The 25 Best Jobs in America Right Now, According to Employees

By Jacquelyn Smith

Every January, Glassdoor publishes its list of the best jobs of the year. For 2016, the top spot goes to data scientist.

"It isn't a big surprise to see data scientist at No. 1 this year because it's one of the hottest and fastest growing jobs we're seeing right now," says Dr. Andrew Chamberlain, Glassdoor's chief economist. "Since all companies have an online presence these days, they all need people who know how to manage and store data that helps them make better business decisions, compared to years ago when businesses didn't have data management at their fingertips to review and analyze to help them drive business forward. I expect this to continue to be a hot job for several years to come, too."

Glassdoor's Best Jobs in America report identifies careers with the highest overall "job score," which is determined by weighting three factors equally: earning potential (median annual base salary), career opportunities rating, and number of job openings.

For a job title to be considered, it had to receive at least 75 salary reports and 75 career opportunities ratings shared by US-based employees over the past year. The number of job openings per job title represents active job listings on Glassdoor as of January 8, 2016.

"When making any job decision, we know that job seekers consider earning potential, career opportunities, and hiring opportunity — and that's exactly what we look at for this report to determine the top jobs in America for 2016," Chamberlain explains. "There's something for every job seeker in this report, and what's interesting is that employers across all industries are looking to fill many of these jobs."

Here are the 25 best jobs in America right now: