Tech and STEM-related jobs offer the best opportunity for jobhunters and career-switchers to find satisfaction in their work, according to new careers data from Glassdoor.
Glassdoor’s 25 Best Jobs List for 2022 found that software developers, data scientists, IT architects and full-stack engineers dominate the top spots when measured by salary, job satisfaction and the number of job openings.
These three factors were taken from ratings from “hundreds of thousands” of employee reviews on the Glassdoor platform, which were combined with the number of role vacancies to create an overall ‘job score’.
The report took into account job title normalisation that groups similar job titles. C-suite and intern-level jobs were excluded from the data.
At the top of Glassdoor’s best jobs list was Java developer, with an overall job score of 4.6 out of 5.
“Java developer jumped into the #1 position with a Glassdoor Job Score of 4.6, having first appeared on the 2021 Best Jobs list in 25th place,” the company said.
This role was one of 11 STEM (science, tech, engineering, maths) jobs featured on Glassdoor’s 2022 list, which the employer insight platform said was “reflective of the industry’s ability to offer a good work-life balance and flexible work options.”
Hybrid work policies are increasingly important to technology workers, and as such all of the roles on Glassdoor’s list offered high levels of remote working. Glassdoor reported that discussions around hybrid working grew by almost 1,000% on the platform in 2021.
Glassdoor EMEA economist, Lauren Thomas, said: “Employees want more hybrid working and a better work-life balance – areas which technology and STEM roles have historically excelled in.”
Tough conditions in the hiring market also mean that employees are able to be more courageous in asking for what they want from a job, added Thomas – which has led to increases in salaries for many tech-based roles.
The highest-paying job on Glassdoor’s list was enterprise architect, with a median base salary of £73,898. These professionals are typically responsible for an organization’s IT infrastructure, which – given the rapid rate of digitization currently being seen across industries following the pandemic – puts their skillsets at a premium.
Eleven of the 25 jobs in Glassdoor’s list were directly within tech and STEM fields. These included:
- Java developer (#1)
- Enterprise architect (#2)
- Full-stack engineer (#4)
- Data scientist (#5)
- Front end engineer (#9)
- UX designer (#11)
- Mobile engineer (#12)
- Data engineer (#15)
- DevOps engineer (#16)
- Software engineer (#17)
- Cloud engineer (#19)
The highest-paying job, the job with the most openings, and the job with the most opportunities for remote working were all tech- and STEM-related.
Software engineer proved to be the most in-demand role with 3,599 active job openings on the Glassdoor platform, which the company put down to the need for businesses to speed up their adoption of technology and remain competitive.
Currently, only one in four STEM roles are held by women, the data found. While this is expected to increase to 30% by 2030, the findings demonstrate the need for employers to improve their recruitment efforts and encourage more women to take up technology roles – which could prove critical in addressing the economy’s widening tech skills shortage.
HR positions were also well-represented on Glassdoor’s best jobs list, which again may be reflective of a competitive hiring market and renewed focus from businesses on the employee experience in the battle to attract skilled workers.
Corporate recruiter proved the position with the highest rate of job satisfaction, at 4.6 out of 5. For professionals not wanting a permanent return to an office, UX designer had the highest percentage of job openings that offer remote work at 95%.
