Careers in demand for 2027: 8 of the fastest-growing jobs

What jobs are growing the fastest?

Data scientists, health services managers, and information security analysts are among the fastest-growing jobs in BLS projections, and AI engineers top LinkedIn's 2026 list. Here are eight jobs in demand.

1. Data scientist

Why it's growing. BLS projects 35% growth for data scientists from 2025 to 2035, driven by companies that want data behind their decisions.

What it pays. The median salary was $120,230 in 2025, according to BLS. (Fair warning: someone will ask you to "just pull a quick number" at least once a week.)

How AI is changing it. AI can sort and analyze data at a speed no person can match, but it's only as good as the data it learns from. Gartner predicts that through 2026, organizations will abandon 60% of AI projects that lack AI-ready data. Data scientists choose data that's accurate, unbiased, and right for the job, and they ask the questions worth answering.

How to start. A bachelor's degree is the typical entry point, according to BLS. Learn SQL (the language used to pull information from databases) and basic Python, then analyze a public dataset about something you care about. Data analyst roles, covered in our guide to computer science jobs you can train for, make a natural stepping stone.

2. Information security analyst

Why it's growing. BLS projects 21% growth. BLS points to wider AI use and the rise of e-commerce as reasons companies need stronger security.

What it pays. The median salary was $129,180 in 2025, according to BLS. (The job description is basically "imagine the worst thing that could happen, then stop it.")

How AI is changing it. AI adds to this work, since attackers use AI too and every new AI tool is one more thing to protect.

How to start. Many analysts start in IT support or as network administrators. Some enter with a high school diploma plus training and an entry-level security certification.

3. AI engineer

Why it's growing. AI engineer is the #1 fastest-growing role in the U.S. on LinkedIn's Jobs on the Rise 2026 list. These engineers build the systems that put AI to work inside products and companies.

What it pays. The average salary was $101,752 as of October 2026, according to ZipRecruiter. LinkedIn reports that about 26% of these jobs are remote and 27% are hybrid.

How AI is changing it. AI is the whole job here, and the tools change fast, so learning never stops.

How to start. Software engineer and data scientist are the top roles people move from, according to LinkedIn, so build a software foundation first. Then build a small project with a large language model, the type of AI behind ChatGPT. LinkedIn lists retrieval-augmented generation (RAG), a way of connecting AI to your own documents, among the top skills.

4. AI consultant or strategist

Why it's growing. AI consultants and strategists rank #2 on LinkedIn's Jobs on the Rise 2026 list. Companies want help figuring out where AI fits.

What it pays. The average salary was $86,430 as of October 2026, according to ZipRecruiter. LinkedIn reports that about 30% of these jobs are remote and 33% are hybrid.

How AI is changing it. This job exists because of AI, and much of it is helping a team trust a new tool enough to try it.

How to start. You don't need to be an engineer. Founders and product managers are among the top roles people move from, according to LinkedIn, and the median person in this job has about eight years of experience. Start by becoming the go-to AI person on your current team. Lead one project, measure the results, and share what worked, on LinkedIn or with other teams.

5. AI data annotator or model evaluator

Why it's growing. Data annotators rank #4 on LinkedIn's Jobs on the Rise 2026 list. These experts review and correct what AI models produce, which is how the models improve.

What it pays. The average was around $60,500 a year in 2026, according to Glassdoor. Pay climbs for evaluators with expertise in a specific field. LinkedIn reports that about 28% of these jobs are remote and 29% are hybrid, and the work is often project-based.

How AI is changing it. AI creates this work. The better the models get, the more they need people who can spot what's subtly wrong.

How to start. LinkedIn's top skills for this role include SEO copywriting and content marketing, and content managers and editors are among the top roles people move from. Our guide to AI annotation jobs covers pay and how to get hired.

This is one of the AI jobs I'm most excited about, because it rewards people who've built careers around words and people. Writers, teachers, social scientists, and anyone who's great at reading a room bring something a model can't learn on its own: a sense of what a good, fair, human answer sounds like. Each rating they give helps shape how an AI tool responds to the people who use it.

6. Medical and health services manager

Why it's growing. BLS projects 24% growth. An aging population needs more healthcare, and someone has to run the clinics and departments that provide it.

What it pays. The median salary was $123,860 in 2025, according to BLS. Expect to spend at least part of your week on-site. (You'll be the person who knows why the schedule works, which is also the person everyone emails when it doesn't.)

