Right now, it’s difficult to talk about any subject without taking into account the crushing reality of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. For young people, it’s going to be the defining topic of their formative years — and will shape much about what their near-term future looks like. And sadly, that near-term future looks grim.
That’s because this is a situation that’s rewriting many of the rules of the American social contract, and remaking the economy in ways that may not be temporary. One of those ways is that it’s driving a possibly permanent shift toward remote work. It’s a trend that had been underway in the pre-pandemic era and has now gone into forced overdrive. And it’s also demonstrating that careers that are incompatible with working remotely may not provide the kind of financial security that most people believed they did.
For young people who have yet to choose a career, it’s yet another thing to consider when making this life-altering decision. And, studying for these careers is becoming a snap too. All you have to do is browse through online education ranking sites like Authority to find a school that fits your needs and you’re on your way to a job you’ll love.
The good news is, some career types are flexible enough to provide opportunities for both in-person and offsite working positions. Here are four of the most remote-compatible and highest-growth careers that should be at the top of every career hunter’s list.
Software Development
If you’re in the market for a career with excellent growth prospects that can be done from almost anywhere, you can hardly do better than software development. Right now, it’s one of the hottest careers going, and opportunities in the field are only going to continue to grow in the coming years. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the market for software developers is going to see 21% job growth through 2028, and currently features a six-figure median salary. Plus, it’s a career you can train for alongside your other studies, so you can even train for it as a backup for another career you’re more passionate about pursuing. Not a bad hedge in a world that offers no guarantees of future economic stability.
Financial Technology Specialist
For those that haven’t noticed, the one sector that has quietly kept humming along amidst the pandemic is the global financial services industry. After all, when your job is to manage everyone’s money, nobody can afford to send you packing. But today, the highest-growth part of the financial services sector is the booming financial technology (FinTech) space. As such, it’s a major job creator that today’s career-hunters should consider training to join. It boasts a plethora of high-paying job types that offer major growth opportunities, and it’s already possible to obtain a masters-level education in the relevant subject matter completely online. If that’s not a career built for the current situation, then nothing is.
Marketing Manager
For a long time, marketing professionals were inextricably tied to offices. They had to run and attend pitch meetings, sit in on design conferences, and work with executives on advertising goals. Then, the internet took over as the primary business marketing channel and everything changed. Now, marketing managers can do their work from anywhere with an internet connection, using a variety of collaboration tools to engage in the planning and execution of their work. And they’re in higher demand than ever before. So much so that US News and World Report gives the job of marketing manager an 8 out of 10 grade on growth prospects, and indicates that it features an incredibly low 2.6% unemployment rate. It’s a remote-compatible job that checks all the boxes: growth, high pay and job security aplenty.
Graphic Designer
In the early days of the internet, it seemed like everyone wanted to be a graphic designer. For a while, it was one of the most in-demand jobs there was. But like all creative positions, it takes a certain innate skill to thrive as a graphic designer, and so the job started to acquire a bad reputation among those who flocked to it thinking it would be a path to easy money. Today, however, there are more kinds of engaging and rewarding work for graphic designers than ever before. Those with a talent for it can find work doing everything from high-end corporate logo design to creating music promotion templates for burgeoning musicians. It’s a career where you can work remotely, earn a decent salary and get to pick and choose projects you love and believe in. What’s not to like?
The Bottom Line
The good news is that these four careers aren’t the only solid remote-compatible options there are these days. As more types of industries undergo digital transformations, the more kinds of work become possible to do while working offsite from anywhere with an internet connection. And as the current pandemic is proving, you never know when the ability to work from home can become a literal life-saver. So, if you’re in the process of weighing your career options, give these four options a look. You’ll be more than happy you did.
