Most In-Demand Tech Jobs For 2026

Want to know the jobs in tech with the most demand? Maybe to get your first job or move into a new career?

Well, good news!

I went ahead and looked at the top tech roles and broke them down to the 9 roles with the most open jobs in the US right now. Better still, I'll also share why you should look into these roles, as well as how to get started in each.

But first of all, let's explain how we came up with this list.

The selection criteria

So why only 9 roles?

Well, first off, if I listed every single possible tech job here, you would be overwhelmed, and the guide would be kind of useless.

So instead, I made sure to only share roles that match the following criteria:

• They need to have at least 2,000 open positions on LinkedIn in the US right no

• A strong salary, even at the entry level. (US salary data collected from Indeed, LinkedIn, and Web3.career 2026)

• Growing faster than the number of people entering the field, so the market doesn't get saturated just as you finish learning

• In demand internationally, not just in the US

• Learnable without spending $10,000 to $100,000 on a college degree or bootcamp

• Real long-term staying power, not just a current moment in the spotlight

This way, you know that if you choose one of the jobs below, it's not only in high demand, but you'll make serious bank for years to come.

The top 9 most in-demand tech jobs right now

Before we get into the details, here's a quick snapshot for those of you who just want the numbers:

A few things worth pointing out before we dive in.

These job numbers are from US LinkedIn, but remember that LinkedIn is just one job platform. The real total across all platforms is significantly higher. (We use LinkedIn as a signle source, simply because most other job sites have stopped showing exact counts for number of open job listings, so treat these numbers as a floor rather than a ceiling).

You'll also notice the two software roles are way out in front in terms of sheer volume. That's worth keeping in mind because a lot of the noise you hear about tech hiring being dead simply isn't backed up by the data. Over 100,000 combined open positions for software roles alone tell a different story.

On the other end of the list, roles like Cybersecurity Analyst and DevOps Engineer have fewer total postings but are growing consistently month on month.

With that out of the way, let's get into each role.

#1. Software Engineer

• Average salary: $143,566

• Current # of job postings in the US: 61,442

• Want to get learn the skills and get hired in this role? Click the link here

With over 61,000 open positions on LinkedIn alone makes this the biggest role in tech by a long way. That's more open jobs than the next three roles on this list put together, and that's just one platform!

To be clear though, the term 'software engineer' is kind of a catch all name for the role. You'll sometimes see it Frontend Engineer, Backend Engineer, Full Stack Engineer, but they're all variations of the same thing. Someone who builds software.

So why is this the top pick?

Well, two reasons really. First, the demand is obvious from the numbers.

But second, and this is the bit people don't always think about, but learning to code gives you a foundation that works everywhere else in tech too. And so once you understand how software is built, picking up a career in other fields on this list like AI engineering, data science, or cybersecurity becomes a lot more natural. It's like learning to drive before deciding which roads you want to go down.

How to get started

Check out our complete guide to becoming a Software Engineer for a full breakdown of what to learn and in what order or check out the career path here.

#2. Software Developer

• Average salary: $115,887

• Current # of job postings in the US: 42,923

• Want to get learn the skills and get hired in this role? Click the link here

You'll also see this role listed as Web Developer, Full Stack Developer, Frontend Developer, or Backend Developer. Frontend means you're building what users see and click on. Backend is the servers and databases making everything work behind the scenes. Full stack means you can do both.

Even more important though?

With over 42,000 open jobs, this is the second biggest role on the list, and one we recommend as the fastest and easiest entry point into tech, thanks to almost every company that exists having a website or web app that needs building and maintaining.

It's not the only reason we recommend it though for beginners. it's because the tools are easy to learn and it also gives you the most options. Instead of narrowing yourself down before you've even landed your first job, you finish with skills that qualify you for frontend, backend, full stack, and general software developer roles all at once.

That's a much bigger pool of jobs to go after!

Now you might be wondering, (cue Seinfeld voice): "What's the difference between a Software Developer and a Software Engineer?"

Honestly, not a lot, and companies use the titles interchangeably all the time. If there is a difference, Developer roles tend to be a little more accessible at entry level, with less emphasis on the deeper computer science theory that some of the bigger tech companies look for in engineers.

How to get started

Our complete guide to becoming a Web Developer covers exactly what the role involves and how to get hired or jump right into our career path and start learning.

