Source: CIO.com, based on Glassdoor’s 2017 Best Jobs in America report.
Tech Jobs Dominate Glassdoor’s 2017 Best Jobs in America List
For the second consecutive year, Data Scientist topped Glassdoor’s Best Jobs in America list, followed closely by DevOps Engineer and Data Engineer. Glassdoor expanded the 2017 edition of the list to 50 roles — up from 25 in 2016 — and technology continued to dominate, with 14 IT roles represented across the full ranking.
“In particular for tech jobs, companies across all industries are hiring workers for these needed positions, including employers in healthcare, finance, manufacturing, retail and more. Any organization today with a mobile app, web presence or digitized data are struggling to fill jobs like data scientists, software engineers and mobile developers.”
Andrew Chamberlain, Chief Economist at Glassdoor
How Glassdoor Calculated the Job Score
Each role on the list was assigned a Glassdoor Job Score on a 5-point scale (5.0 = best job, 1.0 = bad job). The score is a composite of three equally weighted factors:
- Earning potential — median annual base salary
- Job satisfaction rating — based on employee reviews
- Number of open job listings — active postings on Glassdoor as of January 1, 2017
To qualify for consideration, a job title had to receive at least 100 salary reports and at least 100 job satisfaction ratings from U.S.-based employees between January 2, 2016 and January 1, 2017.
The 14 Best IT Jobs in America (2017)
1. Data Scientist
Data scientists create value from raw organizational data using machine learning tools, statistical analysis, and data modelling techniques. Demand for this role spans virtually every industry.
- Job Score: 4.8
- Job Satisfaction Rating: 4.4 / 5
- Open Job Listings: 4,184
- Median Base Salary: $110,000
2. DevOps Engineer
A DevOps engineer works closely with software development and operations teams to automate and streamline systems, build and maintain CI/CD pipelines and deployment tooling, and troubleshoot issues across development, testing, and production environments.
- Job Score: 4.7
- Job Satisfaction Rating: 4.2 / 5
- Open Job Listings: 2,725
- Median Base Salary: $110,000
3. Data Engineer
Data engineers design, build, maintain, test, and evaluate big data infrastructure and pipelines that allow organizations to make sense of data from disparate sources.
- Job Score: 4.7
- Job Satisfaction Rating: 4.3 / 5
- Open Job Listings: 2,599
- Median Base Salary: $106,000
4. Analytics Manager
Analytics managers lead teams that apply business data and statistical methods to improve organizational processes. The role is particularly prevalent in the healthcare sector.
- Job Score: 4.6
- Job Satisfaction Rating: 4.1 / 5
- Open Job Listings: 1,958
- Median Base Salary: $112,000
5. Database Administrator
Database administrators (DBAs) are responsible for the performance, integrity, and security of an organization’s databases. They may also be involved in designing, building, and deploying new data storage systems.
- Job Score: 4.5
- Job Satisfaction Rating: 3.8 / 5
- Open Job Listings: 2,877
- Median Base Salary: $93,000
6. UX Designer
User experience (UX) designers research and understand users’ needs, emotions, and pain points, then translate those insights into product designs that are intuitive and satisfying to use.
- Job Score: 4.4
- Job Satisfaction Rating: 4.0 / 5
- Open Job Listings: 1,691
- Median Base Salary: $92,500
7. Solutions Architect
Solutions architects translate product and business requirements into technical architectures and system designs. They are responsible for defining the structure and behaviour of complete systems and products.
- Job Score: 4.4
- Job Satisfaction Rating: 3.7 / 5
- Open Job Listings: 2,232
- Median Base Salary: $125,000
8. Software Engineer
Software engineers manage the full development lifecycle of software products — from initial research and design through to implementation, testing, maintenance, and support.
- Job Score: 4.3
- Job Satisfaction Rating: 3.5 / 5
- Open Job Listings: 17,085
- Median Base Salary: $101,000
9. QA Manager
Quality assurance (QA) managers develop, implement, and enforce quality standards and testing processes across an organization’s software or product development efforts.
- Job Score: 4.3
- Job Satisfaction Rating: 3.7 / 5
- Open Job Listings: 2,531
- Median Base Salary: $92,000
10. Mobile Developer
Mobile developers handle the complete lifecycle of mobile applications — from design and development through to deployment, maintenance, and ongoing support across iOS and Android platforms.
- Job Score: 4.3
- Job Satisfaction Rating: 3.7 / 5
- Open Job Listings: 2,130
- Median Base Salary: $85,000
11. Systems Administrator
Systems administrators (sysadmins) are responsible for provisioning, configuring, operating, securing, and maintaining an organization’s server and network infrastructure — both hardware and software.
- Job Score: 4.2
- Job Satisfaction Rating: 3.7 / 5
- Open Job Listings: 4,046
- Median Base Salary: $68,000
12. Hardware Engineer
Hardware engineers research, design, develop, and test physical computer components — including processors, circuit boards, memory modules, networking hardware, and routers.
- Job Score: 4.2
- Job Satisfaction Rating: 3.9 / 5
- Open Job Listings: 954
- Median Base Salary: $108,000
13. Information Security Engineer
Information security engineers plan, develop, and deploy hardware and software security controls to protect an organization’s systems, networks, and data from cyberattacks and unauthorized access.
- Job Score: 4.1
- Job Satisfaction Rating: 3.7 / 5
- Open Job Listings: 1,247
- Median Base Salary: $100,000
14. UI Designer
User interface (UI) designers collaborate with visual designers, UX designers, and software developers to create aesthetically refined and functionally clear interfaces for software applications and systems.
- Job Score: 4.1
- Job Satisfaction Rating: 4.0 / 5
- Open Job Listings: 950
- Median Base Salary: $80,000
Key Takeaways for Tech Professionals
Several patterns stand out across these 14 roles:
- Data and DevOps skills command top salaries and satisfaction. The top three roles — Data Scientist, DevOps Engineer, and Data Engineer — share the highest job scores and salaries between $106,000 and $110,000.
- Software Engineer has by far the most openings (17,085 listings), reflecting the broad, cross-industry demand for general software development skills.
- Solutions Architect offers the highest median salary at $125,000, reflecting the strategic and cross-functional nature of the role.
- Systems Administrator has the lowest median salary on this list at $68,000, though the role still carries a respectable job score of 4.2.
- Security and design roles are well represented, signalling growing demand beyond purely backend engineering functions.
All data in this article is sourced from Glassdoor’s 2017 Best Jobs in America report, as reported by CIO.com. Figures reflect the U.S. job market as of January 2017 and should not be used as current salary benchmarks.