The best job in America comes with a handsome six figure salary — and has plenty of job openings.
The job: Data scientist.
It came out on top of job search site Glassdoor’s its annual list of the Best Jobs in America, which was released late on Tuesday night. The survey ranked the careers by a job score between 1 and 5 (with 5 being the best) based on earning potential, career opportunities, and the number of job openings in that field.
Data science offers a median base salary of just over $116,000 and boasts just over 1,700 job openings.
As for the other top 25 careers, those with degrees in science, technology, engineering, and math should be counting their blessings, as those are the fields of most of the careers that made the cut.
But while data scientists will have a pretty nice payday, that field doesn’t even boast the best salary on the list. That honor goes to #12: software development managers, who bring in a median base salary of $135,000. What’s better is that nine jobs on the list come with a six figure salary, and the lowest median base salary on the list isn’t half bad: $69,548 for technical account managers.
Physician’s assistant, which came in at the number one spot last year, physician’s assistant — was bumped into the no. 7 slot, and saw its median base salary dip below six figures.
But what’s not so great for some recent or soon-to-be college graduates: most of the jobs are in fields born out of humanities majors. So it seems that coding might still be the key to success.
Check out the rest of the top 25 jobs in the U.S. below.
1. Data scientist
• Job Score: 4.7
• Number of Job Openings: 1,736.
• Median Base Salary: $116,840
• Career Opportunities Rating: 4.1
2. Tax Manager
• Job Score: 4.7
• Number of Job Openings: 1,574
• Median Base Salary: $108,000
• Career Opportunities Rating: 3.9
3. Solutions Architect
• Job Score: 4.6
• Number of Job Openings: 2,906
• Median Base Salary: $119,500
• Career Opportunities Rating: 3.5
4. Engagement Manager
• Job Score: 4.6
• Number of Job Openings: 1,356
• Median Base Salary: $125,000
• Career Opportunities Rating: 3.8
5. Mobile Developer
• Job Score: 4.6
• Number of Job Openings: 2,251
• Median Base Salary: $90,000
• Career Opportunities Rating: 3.8
6. HR Manager
• Job Score: 4.6
• Number of Job Openings: 3,468
• Median Base Salary: $85,000
• Career Opportunities Rating: 3.7
7. Physician Assistant
• Job Score: 4.6
• Number of Job Openings: 3,364
• Median Base Salary: $97,000
• Career Opportunities Rating: 3.5
8. Product Manager
• Job Score: 4.5
• Number of Job Openings: 6,607
• Median Base Salary: $106,680
• Career Opportunities Rating: 3.3
9. Software Engineer
• Job Score: 4.5
• Number of Job Openings: 49,270
• Median Base Salary: $95,000
• Career Opportunities Rating: 3.3
10. Audit Manager
• Job Score: 4.5
• Number of Job Openings: 1,001
• Median Base Salary: $95,000
• Career Opportunities Rating: 3.9
11. Analytics Manager
• Job Score: 4.5
• Number of Job Openings: 982
• Median Base Salary: $105,000
• Career Opportunities Rating: 3.7
12. Software Development Manager
• Job Score: 4.4
• Number of Job Openings: 1,199
• Median Base Salary: $135,000
• Career Opportunities Rating: 3.4
13. Product Marketing Manager
• Job Score: 4.4
• Number of Job Openings: 1,111
• Median Base Salary: $115,000
• Career Opportunities Rating: 3.5
14. Marketing Manager
• Job Score: 4.4
• Number of Job Openings: 2,560
• Median Base Salary: $90,000
• Career Opportunities Rating: 3.4
15. QA Manager
• Job Score: 4.4
• Number of Job Openings: 3,749
• Median Base Salary: $85,000
• Career Opportunities Rating: 3.4
16. Finance Manager
• Job Score: 4.3
• Number of Job Openings: 1,632
• Median Base Salary: $115,000
• Career Opportunities Rating: 3.3
17. Business Development Manager
• Job Score: 4.3
• Number of Job Openings: 2,906
• Median Base Salary: $80,000
• Career Opportunities Rating: 3.4
18. UX Designer
• Job Score: 4.3
• Number of Job Openings: 863
• Median Base Salary: $91,800
• Career Opportunities Rating: 3.6
19. Strategy Manager
• Job Score: 4.3
• Number of Job Openings: 631
• Median Base Salary: $130,000
• Career Opportunities Rating: 3.7
20. Technical Account Manager
• Job Score: 4.2
• Number of Job Openings: 1,160
• Median Base Salary: $69,548
• Career Opportunities Rating: 3.7
21. Consultant
• Job Score: 4.2
• Number of Job Openings: 1,071
• Median Base Salary: $84,000
• Career Opportunities Rating: 3.4
22. Construction Superintendent
• Job Score: 4.2
• Number of Job Openings: 1,054
• Median Base Salary: $78,000
• Career Opportunities Rating: 3.4
23. Nurse Practitioner
• Job Score: 4.2
• Number of Job Openings: 5,624
• Median Base Salary: $99,500
• Career Opportunities Rating: 3.1
24. Electrical Engineer
• Career Score: 4.2
• Number of Job Openings: 2,516
• Median Base Salary: $76,900
• Career Opportunities Rating: 3.3
25. Software Architect
• Career Score: 4.2
• Number of Job Openings: 653
• Median Base Salary: $130,000
• Career Opportunities Rating: 3.4
