10 In-Demand and Well-Paying Jobs for 2021

Because of the pandemic, the job market and the way people work has drastically changed. Most jobs are now remote, or partially remote. Offices have closed down permanently, or companies are downsizing their offices to accommodate a partial in-person work environment.

What’s more, because of the global lock-downs and closed stores, businesses are now more than ever moving to digital platforms. Shopping online, conducting business remotely and ordering food delivery instead of eating out at restaurants, for example, are more popular than ever before. 

What is changed in today’s job market after the pandemic? Various types of in-demand and well-paying jobs changed positions on best-jobs lists around the nation. Some career paths lost strength while others gained momentum due to mass implementation of online and virtual working environments.

Working at home from a virtual office environment is considered normal now from many pundit perspectives. Jobs involving knowledge of advanced computer technology are rising (and paying more). Careers in medical health professions are also expanding. A reemphasized concern for the environment puts certain jobs related to new energy and environmental engineering in the spotlight as well. 

Are you looking for a top in-demand career with long-term high salary potential? Read ahead for important information about the top 10 in-demand and well-paying jobs for 2021.

2021 Job Market: On the Rise

While the pandemic had an adverse impact on overall employment in the U.S. during 2020, certain professions saw an uptick in job growth. The job market has since changed because many companies and professional organizations adapted to online virtual working environments out of necessity. 

This is true for even previously hands-on-only professions such as nursing and high school education professionals. Some in-demand jobs are geared more toward environmental engineering/protection and clean renewable energy because political culture in America shifted toward climate change with Joe Biden winning the 2020 election.

In-demand and well-paying jobs in the U.S. also involve businesses switching to E-Commerce methods of customer fulfillment. These are no passing trends, either. The online virtual working environment is here to stay in many fields and the nature of what makes a job more valuable, and in-demand is changed for the foreseeable future due to results created by the pandemic.

Nurses and Supporting Staff for Health Care Fields

Medical health fields underwent significant changes by necessity in 2021. The pandemic created hospital bed shortages and put frontline medical workers at great risk. Patients of all types still needed treatments and care regardless of pandemic-based scarcities and the medical system had to adapt. Thus the need for a wide variety of support staff in health care fields around the country was created.

A quick such on Indeed.com shows high demand for pandemic test site administrative support positions, medical-related call center representatives, medical equipment factory workers and medical records/data entry specialists. Telehealth positions, whether as clinical professionals or IT consultants/programmers are now more needed.

Jobs as supporting staff in health care fields pay a wide range of salaries. Some pay $14 to $30 per hour. Others, such as those in prominent Telehealth IT-related jobs pay over six figures annually.

Nurses were in short supply in 2020 and their demand increased by approximately thirty percent through the year. The demand for registered nurses is expected to continue increasing by seven more percent through 2029, with nurse practitioners projected to even see over a fifty-two percent job growth rate during the same period of time.

Intensive care nurses, emergency room nurses, certified nursing assistants (CNAs) and other nursing positions are all in-demand and well-paying positions to pursue. Salaries for various nursing positions range between approximately $73,000 and $110,000 per year.

E-Commerce Workers

ECommerce positions grew almost seventy-five percent each year for many recent consecutive years in a row. 400,000+ eCommerce jobs are presently available with salaries ranging from $42,000 to $56,000 per year. What types of positions are available for in-demand and well-paying eCommerce jobs in 2021?

Package handler, personal shopper, leadership/human resources and customer service positions are all needed today. IT positions in eCommerce are also needed and perhaps pay highest among all eCommerce jobs listed. ECommerce jobs also include delivery drivers, supply chain associates, pickers, inventory specialists and more.

Virtual Assistants

Virtual assistants handle what used to be in-person administrative tasks using various online platforms. Virtual assistants function as office managers and more. Scheduling, project management, marketing, handling emails/calls and more are all part of the daily tasks handled by virtual assistants in 2021.

The median annual salary for virtual assistants in 2021 is higher than approximately $67,000. Education qualifications vary per position but experience in customer service, office management and business operations/ethics is usually part of virtual assistant hiring requirements. 

Teachers, Tutors & Education Professionals

Modern educators have a lot more to deal with than teachers and education professionals ever did before. Education-based jobs were always equal parts demanding and rewarding, but the addition of remote learning requirements and applicable training changed the nature of the vocation going forward in perpetuity. What types of education-based jobs are in-demand and well-paying in 2021?

Teachers have been notorious underpaid in the U.S. but the implementation of online learning reduced physical building overhead. As a remote tutor you get to set your own rates, and tutor in subjects you are best at teaching. This includes English, music, foreign languages and more.

Education professional positions include jobs as teacher’s assistants, consultants, youth workers and more. These latter types of jobs pay an average of between approximately $46,000 and $63,00/year. The average median pay for teachers in 2021 increased to just over $51,000 per year as well.

Wind Turbine Engineer and Clean Energy Technicians

54,500 wind turbines exist in approximately forty-states in 2021, with those numbers expected to increase. Wind turbine engineers and operators are therefore projected to see a sixty-one percent hiring increase throughout the near future. The median annual salary for wind turbine engineers/technicians is $52,900, with higher pay for employees with more advanced degrees. 

The national average pay for solar panel installation jobs in 2021 is approximately $42,341, while highly educated environmental engineers make a median $92,120 per year, and can be even higher for more experienced engineers.