These Are 2018's Most Promising Jobs

A lot of people see the dawn of a new year a good opportunity to polish off the ol' resume and start applying to new jobs. It's not a terrible time to try to catapult your career either, considering January and February are often considered the best months of the year to land a new gig. But with so many industries grappling with the rise of technology and shifting priorities, it can be tough to navigate which jobs are really worth shooting for, and which skills will really jump out at recruiters.

Luckily, the intrepid team at LinkedIn dug up the data and just came out with a helpful new list of the most promising jobs and in-demand skills of 2018. Have a look below, and while you're at it, maybe consider some fresh ideas for landing (and acing) your next interview.

To determine which jobs should be on the list, LinkedIn combed through data from millions of member profiles, job openings, and salaries then ranked them by weighing five different components: high median salary, number of job openings in the US, potential for career advancement, year-over-year growth in job openings, and widespread regional availability. Here are the top 10, ranked from least to most promising for the next year.

10. Enterprise Account Manager
Median base salary: $180,000

9. Data Scientist
Median base salary: $113,000

8. Product Manager
Median base salary: $105,000

7. Program Manager
Median base salary: $100,000

6. Engineering Manager
Median base Salary: $130,000

5. Sales Director
Median base salary: $145,000

4. Solutions Architect
Median total salary: $134,000

3. Customer Success Manager
Median total salary: $82,300

2. Software Engineering Manager
Median total salary: $148,000

1. Engagement Lead
Median base salary: $93,000

The employment- and career-oriented social network also looked at which skills companies are in need of most, and which are most likely to give you a leg-up as a potential candidate if you showcase them on your LinkedIn profile or on your resume. Again, here's the top 10 list, ranked from least to most in-demand. 

10. Network and Information Security

9. Mobile Development

8. SEO/SEM Marketing

7. Data Presentation

6. Software Revision Control Systems

5. User Interface Design

4. Web Architecture and Development Framework

3. Middleware and Integration Software

2. Statistical Analysis and Data Mining

1. Cloud and Distributed Computing

Even if these jobs and skills don't really resonate with you or the sort of career you've built thus far, that's no reason to feel like you're doomed to be looked over as a candidate for some lucrative or promising new gig. One of the stand-out trends LinkedIn identified for the coming year is that you don't need to be "technical" to be successful, despite the prominence of tech-focused and tech-adjacent skills and jobs on the above lists. In fact, after surveying 2,000 business leaders, more than half of them said that "soft skills" like leadership, communication, collaboration, and time management are actually more important than the "hard skills." 

Sign up here for our daily Thrillist email and subscribe here for our YouTube channel to get your fix of the best in food/drink/fun.