Information Security Analyst Tops List of 2022 Top Jobs

We always knew IT was a great career, and this year, U.S. News & World Report seems to agree. The publication just named Information Security Analyst to the No. 1 spot on its list of 2022 Best Jobs.

What’s more, two other technology jobs also hit the top 10 in this year’s rankings. Software Developer landed in the No. 5 slot and Data Scientist hit the list at No. 6. Why did information security analyst outrank every other job out there?

“Information security analysts are increasingly critical as organizations work to protect against data breaches and cyber attacks,” says Antonio Barbera, consumer advice senior editor at U.S. News. There certainly hasn’t been a shortage of cyber attacks over the past few years as more remote work changed the security profiles of organizations and ransomware attacks hit a multitude of organizations from IT supply chain companies to healthcare providers to energy infrastructure businesses. Don’t expect the demand for these pros to wane anytime soon, either.

“The 10-year outlook for the occupation is strong. It is predicted to be in high demand, with an expected expansion of the profession and an increase in the volume of jobs,” Barbera says. “Low unemployment and high median salary make this career sector appealing as well.”

U.S. News said the median salary for Information Security Analysts is $103,590. The unemployment rate for this job is just 1.2%. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects 33.3% employment growth for information security analysts, with 47,100 jobs opening.

U.S. News said it ranks jobs based on the most important aspects, which include growth potential, work-life balance, and salary.

Software Developer

U.S. News ranked Software Developer as No. 5 on the list of 2022 Best Jobs with a median salary of $110,140. The US Bureau of Labor Statistics projects 22.2% employment growth for software developers between 2020 and 2030, and an estimated 409,500 jobs openings. The unemployment rate in this field is 3%.

The high demand for software developers comes as no surprise during this hot market. Organizations have prioritized technology development during the pandemic, accelerating digital transformation efforts. Indeed, the talent shortage was ranked by IT executives as the most significant adoption barrier (64%) for emerging technologies, according to Gartner.

Data Scientist

U.S. News ranked Data Scientist as No. 6 on the list of 2022 Best Jobs with a median salary of $98,230. That’s a bit of a demotion from 2012 when a Harvard Business Review article called Data Scientist “the sexiest job of the 21st century.” The US Bureau of Labor Statistics projects 31.4% employment growth for data scientist between 2020 and 2030, and during that period is forecasting 19,800 job openings. The current unemployment rate for the field is 2%.

But if you are a data scientist and those salary numbers don’t look good enough to you, you may want to consider switching jobs to a new company. New research from Burtchworks, a recruitment firm for quantitative professionals, looked at salary increases received by data scientists and data engineers who switched jobs during 2021. A full 51% of those who made a job move received a 20%-plus base salary increase. What’s more, 16% received a base salary increase of over 30%. Burtchworks said the average salary increase was 20% for data scientists and data engineers who switched jobs in 2021. That compares to an overall average of 6.6% for all job switchers as reported by ADP.

A separate U.S. News list of Best Technology Jobs ranked another seven jobs in the field including IT manager, computer systems analyst, and web developer.

Other jobs

Looking to get out of the technology field? The U.S. News list of 2022 Best Jobs also included a number of non-technology jobs, many of them in healthcare. Nurse practitioner ranked No. 2, physician assistant came in at No. 3, and medical and health services manager came in at number No. 4.

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