8 Best Jobs to Apply for in 2020

The New Year – and the start of a decade – is the perfect time to take stock of your professional life and advance your career path. Here are VHR’s pick of top jobs to apply for in 2020.

8 Most In-Demand Jobs of 2020

1. Artificial Intelligence Engineer

Artificial Intelligence has driven significant levels of automation across industries in the last decade, and the next ten years will see even further innovation. By 2020, 2 million jobs will be created worldwide that fall under computer, mathematical, architecture and engineering fields.

AI Data Scientists can develop excellent problem-solving, communication, programming and team management skills to earn up to £85,000 per year. Working in AI means continuous professional development, a high salary and a chance to be a key part of the future.

2. Project Manager

As industries boom, technology and colleagues and companies collaborate more than ever before, Project Managers are in high demand to lead cohesive teams and initiatives. Glassdoor currently lists over 100,000 Project Manager jobs at varying levels of skills and experience.

In this role, no day is ever the same – in one year you could be working with hundreds of stakeholders, implementing new technologies and travelling across offices and countries, or achieving the satisfaction of seeing a major change from start-up to roaring success. This position also offers one of the most diverse long-term career paths available: Project Managers are not limited by industry but can move around Construction, Tech, Healthcare, FMCG and back again, and work in a mix of sectors and organisations across many years and decades.

3. Blockchain Developer

In 2020 the rapidly growing digital currency Bitcoin will undergo its third halving, which could see the value of digital money skyrocket like never before. Cryptocurrency skills will be in high demand to respond to unprecedented change and new legislation needed to regulate the market. Developers working in this area have the opportunity to work flexibly, learn and quickly build rare skills and make a significant difference to the success of individual companies and the industry as a whole.

4. Pilot

Leading aircraft manufacturer Boeing predicts that the Aviation industry will need 800,000 new commercial airline pilots – double the current workforce – and 98,000 new business aircraft pilots in the next 20 years. With many pilots rapidly approaching mandatory retirement age, including half of America’s second-largest carrier United Airlines pilots, airlines will be ramping up their recruitment for new candidates in 2020.

Becoming a pilot has become much easier thanks to new entry-level recruitment and training schemes. Carriers such as Virgin Atlantic, British Airways and easyJet are rolling out new training programmes at entry and school leaver stages, and Qantas and Emirates have invested £multimillions into new flight academies for young students. Young people across a variety of backgrounds can now become airline pilots without University debt or previous education restrictions.

Careers in this field also offer flexible working hours and the opportunity to see the world like never before.

5. Wind Energy Technician

With a climate emergency threatening more global damage to the environment, animal habitats and human health in the imminent future, governments and businesses are heavily investing in sustainable energy sources. Wind power is one of the fastest-growing new technologies in the world and will be a key provider of employment in the next decade.

Wind energy technicians can work onshore or offshore at wind farms around the world. Most wind turbine technicians receive their experience whilst working on site: employers invest in new starter and regular renewal training programmes, ensuring wind energy technicians continue to upskill throughout their careers, and barriers to entry are much lower than other vocations.

6. Electrical Engineer

From computers to mobile phones, from cars to planes and drones to wind turbines, Electrical Engineers design and build just about any electrical device you can think of. With a vast range of industries to choose from, Electrical Engineers can find the work environment that suits them, from offices to workshops, laboratories to factories, and production plants to the great outdoors.

The Engineering industry is experiencing a significant skills shortage: one in five senior business leaders ranked a lack of skilled candidates as a more urgent business challenge than Brexit, climate change and new technologies. As only 8% of the UK’s engineers are female and the industry is under representative of BAME (Black and Minority Ethnic) people, the industry will be ramping up efforts to recruit young people from diverse backgrounds in 2020.

Whilst this role usually requires a University degree, the initial investment pays off: starting salaries in this role go up to £28,000, and specialist Electrical Engineers can earn £85,000 per year.

7. Commercial Drone Pilot

One of the newest and fastest-rising career paths for 2020, Commercial Drone Pilots are expected to be in high demand in the coming decade. The Federal Aviation Administration predicts that demand for commercial UAV pilots will quadruple in 2020, with more than 300,000 new pilots needed to meet future demand.

Commercial Drone Pilot jobs also easier to land than more traditional vocations. Businesses in Europe and America are beginning to offer drone pilot training to secondary and high school students. A niche skillset could also mean a high-paying and rewarding career for those who continue to upskill and make learning a priority.

8. Recruitment Consultant

Are you confident, self-motivated, competitive and looking for a challenge? Recruitment careers offer fast career progression, high opportunities for financial success.

Of all positions that don’t require a University degree, the Independent ranked recruitment as the 2nd most well-paid job in the UK. Recruiters effectively operate as their own businesses under a company brand: they build their own relationships and make their own profits, without the risk of owning and financially supporting a business. Recruitment consultant jobs offer the opportunity to get out of your career exactly what you put into it: there’s no limit to your earning potential or career development.

Working for an international recruitment business means plenty of chances to meet new people, travel the world and explore new cultures all year round. For recruiters, every day holds a new challenge and a new opportunity for success.

VHR are an international recruitment company specialising in Aerospace & Aviation, F1 & Automotive, Engineering & Defence and Marine in 50 countries. We need enthusiastic individuals to join our business as Trainee Recruitment Consultants and become our future top performers – find out more about our 21 Employee Benefits.

Find a New Job in 2020

Have a look at all our open vacancies across industries.

Read our 8 Ways to Shake Up Your Career in 2020.