How AI is changing it. As AI tools show up in scheduling and billing, managers decide how they're used and how patient data stays safe.

How to start. You don't need a clinical background. BLS lists a bachelor's degree plus some related work experience as the typical path, so people who've managed operations or teams elsewhere can move in.

7. Health information technologist

Why it's growing. BLS projects 16% growth, because the amount of electronic health information keeps growing. These specialists organize, protect, and analyze it.

What it pays. The median salary was $68,020 in 2025, according to BLS.

How AI is changing it. AI can sort and summarize records quickly, and health information technologists check that the results are accurate and private.

How to start. An associate's degree is the typical entry point, and many employers prefer a professional certification.

8. Industrial machinery mechanic

Why it's growing. BLS projects 17.8% growth as factories add more automated machinery that someone has to keep running. It's also a big field of about 447,000 jobs, so there's plenty of room to get in.

What it pays. The median salary was $64,520 in 2025, according to BLS. The job is on-site, usually in a factory, and overtime is common. (Yes, you'd be the person the robots call when they break.)

How AI is changing it. The more factories automate, the more they need people to keep the machines running, and BLS expects that to create jobs. Computerized diagnostic tools help find problems faster, but a person still opens up the machine and fixes it.

How to start. A high school diploma is the typical entry point, according to BLS, followed by more than a year of on-the-job training. Employers may also teach subjects like shop math, blueprint reading, welding, and electronics along the way.

Which in-demand jobs are safest from AI?

The in-demand jobs safest from AI involve hands-on work or decisions people need to trust, like industrial machinery mechanics and health services managers. Several others on this list are growing because of AI, which is its own kind of safety.

• AI creates or adds to the work for AI engineers, AI consultants, AI data annotators, and information security analysts.
• In data science and health information, AI changes the daily tasks, and people stay in charge of the results.
• For health services managers and industrial machinery mechanics, AI barely touches the core work.

To dig deeper, see our take on whether AI will take your job and the skills AI is already making worthless.

How to tell if one of these careers is a fit for you

To find the career that fits how you like to work, ask yourself three questions:

1. What problems do you enjoy? Puzzles and patterns point toward data and security. Helping people adopt something new points toward AI consulting or healthcare management.
2. How do you like to work? Remote roles cluster in tech and AI. If you'd rather work with your hands, the trades are calling. Even the AI boom needs them: data center technicians, who keep the servers behind AI tools running, rank #17 on LinkedIn's 2026 list.
3. How much training are you up for? Some of these roles start with a certificate or associate's degree. Others take a bachelor's degree plus experience.

Then take one small step this month. Pick a career, find three people doing it on LinkedIn, and ask one of them for a 15-minute chat about how they got in. You'll learn more from that conversation than from a dozen lists, including this one.

Changing careers can be exciting, but it comes with plenty of hard moments. The further you move from your old field, the longer it takes. I'm five years into my own transition, and I'm still learning. The biggest shift was accepting that I'd be a student again after years of teaching at a university. It felt a lot like having my second baby years after my first daughter: I thought I knew how this worked, and suddenly I was a beginner again. That beginner's mindset turned out to be one of my best tools, and it can be yours too.

Want options without a four-year degree? Our roundup of $100K jobs you can get without a degree is a good next stop.

Frequently asked questions about careers in demand

What careers are in demand right now?

Careers in demand right now include data scientists, information security analysts, AI engineers, AI consultants, AI data annotators, medical and health services managers, health information technologists, and industrial machinery mechanics. BLS projects 16% to 35% growth from 2025 to 2035 for the established roles on that list, far above the 3.5% average.

What jobs are growing the fastest?

Among the established jobs on this list, data scientists and medical and health services managers grow fastest, with BLS projecting 35% and 24% growth from 2025 to 2035, far above the 3.5% average. Among newer roles, AI engineer tops LinkedIn's Jobs on the Rise 2026 list. Growth rates come from different sources and time frames, so compare them within each group.

Which in-demand jobs are safest from AI?

In-demand jobs built on hands-on work or trusted human judgment are the safest from AI. Industrial machinery mechanics and medical and health services managers fit that description. Some jobs are growing because of AI, like AI engineers and AI data annotators. In data science and health information, AI changes daily tasks while people stay responsible for the results.

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