LinkedIn says these are the most promising career paths for 2017
- Posted by
- Kayleigh Dray
- Published

When it comes to finding the perfect job, there are lots of factors to consider; the hours, the bonuses, the commute, the work-life balance…
But, on the whole, there are two things we’re all searching for; a wage that acknowledges all of the hard work we put in, and an opportunity to progress, flourish, and thrive on our chosen career path.
So LinkedIn, in a bid to help, have taken a moment to rank the most promising career paths of 2017.
The career networking site has listed a whopping 20 jobs, each of which has an eye-wateringly high median salary, and strong job openings.
Perhaps even more excitingly, however, is the fact that each of the jobs on the list has been chosen because they are very likely to lead to a job promotion or an advancement within an organisation.
All of which makes it ideal reading for anyone thinking of changing jobs this year, in our opinion.
Scroll through the list to find a career path to suit you…
1. Hospitalist
Median Base Salary: £175,619
Job Openings (YoY Growth): 1,000+ (87%)
Career Advancement Score (out of 10): 6.0
Top Skills: Healthcare Management, Inpatient Care, Electronic Medical Record, Patient Safety, Internal Medicine
2. Pharmacist
Median Base Salary: £97,302
Job Openings (YoY Growth): 3,300+ (45%)
Career Advancement Score (out of 10): 5.0
Top Skills: Medication Therapy Management,Community Pharmacy,Patient Counselling,Pharmacy Automation,Immunisation
3. Sales Engineer
Median Base Salary: £63,286
Job Openings (YoY Growth): 3,000+ (159%)
Career Advancement Score (out of 10): 6.0
Top Skills: Solution Selling, Sales Management, Project Engineering, Automation, Sales Engineering
4. Site Reliability Engineer
Median Base Salary: £110,750
Job Openings (YoY Growth): 300+ (93%)
Career Advancement Score (out of 10): 8.0
Top Skills: Linux, Python, Bash, Apache, Shell Scripting
5. Product Manager
Median Base Salary: £77,129
Job Openings (YoY Growth): 3,000+ (11%)
Career Advancement Score (out of 10): 8.0
Top Skills: Product Development, Competitive Analysis, Product Launch, Cross-Functional Team Leadership, Marketing Strategy
6. Financial Analyst
Median Base Salary: £50,628
Job Openings (YoY Growth): 2,500+ (27%)
Career Advancement Score (out of 10): 8.0
Top Skills: Accounting, Microsoft Excel, Financial Modeling, Variance Analysis,Forecasting
Read more: The highest paid jobs in the UK
7. Technical Program Manager
Median Base Salary: £102,048
Job Openings (YoY Growth): 500+ (49%)
Career Advancement Score (out of 10): 8.0
Top Skills: Agile Methodologies, Software Project Management, Software Development Life Cycle, Scrum, Cloud Computing
8. Program Manager
Median Base Salary: £77,050
Job Openings (YoY Growth): 2,300+ (17%)
Career Advancement Score (out of 10): 7.0
Top Skills: Project Management, Project Portfolio Management, Project Delivery, Vendor Management, Business Process Improvement
9. Data Engineer
Median Base Salary: £83,063
Job Openings (YoY Growth): 900+ (85%)
Career Advancement Score (out of 10): 8.0
Top Skills: Hadoop, Python, SQL, Big Data,Hive
10. Scrum Master
Median Base Salary: £79,107
Job Openings (YoY Growth): 400+ (104%)
Career Advancement Score (out of 10): 8.0
Top Skills: Agile Methodologies, Software Project Management, Scrum, Requirements Analysis, SQL
11. Software Engineer
Median Base Salary: £74,361
Job Openings (YoY Growth): 10,000+ (13%)
Career Advancement Score (out of 10): 6.0
Top Skills: Java, C++, SQL, Linux, XML
12. Clinical Nurse
Median Base Salary: £59,884
Job Openings (YoY Growth): 3,300+ (77%)
Career Advancement Score (out of 10): 6.0
Top Skills: Patient Safety, Hospitals, Critical Care, Inpatient Care, Acute Care
13. Physician Assistant
Median Base Salary: £82,271
Job Openings (YoY Growth): 2,800+ (37%)
Career Advancement Score (out of 10): 4.0
Top Skills: Advanced Cardiac Life Support, Basic Life Support, Electronic Medical Record, Emergency Medicine, Family Medicine
14. Business Analyst
Median Base Salary: £55,375
Job Openings (YoY Growth): 3,000+ (20%)
Career Advancement Score (out of 10): 8.0
Top Skills: Requirements Analysis, Business Requirements, Software Development Life Cycle, User Acceptance Testing
Read more: What’s your work-balance type?
15. Tax Manager
Median Base Salary: £81,480
Job Openings (YoY Growth): 1,000+ (52%)
Career Advancement Score (out of 10): 6.0
Top Skills: Income Tax, Corporate Tax, Tax Accounting, International Tax, Tax Advisory
16. Data Architect
Median Base Salary: £96,511
Job Openings (YoY Growth): 500+ (26%)
Career Advancement Score (out of 10): 6.0
Top Skills: Data warehousing, Data modelling, ETL (Extract, Transform, Load), Business Intelligence, Databases
17. Anaesthetist
Median Base Salary: £123,407
Job Openings (YoY Growth): 400+ (148%)
Career Advancement Score (out of 10): 4.0
Top Skills: Critical Care, Anaesthesia, Advanced Cardiac Life Support, Intensive Care, Hospitals
Read more: Five ways to upcycle your career in 2017
18. Analytics Manager
Median Base Salary: £86,227
Job Openings (YoY Growth): 400+ (49%)
Career Advancement Score (out of 10): 8.0
Top Skills: Data Analysis, SAS, Business Intelligence, Data Mining, Predictive Analytics
19. Customer Success Manager
Median Base Salary: £56,957
Job Openings (YoY Growth): 350+ (85%)
Career Advancement Score (out of 10): 10.0
Top Skills: Account Management, CRM, Salesforce.com, SaaS, Enterprise Software
20. Medical Director
Median Base Salary: £181,947
Job Openings (YoY Growth): 1000+ (3%)
Career Advancement Score (out of 10): 6.0
Top Skills: Medicine, Clinical Research, Healthcare Management, Healthcare Information Technology, Electronic Medical Record
Hmm. There’s no denying that they’re all pretty specialist, but, if you’re tempted to jump ship and pursue a brand-new career for 2017, it’s well worth upcycling your CV.
And, with nearly 400 million professionals in more than 200 countries gathering in one place online, setting up a good LinkedIn profile should be the first thing on every businesswoman’s to-do list.
When used correctly, it can help your career to flourish – but it’s worth remembering that LinkedIn is so much more than just a social media account: it’s a tool. And copying and pasting half-heartedly from your CV will only unlock a fraction of its potential.
From personalising your headline, to searching for your very own career mentor, LinkedIn’s Head of Global Consumer Communications Darain Faraz recently shared his top tips on how to make your profile work just as hard as you do.
Check them all out here.
Image credits: iStock photos