Wellbeing managers and full-stack developers: Here are the 30 best jobs of 2018

Australian businesses are driving a desire for tech-savvy and people-focused employees but are still struggling to find them, according to new data from job-seeking website Indeed.

The company has analysed all its job listing data for 2018 and found the 30 best jobs for this year, in terms of both desirability, growth, and salary level. Each job in the list has an average base salary of more than $80,000, with many of them stretching upwards of $110,000.

Many of the jobs also had fewer than 100 listings per 1 million jobs in 2017, despite seeing upwards of 150% growth over the past three years. Some particularly hot jobs boasted growth percentages well over 500%.

For 2018, the area most in-demand is predictably technology, with the position of full-stack developer coming in second on the list, and other professions such as data scientist, technology assistant and information systems manager also coming in high in the list. All these jobs have average base salaries of more than $100,000.

However, in a departure from recent years’ lists of best jobs, the area of wellness and health made a strong showing in 2018, with positions such as wellbeing manager coming listed in 10th position, and diversity and inclusion manager coming in at number 27. The desire for these jobs is likely driven by corporates looking to bring wellbeing for workers into focus and they have average salaries of up to $110,000.

In a statement, Indeed’s managing director for Australia Ricky Fritsch said this year’s list is indicative of companies’ increasing reliance on data and technology, while roles with a heavy “human element” will stay in demand for the foreseeable future.

“Companies are becoming ever more reliant on the collection and use of data and those with the skills to manage and utilise it are in hot demand. The proliferation of online applications for instance had led to the rise of full stack developers, a role few would have heard of until recent times,” he said.

“Those roles requiring that heavy human element, whether it be skilled tradespeople, medical professionals, including nurses and GPs or teachers working with students at a very personal level, are also less vulnerable to automation and should always remain in demand.”

This year’s top jobs are starkly different to last year’s, when marketing management roles came in at number one with a growth rate of 184%, followed by other positions such as x-ray technician and registrar. The top job for 2018 is the position of lead teacher, which has seen a whopping 1,907% increase in demand over the past three years.

The full list of 2018’s best jobs, their salaries, and their growth is below:

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