If you ask any job seeker right now, they’ll tell you it’s a tough time to find work.
Wondering where to find jobs? Check out LinkedIn’s new rankings. The professional networking site on Wednesday released its annual “Fastest-Growing Jobs” list, which identifies the 25 fastest-growing occupations in the United States based on data from the past two and a half years.
This ranking considers the millions of jobs started by LinkedIn members from January 1, 2023 to July 31, 2025 and calculates the growth rate for each role. To be ranked, a role must show consistent positive growth across LinkedIn’s member base and grow to a meaningful size by 2025, which LinkedIn says will vary by market and year based on the total number of jobs available.
Jobs in the AI field accounted for three of the top five positions on the list, indicating “continued momentum in both technical and strategic roles for AI,” the report said.
Self-employed careers also took up several positions, including strategic advisors and independent consultants in 7th place and founders in 9th place. Additionally, the number of members adding “founder” to their profiles increased by 60% year-over-year and has nearly tripled since 2022, according to a December LinkedIn report.
“Rising costs and economic uncertainty may be prompting many people to rethink the traditional career ladder, which may no longer feel as secure and linear as it once did,” Katherine Fisher, career expert at LinkedIn, told CNBC’s “Make It.” She points out that the “founders” listed on LinkedIn don’t just refer to startup founders, but also people building side hustles, consulting brands, small businesses, and creator-driven services.
“While full-time roles remain important, contract work, advisory roles and portfolio careers are becoming strategic ways to gain experience, stay competitive and create opportunities for yourself,” she says.
Job seekers looking to enter the listed roles and industries should take a look at the skills they already have.
“The most successful pivots don’t start from scratch; they translate existing skills into a new context,” Fisher says. “Spending time thinking about the skills you have and how they can be applied to one of these growing roles can help unlock opportunities for job seekers.”
Here are the top 10 jobs on the rise from LinkedIn’s list, along with their most common skills, popular employment spots, and the roles of those who move into these roles.
You can find all 25 jobs listed on LinkedIn here.
1. AI engineer
Most common skills: LangChain, Search Augmentation Generation (RAG), PyTorch
Places with the most jobs: San Francisco, New York City, Dallas
Key roles to migrate from: Software Engineer, Data Scientist, Full Stack Engineer
2. AI consultant and strategist
Most common skills: Large Language Models (LLM), MLOps, Computer Vision
Places with the most jobs: San Francisco, New York City, Boston
Key roles transitioned from: Founder, Software Engineer, Product Manager
3. New home sales specialist
Most Common Skills: Residential Real Estate, Real Estate Transactions, Buyer Representation
Places with the most jobs: Houston, Dallas, Orlando
Key job titles to migrate from: Real estate agent, sales manager, real estate advisor.
4. Data annotator
Most Common Skills: SEO Copywriting, Content Marketing, Content Creation
Places with the most jobs: Austin, New York City, San Francisco
Key roles for the source: Content Manager, Editor, Data Analyst
5. AI/ML researchers
Most common skills: PyTorch, deep learning, computer vision
Places with the most jobs: San Francisco, New York City, Boston
Key Roles Migrated From: Data Scientist, Software Engineer, Machine Learning Engineer
6. Medical Reimbursement Specialist
Most Common Skills: Medicare/Medicaid Reimbursement, Prior Authorization, Managed Care
Places with the most jobs: New York City, Chicago, Los Angeles
Key roles for the source: Account Manager, Medical Biller, Sales Specialist
7. Strategic advisors and independent consultants
Most Common Skills: Executive Advisory, Go-to-Market Strategy, Strategic Partnerships
Places with the most jobs: New York City, San Francisco, Washington DC
Top roles after transition: Chief Executive Officer, Founder, Chief Operating Officer
8. Advertising sales specialist
Most Common Skills: Media Planning, Social Media Optimization (SMO), Paid Social Media Advertising
Places with the most jobs: New York City, Detroit, Atlanta
Key roles transitioned: Account Executive, Sales Director, Advertising Manager
9. Founder
Most Common Skills: Startup Leadership, Brand Development, Software Development
Places with the most jobs: New York City, San Francisco, Los Angeles
Key Roles Migrated From: Software Engineer, Product Manager, Managing Director
10. Sales Executive
Most common skills: C-level management, international sales, sales strategy.
Places with the most jobs: Los Angeles, New York City, Dallas
Senior roles transitioning to: Vice President of Global Sales, Chief Operating Officer, Vice President of Business Development.
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