#3. Data Analyst

• Average salary: $127,635

• Current # of job postings in the US: 16,605

• Want to get learn the skills and get hired in this role? Click the link here

With over 16,000 open positions, Data Analyst is the third biggest role on this list and one of the most accessible ways into the world of data.

So what does a Data Analyst actually do?

Well, in simple terms, they collect data, make sure it's accurate, and turn it into something useful. Charts, reports, dashboards, that kind of thing. The goal is to help companies make better decisions based on what the numbers are actually telling them.

And every industry needs this. Healthcare, finance, retail, marketing, logistics. If a company has customers and revenue, they have data that someone needs to make sense of. That's why this role shows up everywhere, not just in tech.

It's also worth knowing that Data Analyst is typically the starting point for a much bigger data career. Once you're in, moving into Data Engineering, Data Science, or Business Intelligence becomes a natural next step, and all three of those roles pay significantly more. Think of it as a doorway rather than a destination.

The one thing to be aware of is that AI tools are starting to handle the more repetitive parts of this job, like pulling standard reports or building basic dashboards.

That being said, those tools are still not perfect, and need analysts to often make sure the information is correct:

That's not to say you shouldn't also learn to use AI in this role, but also make sure you have the fundamentals to work from so that you can use this properly. (Same as any role).

How to get started

Check out our complete guide to becoming a Data Analyst for a full breakdown of what the role involves and how to get hired without a degree, or jump straight into the career path here.

#4. Data Engineer

• Average salary: $178,769

• Current # of job postings in the US: 8,455

• Want to get learn the skills and get hired in this role? Click the link here

Every company in the world is collecting data. Sales, customers, usage, finances, etc, but here's the thing... raw data on its own is basically useless. And so before it can power AI models, business decisions, or product features, someone has to build the systems that collect it, clean it, and get it where it needs to go.

That's what a Data Engineer does. And right now, there aren't nearly enough of them to meet the demand.

If Data Analyst is the person who reads the data and tells you what it means, Data Engineer is the person who builds the roads that the data travels on. It's a more technical role, which is why the salary is higher, and why it often comes after getting some experience as a Data Analyst first. That said, it's absolutely learnable from scratch with the right path which I'll share in a second.

It's also one of those roles where demand just keeps growing.

Why?

Well every time a company invests in AI, machine learning, or better business intelligence, they need more data infrastructure to support it. Data Engineers build that infrastructure. So in a way, the growth of every other role on this list drives demand for this one too.

Handy right?

How to get started

Our complete guide to becoming a Data Engineer covers the skills you need and the fastest path to getting hired, or jump into the roadmap here.

#5. AI Engineer

• Average salary: $195,425

• Current # of job postings in the US: 7,784

• Want to get learn the skills and get hired in this role? Click the link here

Every app you use, every recommendation you get, every time a system just seems to know what you need? Well there's an AI Engineer behind it.

So what do they actually do?

In simple terms, AI Engineers take existing AI models and build them into real products and applications. Think chatbots that feel human, recommendation engines, smart automation tools, AI features inside apps. They're the people who take the technology and make it useful in the real world.

It's worth knowing this is still a fairly new role, and companies are still figuring out exactly what it looks like, what to call it, and what skills they need. That's actually part of what makes it exciting as you're getting in early on something that's only going to grow but it's also why the salary isn't as high as some other AI type fields just yet.

You'll also notice that the career path we link to here is for AI and Machine Learning Engineer combined.

So why is this?

That's because the skills overlap so heavily that you essentially learn both at the same time. So by the time you're job ready, you're actually qualified for two of the most in demand roles in tech right now. (More on that in a second).

How to get started

Our complete guide to becoming an AI Engineer breaks down exactly what skills you need and how to get hired without a degree, or jump straight into the roadmap here.

#6. Data Scientist

• Average salary: $174,812

• Current # of job postings in the US: 5,955

• Want to get learn the skills and get hired in this role? Click the link here

Nearly 6,000 open positions and growing, Data Scientist is one of the stronger trends we're seeing right now.

So what do they actually do? If a Data Analyst tells you what happened last quarter, a Data Scientist tells you what's likely to happen next quarter and why. They use statistics, machine learning, and data modelling to find patterns and help companies get ahead of problems rather than react to them.

It's a step up from Data Analyst in terms of technical depth, which is why the salary reflects that. Most people come to it after getting some experience with data first, but it's absolutely learnable from scratch with the right path.

