You’ll Need To Land a Job in 2021
14. Salesforce Developer
- Job Satisfaction Rating: 4.2
- Number of Job Openings: 3,346
- Median Base Salary: $89,098
Check Out: The Pros and Cons of Continuing To Work Remotely Post-Pandemic
13. Strategy Manager
- Job Satisfaction Rating: 4.2
- Number of Job Openings: 2,647
- Median Base Salary: $123,207
12. HR Manager
- Job Satisfaction Rating: 4.2
- Number of Job Openings: 3,818
- Median Base Salary: $87,852
Find: 25 Tried-and-True Jobs That Will Last Through Any Recession
11. Front End Engineer
- Job Satisfaction Rating: 4.0
- Number of Job Openings: 6,978
- Median Base Salary: $81,360
10. Dentist
- Job Satisfaction Rating: 4.0
- Number of Job Openings: 4,315
- Median Base Salary: $134,122
Read: These Are the Job Skills You’ll Need To Land a Job in 2021
9. Software Engineer
- Job Satisfaction Rating: 3.8
- Number of Job Openings: 40,564
- Median Base Salary: $110,245
Check Out: The Pros and Cons of Continuing To Work Remotely Post-Pandemic
8. Mobile Engineer
- Job Satisfaction Rating: 4.1
- Number of Job Openings: 4,631
- Median Base Salary: $94,301
7. Business Development Manager
- Job Satisfaction Rating: 4.1
- Number of Job Openings: 8,827
- Median Base Salary: $82,182
Find: 25 Tried-and-True Jobs That Will Last Through Any Recession
6. Information Security Engineer
- Job Satisfaction Rating: 4.0
- Number of Job Openings: 5,621
- Median Base Salary: $110,000
5. DevOps Engineer
- Job Satisfaction Rating: 4.0
- Number of Job Openings: 6,904
- Median Base Salary: $110,003
Read: These Are the Job Skills You’ll Need To Land a Job in 2021
4. Enterprise Architect
- Job Satisfaction Rating: 4.0
- Number of Job Openings: 10,069
- Median Base Salary: $131,361
Check Out: The Pros and Cons of Continuing To Work Remotely Post-Pandemic
3. Product Manager
- Job Satisfaction Rating: 3.9
- Number of Job Openings: 14,515
- Median Base Salary: $121,107
2. Data Scientist
- Job Satisfaction Rating: 4.1
- Number of Job Openings: 5,971
- Median Base Salary: $113,736
Find: 25 Tried-and-True Jobs That Will Last Through Any Recession
1. Java Developer
- Job Satisfaction Rating: 4.2
- Number of Job Openings: 10,103
- Median Base Salary: $90,830
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