Every year, we gather hiring reports and take a look at the tech industry to figure out which are the best developer jobs and most in-demand tech careers. We took a look at reported data from one of the world’s largest jobs platforms, Glassdoor, and carefully considered their reported data for the 50 highest earning and most in-demand jobs in the United States and in the United Kingdom. After close analysis of this data, here are the top 10 most in-demand tech careers in SA and the world in 2021.
In our estimation, these aren’t just the best and most in-demand tech careers in SA and the world in 2021, they’re also the best jobs out of almost all professions. Outside of a few outlier careers, these (and many, many other) tech jobs dominate the top 50 ranked careers in the world according to pay and vacancy availability – making tech-based jobs the best idea for any person who wants to find a vocation that pays well, has great security and opportunities, and which will bring them a rewarding and fulfilling career.
Without further ado, here are the Top 10 most in-demand tech careers in the world in 2021.
10 . Mobile Engineer
- 8th best job in the US
- Average annual salary in the US: $94,301
- 4,631 listed vacancies in the US
- 6th best job in the UK
- Average annual salary in the UK: £50,602
- 960 listed vacancies in the UK
- 4.2 / 5 average job satisfaction rating
People are using their mobile devices and phones more and more, and it shows in this year’s global career rankings. Mobile development has always been a strong career field, but for the first time, the title of Mobile Engineer has made it on the Top 10 list of best jobs in the world, ranking 8th in the US and 6th in the UK for the best job. Mobile engineers build applications, programs, and software for mobile devices, a key role in today’s ever-connected and increasingly remote and mobile workforce.
9. Information Security Engineer
- 6th best job in the US
- Average annual salary in the US: $110,000
- 5,621 listed vacancies in the US
- 18th best job in the UK
- Average annual salary in the UK: £50,276
- 677 listed vacancies in the UK
- 4.2 / 5 average job satisfaction rating
The intense growth of online activity over the last two years has meant one simple thing: millions more people, businesses, and organisations coming online. All that activity generates extremely valuable (and/or very sensitive and private) data. People want this data secure and private; they want their accounts, credit card information, and photographs safe and secure.
The job of an information security engineer (also called a cybersecurity engineer) is simple: identify, manage, and prevent risks, threats, and vulnerabilities in software, networks, and systems, and develop and implement software and solutions that prevent the many dangers of online activity (for example, hacking, ransomware, malware, and so on). It’s no surprise then that Information Security engineers have made it onto our list again in 2021: a strong contender on last year’s list, this role is ranked 6th in the US and 18th in the UK for best job.
8. DevOps Engineer
- 5th best job in the US
- Average annual salary in the US: $110,003
- 6,904 listed vacancies in the US
- 16th best job in the UK
- Average annual salary in the UK: £50,184
- 2,040 listed vacancies in the UK
- 4/5 average job satisfaction rating
DevOps Engineer once again reprises its place in the rankings for top careers in the world. Rated the #2 best tech job in our 2019 rankings, and #5 in our 2020 rankings, this career has been ranked as the 5th best job in the US and the 16th best job in the UK by Glassdoor in 2021.
What is a DevOps engineer? Simply put, it’s a software developer who also knows how to do server configuration and management, and therefore doesn’t rely on a system administrator for an operating system, platform and hardware support. DevOps engineers therefore take on more senior, high-level responsibilities in the developer world, straddling deployment and network operations as well as scripting and coding.
7. Back end engineer / back end developer
- 16th best job in the US
- Average annual salary in the US: $90,757
- 3,001 listed vacancies in the US
- 4.3 / 5 average job satisfaction rating
Back end engineers serve an important role in today’s increasingly digital business world. With millions of businesses, organisations, workers, and people relying on online web applications to do their work, shop, connect, and find entertainment, back end engineers have enjoyed a revitalised demand in the jobs market, now rated the 16th best job in the US. These tech professionals specialise in building the ‘back ends’ of web pages and applications: whenever you see a button, enter your security details, buy things online, or interact with a website’s functions, a back end engineer is a person who made that work.
6. Front end engineer / front end developer
- 19th best job in the US Front End Engineer
- Average annual salary in the US: $81,360
- 6,978 listed vacancies in the US
- 11th best job in the UK
- Average annual salary in the UK: £40,741
- 1,935 listed vacancies in the US
- 4.2 / 5 average job satisfaction rating
Front end developers are the yin to a back end engineer’s yang: they build all the visual elements, buttons, wireframes, and layouts that a back end engineer uses for their work. This tech specialisation has been a consistent top performer in our annual global rankings of best jobs in the world, rising from the 5th best job of 2019, to the #1 best job in 2020. This year is no different: with the extremely rapid growth of digital platforms, online economies, and remote businesses, front end engineers have been ranked as the 19th and 11th best jobs in the US and UK respectively.
