The past few years have reshuffled the deck across almost every industry. Tech layoffs, a cooling labour market, and the rapid mainstreaming of generative AI have changed which skills employers chase and which roles they will pay a premium for.
As of June 2026, the US unemployment rate sits at 4.2%, still below the long-run average of roughly 5.7% but well above the sub-4% lows of 2023. Hiring has cooled, yet demand for skilled technical talent remains intense. The World Economic Forum's Future of Jobs Report 2025 projects 170 million new roles created and 92 million displaced by 2030, a net gain of 78 million jobs, with AI, data, and green-transition skills driving the fastest growth.
So for recruiters to stay relevant in the job market, it's crucial to anticipate emerging jobs that are going to breed a new pool of candidates.
In this blog, we'll explore the top 10 in-demand jobs of the future that offer the most competitive salaries and are growing in popularity. Several of them also rank near the top of the World Economic Forum's fastest-growing roles for the decade, from big data specialists and AI engineers to cybersecurity and renewable-energy professionals.
- Data Scientist
- AI/Machine Learning Engineer
- Cyber Security Analyst
- Cloud Engineer
- Virtual Reality / Augmented Reality Developer
- Robotics Engineer
- Sustainability Engineer
- Business Analyst
- Biotechnology Researcher
- Blockchain Engineer
1. Data Scientist
Average salary: $152,296*
Current candidate pool: 3.6m**
Data is the new gold, and organizations are hungry for accurate insights. Data analysts and scientists are in high demand as businesses seek to harness the power of big data.
The role particularly consists of interpreting complex data sets, uncovering patterns, and providing actionable recommendations and insights to help businesses make better marketing, sales, and operational decisions.
With the growth of AI and Machine Learning, data-driven decision-making will be a cornerstone of business success.
2. AI/Machine Learning Engineer
Average salary: $160,970
Current candidate pool: 577,000
Since the launch of ChatGPT, a plethora of new AI systems have followed, and generative AI has moved from novelty to standard business tooling. The World Economic Forum ranks AI and machine learning specialists among the three fastest-growing roles of the decade, alongside big data specialists and fintech engineers.
AI/ML engineers’ core responsibility is to develop and implement algorithms like Large Language Models (LLMs) that improve automation, optimize processes, and enhance decision-making for self-sufficient Artificial Intelligence systems.
As AI applications expand into healthcare, finance, and beyond, the demand for skilled professionals in this field will skyrocket.
3. Cyber Security Analyst
Average salary: $97,140
Current candidate pool: 164,000
As the digital world continues to expand, so does the threat landscape. In September last year, the data of 11 million Optus customers were hacked and accessed in one of the biggest cyber security breaches in recent history.
Cyber security experts work to understand cyberattacks, malware, and the behavior of cybercriminals, and seek to prevent cyber attacks by deploying a range of technologies and processes to prevent, detect, and manage cyber threats.
With the increasing importance of online data protection and privacy as well as the the adoption of IoT devices, Cyber Security professionals will be pivotal in safeguarding digital assets.
4. Cloud Engineer
Average salary: $141,928
Current candidate pool: 633,000
In the digital age, the cloud has become the backbone of modern IT infrastructure. Studies show that 94% of enterprises use cloud services.
Cloud engineers design, build, and maintain cloud-based solutions that enable organizations to store and manage data, run applications, and scale their operations efficiently.
As more businesses transition to the cloud to reduce costs and improve flexibility, the demand for skilled cloud engineers is expected to soar.
Cloud engineers tend to work with cloud platforms like Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud to ensure seamless and secure cloud operations for their employers or clients.
5. Virtual Reality / Augmented Reality Developer
Average salary: $149,000
Current candidate pool: 27,000
You’d be forgiven if you thought the Virtual Reality industry was only about VR headsets and 3D cinema. After all, the number of VR headset users in the US is around 57 million.
Virtual reality and Augmented reality are technologies that create virtual scenarios of real-life events in a controlled environment, providing little to no risk for the person involved. These technologies are increasingly being used in education, healthcare, the military, architecture, marketing, and more.
