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Developer: For pay and job openings, these are the best roles

Tech jobs shape up to be the safest and best-paying options for job seekers, according to job-search site Indeed.
Written by Liam Tung, Contributing Writer

Employment search site Indeed's 'best jobs of 2020' list is totally dominated by tech roles, which rule in number of postings and generally offer higher average base salaries.  

Seven of the top 10 jobs in the list of best jobs in 2020 in the US are in tech, with the exception of real-estate agents, dentists, and sales directors. The site ranks job titles by the number of postings per one million jobs and the highest pay. 

At the top of the pile are software architect roles, which have an average base salary of $119,715 with job postings growing by 18% over the past three years. 

Other tech jobs in the top 10 include roles for full-stack developers, DevOps engineers, electrical engineers, Java developers, data scientists, and IT security specialists.

SEE: Six in-demand programming languages: Getting started (free PDF)

Full-stack developer postings offer an average base salary of $94,164, while DevOps engineers can expect $108,761. The average salaries for Java developers and data scientists are $93,820 and $105,510, respectively, while security pros can get $94,984. 

Postings for full-stack developer roles have grown a massive 151% over the past three years, suggesting high and growing demand for developers who know the traps of all stages of development. 

Indeed says the growth in tech jobs comes down to several key factors, including the obvious increase in the world's use of information technology. But there are also skills shortages, with limited skilled visa positions reportedly being monopolized by big tech companies.

Despite persistent high demand for tech skills, according to Indeed, healthcare roles dominate in terms of salary. 

If you're comfortable working on people's teeth and gums all day, becoming a dentist is the most lucrative job available, offering an average base salary of $184,585. The two tech roles in this list are software architect and data engineer. 

Tech and real estate dominate in terms of the growth in the number of job postings over the past three years. Besides the massive growth in full-stack developer postings, data engineer postings grew 135%, while cloud engineer and product engineer postings more than doubled. 

Indeed has also broken out the locations where job seekers can have the best chance of landing a tech job, based on the highest percentage of openings for job titles posted on Indeed for 60 days or more. 

For software architect roles, the top prospects include: San Francisco - Oakland - Hayward, CA; Pittsburgh, PA; Boston - Cambridge - Newton, MA-NH; San Jose - Sunnyvale - Santa Clara, CA; and San Diego - Carlsbad, CA. 

For full-stack developer roles, the best chances include Boston - Cambridge - Newton, MA-NH; Sacramento - Roseville - Arden - Arcade, CA; Indianapolis - Carmel - Anderson, IN; San Diego - Carlsbad, CA; and Baltimore - Columbia - Towson, MD.

SEE: Databases also getting the full DevOps treatment, survey shows

Development operations engineers have a higher chance of landing roles in Provo - Orem, UT; Boulder, CO; Indianapolis - Carmel - Anderson, IN; Detroit - Warren - Dearborn, MI; and San Francisco - Oakland - Hayward, CA.

Java developers should try their luck in Bridgeport - Stamford - Norwalk, CT; San Antonio - New Braunfels, TX; Lansing - East Lansing, MI; San Diego - Carlsbad, CA; and Columbia, SC.  

Data scientists have higher chances in Fayetteville - Springdale - Rogers, AR-MO; Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN; Cleveland - Elyria, OH; San Francisco - Oakland - Hayward, CA; and Seattle - Tacoma - Bellevue, WA.

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Seven of the top 10 jobs in Indeed's list of best US jobs in 2020 are in tech.

Image: Indeed
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