Generally, front end engineers use their knowledge of a range of different coding languages and tech tools (such as HTML, CSS, JavaScript and various APIs) to write code to display websites on a user’s internet browser.
5. Full-stack web developer/ full-stack engineer
- 4th best job in the UK
- Average annual salary in the UK: £45,000
- 1,264 listed vacancies in the US
- 4.4 / 5 average job satisfaction rating
Ranked the 4th best job in the UK by Glassdoor, full-stack developers have officially passed their single-stream counterparts (front end and back end engineers) to claim our 5th best job tech in the world. Full-stack developers (also called full-stack engineers) take on responsibilities and work in both front end and back end development, building the visuals of websites and applications as well as coding the ‘back end’ that allows them to work as intended. Full-stack developers are highly prized because of this dual specialisation and multi-role capability, making it a highly in-demand role for any would-be developer.
4. Enterprise Architect
- 4th best job in the US
- Average annual salary in the US: $131,361
- 10,069 listed vacancies in the US
- 2nd best job in the UK
- Average annual salary in the UK: £71,392
- 1,517 listed vacancies in the UK
- 4.2 / 5 average job satisfaction rating
The career of enterprise architects takes 4th place on our list of best jobs in the world in 2021 because of its combination of staggeringly high pay and relatively extensive job opportunities and security. Enterprise architects typically take up a more senior position in businesses and tech organisations, generally second only to the CIO or CTO.
Enterprise architects are responsible for making sure that a company’s business strategy uses proper technology systems architecture to achieve its goals, and take on the upkeep and maintenance of that system’s IT services and networks. This highly technical role is the 2nd best job in the UK and the 4th best job in the US according to Glassdoor’s rankings, making it a highly prized career and easily in our Top 5 tech careers in the world in 2021.
3. Data Scientist / Data Engineer
- 2nd best job in the US
- Average annual salary in the US: $113,736
- 5,971 listed vacancies in the US
- 17th best job in the UK
- Average annual salary in the UK: £45,542
- 934 listed vacancies in the US
- 4.2 / 5 average job satisfaction rating
The incredibly rapid growth of Big Data over the last decade has only accelerated over the past two years. In the wake of the global pandemic and international mass digitisation of business, entertainment, work, and play (and almost all human activity), data is the internet’s new gold rush. Businesses understand that generating, managing, and understanding the core data and key insights of their customers is an exceedingly powerful way to unlock wider margins, better profits, more efficient systems, and bigger business. Data scientists and data engineers are their way to that better business.
There are more similarities than differences between data scientists and data engineers.
A data scientist uses data analysis tools, software, and statistics to manage, analyse, understand, and draw useful insights from complex data. Data engineers take up the more hands-on setup, maintenance, and management of the systems that track, manage, store, and analyse this data; they need to have a great knowledge of data systems and the integration of both hardware and software into a company’s data needs. They don’t just know how to work with data, but also understand the systems and processes that this large-scale analysis requires, and how to work with these technologies.
Data engineers were the 20th best job in the UK according to Glassdoor; Data scientists took the 17th best job in the UK and the 2nd best job in the US. On our list, these two roles share the #3 spot, due to their international demand and high job security.
After all, to these tech specialists, data is data: they have the tools and expertise needed to work across almost all industries and fields, making data one of the fastest-growing fields on the jobs market
2. Software engineer
- 9th best job in the US
- Average annual salary in the US: $110,245
- 40,564 listed vacancies in the US
- 4.3 / 5 average job satisfaction rating
Software engineers are a generalized developer role, typically making all kinds of software for all manner of business, entertainment, and computer needs. Software engineers do all manner of jobs, thanks to their transferable skills and deep knowledge of one or more programming languages. This places them at #2 on our list of best tech careers in the world in 2021.
Software engineers have always enjoyed incredible pay, boundless career opportunities, and solid job security. This role took the #9 spot in our 2020 rankings of best tech jobs in the world, having been ranked the 6th and the 7th best job in the world by Glassdoor in 2019 and 2020.
1. Java developer
- Best job in the US
- Average annual salary in the US: $90,830
- 10,103 listed vacancies in the US
- 4.2 / 5 average job satisfaction rating
A Java developer does exactly what it sounds like: uses primarily the Java language to create high-functioning web applications, software, and programs. Java developers have long enjoyed the top ranking job of the world, rated as the #1 top job of 2021 in the entire world by Glassdoor, an improvement from its 2020 ranking of second best job in the world. Java is still one of the most popular programming languages in the world, reflecting both the global demand for experienced Java programmers, and also the growing ubiquity of applications and companies using Java for all kinds of tech applications and features. This year, Java developers are our #1 best tech career in the world.
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