How to get started

Check out our roadmap here so you can learn all the skills and pick this up from scratch.

#7. Machine Learning Engineer

• Average salary: $195,425

• Current # of job postings in the US: 4,503

• Want to get learn the skills and get hired in this role? Click the link here

Remember when I said the AI Engineer career path trains you for two roles, because of the overlap of skills and tools? Well, this is the second one and demand for it is consistently rising.

But what's the difference between them if they are so similar?

Honestly it all comes down to how it's applied:

• With AI Engineering, you're mostly working with models that already exist and plugging them into products, building applications on top of them, making them work at scale.

• While Machine Learning Engineers go a level deeper. They're the ones actually building and training the models themselves, working with the algorithms, the data pipelines, the maths behind how machines learn from information.

Think of it like cooking. An AI Engineer takes a recipe and makes the dish, but a Machine Learning Engineer writes the recipe from scratch so that all of this can work. Hence the higher salary.

And the good news?

The more companies build with AI, the more demand there is for the people who know how to actually train and improve the models underneath. (It's also why we've seen 3 months of growth in open roles in our tech jobs newsletter).

How to get started

Our complete guide to becoming a Machine Learning Engineer covers everything you need to know, or jump straight into the roadmap here.

#8. DevOps Engineer

• Average salary: $141,226

• Current # of job postings in the US: 3,412

• Want to get learn the skills and get hired in this role? Click the link here

If you're someone who likes systems, enjoys making things run smoothly, and gets satisfaction from fixing the thing that was slowing everyone else down, this might be the role for you.

So let me explain: At its core, a DevOps Engineer is the person who makes sure software gets built, tested, and shipped reliably and efficiently. They sit between the development team and the infrastructure that runs everything, keeping the whole machine humming.

Think of them as the people who build and maintain the conveyor belt that everything else runs on. Without them, even the best code sits stuck in a pipeline going nowhere.

It's also worth knowing that DevOps is the natural entry point into a much broader world of cloud engineering, infrastructure, and platform roles. Once you have DevOps skills, moving into Cloud Engineering or Site Reliability Engineering becomes a very natural next step, and those roles pay even more. So again, think of this as a doorway rather than a ceiling.

Also?

Every AI product being built right now needs infrastructure behind it such as pipelines, automation, cloud architecture, deployment systems, and DevOps Engineers build all of that. So as AI investment grows, so does demand for this role.

How to get started

Our complete guide to becoming a DevOps Engineer covers what the role involves and exactly how to get hired, or jump straight into the roadmap here.

#9. Cyber Security Analyst

• Average salary: $107,105

• Current # of job postings in the US: 2,628

• Want to get learn the skills and get hired in this role? Click the link here

With only 2,628 open positions, this role might seem fairly low demand, but here's the thing -the Cybersecurity Analyst role is just the entry point into one of the biggest fields in tech, and once you're in, the number of directions you can go explodes.

Penetration tester, ethical hacker, security engineer, cloud security specialist, incident responder. These are all natural next steps, and the total number of open roles across the broader cybersecurity field is enormous. We track Analyst specifically because it's where most people start and it's the title we can verify numbers on.

So what does a Cybersecurity Analyst actually do?

In simple terms, they monitor systems and networks for threats, investigate anything suspicious, and help companies stay protected before something goes wrong. Think of them as the people watching the security cameras and responding when something looks off.

The really cool thing about this role is just how future proof and secure it is, because the attacks keep coming no matter what the economy does. In fact, as the economy suffers, threats usually increase meaning more demand for people in these roles.

Not only that, but it's fairly fun to do this role because you can basically work from either side of the table. You can defend or be paid to hack things. Companies pay you to find vulnerabilities in their systems before the bad guys do, can pay out thousands per finding!

How to get started

Our complete guide to becoming a Cybersecurity Analyst covers what you need to learn and how to get hired, or jump straight into the roadmap here.

Which role will you choose?

Honestly, these are all good options:

• If you want the most opportunities then Software Engineer

• If you want to get hired fast then Web Dev/Software Dev is the best option

• If you want to be future proof, then anything around AI or cybersecurity would be great

Like I say though, all of these are in high demand and worth looking into. All you need to do is pick a path and go for it!

And If you’re not sure which one is best for you, then why not take our tech career quiz?

It’ll ask you a few questions and then not only suggest the best role but also give you a step-by-step guide to making it happen.

P.S.

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