VR and AR developers specialize in designing and implementing software applications for virtual environments that give users the experience of a virtual copycat in order to help them train and prepare for that scenario in real life - think of it like a doctor performing surgery but instead of using a real patient or dummy, they put a headset on and practice operating in somewhat of a more serious video game.
6. Robotics Engineer
Average salary: $105,955
Current candidate pool: 149,000
The notion that robots are going to take our jobs is slowly seeping into reality. A widely cited 2020 forecast in Time projected that up to 2 million manufacturing jobs could be replaced by robots by 2025, and automation has continued to reshape the factory floor since.
As a result, the field of robotics is experiencing rapid growth and innovation, and robotics engineers are on the frontline.
Robotics engineers design and build machines to do automated jobs in industries like manufacturing, healthcare, aerospace, and autonomous vehicles. Similar to an AI engineer but instead of creating software, they create hardware and machines that are used in real life.
As automation continues to transform industries, robotics engineers are in increasingly high demand to create and optimize robots that can perform human tasks.
7. Sustainability Engineer
Average salary: $92,877
Current candidate pool: 145,000
As global concerns about climate change and resource depletion continue to grow, sustainability engineers are becoming increasingly necessary in helping organizations create a more sustainable and environmentally friendly world.
The role of a sustainability engineer is to research and implement sustainable practices within various industries that are adopting more eco-friendly practices.
They have a broader understanding of technical, ecological, social, and economic systems and work on implementing procedures to help businesses minimize waste, use renewable energy sources, and reduce pollution.
The sustainability market is projected to hit over 60 billion dollars by 2030.
8. Business Analyst
Average salary: $82,270
Current candidate pool: 5.3m
A subset of data science, a business analyst gathers and interprets data to provide actionable insights that help businesses make informed decisions.
They work with data visualization tools, databases, and analytics software to create reports. They play a crucial role in identifying market trends and understanding customer behavior, making them the best friends of sales and marketing teams.
As businesses continue to accumulate large sets of data, the need for business analysts is growing at a rapid speed.
9. Biotechnology Researcher
Average salary: $137,982
Current candidate pool: 674,000
Biotechnology is an emerging science-driven industry that is expanding due to technological advancements in the discovery of new drugs, medical devices, and therapies.
Heavily backed by government organizations, the industry value is expected to hit $3 trillion.
A biotechnology researcher is the driving factor behind any successful biotech company. Their job is to provide the initial research into biological science and technology and come up with the intel that leads to the discovery of new medicine, medical devices, agriculture, and other fields.
You will often find them spending time in a lab studying the genomes of bacteria to develop new drugs or using genetic engineering to create new crops.
10. Blockchain Engineer
Average salary: $151,163
Current candidate pool: 176,000
Blockchain technology has emerged as a disruptive force in a number of industries over the last decade and there are now more than 741 million cryptocurrency owners worldwide as of 2025.
Blockchain is a digital database that stores information blocks linked together via cryptography - an encrypted and secured communication.
It’s a system in which financial transactions can confirm themselves without the need for an external party, making it decentralized.
Blockchain engineers have basic technical skills in programming, data structures, and computer science but learn more advanced skills that are pertinent to Blockchain - like smart contracts and Solidity - as they are tasked with creating decentralized and secure digital ledgers that offer transparency, immutability, and trust in a wide range of applications.
As blockchain technology continues to gain traction in finance, healthcare, logistics, and other sectors, the demand for blockchain engineers is expected to grow. Be aware, though, that this is the most cyclical entry on the list: crypto and blockchain hiring cooled sharply after the 2021 to 2022 market peak, so demand here tends to track the wider crypto cycle rather than climbing in a straight line.
In a job market brimming with opportunities, these roles are set to grow exponentially over the next decade. Staying informed about emerging roles is essential for recruiters to adapt to an ever-changing job market.
Getting in there early can set you apart from the rest.
*Salary figures are illustrative US averages drawn from Glassdoor estimates; actual pay varies widely by seniority, location, and employer.
** Candidate pool figures are approximate LinkedIn search snapshots and shift over time.
