Best Business Jobs
With 20 jobs, the business industry has the strongest showing of any other on our list of the Best Jobs of 2012. In the coming years, the U.S. Department of Labor foresees this sector staying close behind healthcare and social services in adding jobs, potentially generating close to 3.8 million openings. And that’s not all: Six business jobs that made this year’s list are repeats from U.S. News’ Best Careers of 2011.
The Rankings
#1 Meeting, Convention & Event Planner
Overall Score: 6.2
| Growth: | 31,300 |
| Unemployment: | 9.5% |
| Median Salary: | $45,260 |
| Satisfaction: | HIGH |
Do you fantasize about ensuring a conference hall is perfectly prepped for a politician’s town hall address? Why not consider a career in event planning? Without these strategists, the concert tours and award shows we love would never reach fruition.
#2 Sales Representative
Overall Score: 6
| Growth: | 223,400 |
| Unemployment: | 8.4% |
| Median Salary: | $52,440 |
| Satisfaction: | MEDIUM |
Energetic people who enjoy generating excitement about a new brand or product often flourish in sales careers. Sales representatives travel extensively, introducing and selling products to various customers. The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects the sales-representative profession to grow 15.6 percent by 2020.
See all Accountant Job Openings
#3 Accountant
Overall Score: 6
| Growth: | 190,700 |
| Unemployment: | 9.5% |
| Median Salary: | $61,690 |
| Satisfaction: | MEDIUM |
Were you the kid who always made straight A’s in math? You might be a natural-born accountant. The Labor Department predicts that this profession will grow by 15.7 percent in the next few years.
See all Receptionist Job Openings
#4 Receptionist
Overall Score: 6
| Growth: | 248,500 |
| Unemployment: | 9.5% |
| Median Salary: | $25,240 |
| Satisfaction: | MEDIUM |
They are the men and women who greet you at your timeshare; the ones who put you at ease when you arrive at your local dentist or doctor’s office. Wherever you encounter them, receptionists effortlessly combine a friendly demeanor with superior multitasking skills.
See all Financial Adviser Job Openings
#5 Financial Adviser
Overall Score: 5.9
| Growth: | 66,400 |
| Unemployment: | 4.9% |
| Median Salary: | $64,750 |
| Satisfaction: | MEDIUM |
Receiving sound financial advice is increasingly important in this unpredictable economy. When should you save? When should you spend? Financial advisers have the answers, and they round out our top five Best Business Jobs.
#6 Customer Service Representative
Overall Score: 5.9
| Growth: | 338,400 |
| Unemployment: | 9.3% |
| Median Salary: | $30,460 |
| Satisfaction: | MEDIUM |
Plenty of us have ordered a product that fails to live up to its advertisement. And if you’re a customer service rep, it’s up to you to resolve these types of problems daily. The best-paid reps work in the pipeline transportation of natural gas, aerospace products, and parts or railroad rolling stock manufacturing industry, and their profession is expected to grow 15.5 percent by 2020.
See all HR Specialist Job Openings
#7 HR Specialist
Overall Score: 5.9
| Growth: | 61,600 |
| Unemployment: | 9.5% |
| Median Salary: | $54,160 |
| Satisfaction: | HIGH |
HR training specialists are like train conductors, overseeing all the moving components of a machine. If one piece stops working, the entire operation fails. Today’s HR specialists hire and train new employees, ensuring their companies or organizations maintain credibility by recruiting the best of the best.
See all Insurance Agent Job Openings
#8 Insurance Agent
Overall Score: 5.9
| Growth: | 90,200 |
| Unemployment: | 9.5% |
| Median Salary: | $46,770 |
| Satisfaction: | HIGH |
Your car, home, and health all require insurance coverage, and the market for selling commercial insurance to businesses and other organizations is in full bloom. Insurance agents are often extroverts with a positive attitude and excellent communications skills.
See all Financial Analyst Job Openings
#9 Financial Analyst
Overall Score: 5.7
| Growth: | 54,200 |
| Unemployment: | 4.9% |
| Median Salary: | $74,350 |
| Satisfaction: | MEDIUM |
Financial analyst positions are expected to grow 23 percent by 2020. Financial analysts often hold bachelor degrees in finance, economics, or other related fields. They are typically ambitious workers willing to grow at investment banks, security firms, or mutual fund companies.
See all Executive Assistant Job Openings
#10 Executive Assistant
Overall Score: 5.6
| Growth: | 156,000 |
| Unemployment: | 9.5% |
| Median Salary: | $43,520 |
| Satisfaction: | MEDIUM |
Today’s executive assistants do so much more than answer phones and take messages. They might also conduct research or prepare business reports. This job should grow by 12.6 percent in the next few years.
See all Management Analyst Job Openings
#11 Management Analyst
Overall Score: 5.6
| Growth: | 157,200 |
| Unemployment: | 9.5% |
| Median Salary: | $78,160 |
| Satisfaction: | MEDIUM |
A business is only as effective as the people who keep it running. Management analysts understand this and pass their days collecting and deciphering data or recommending specific game plans to solve the problems plaguing their organizations. The position is expected to grow 21.9 percent by 2020.
See all Sales Manager Job Openings
#12 Sales Manager
Overall Score: 5.2
| Growth: | 40,100 |
| Unemployment: | 9.5% |
| Median Salary: | $98,530 |
| Satisfaction: | MEDIUM |
A great sales team can catapult a company from obscurity to center stage. For this to happen, its leaders have to be as comfortable meeting new people as they are hiring and supervising. It’s not uncommon for sales managers to be the central faces associated with their companies.
See all Compliance Officer Job Openings
#13 Compliance Officer
Overall Score: 5.5
| Growth: | 32,400 |
| Unemployment: | 9.5% |
| Median Salary: | $58,720 |
| Satisfaction: | HIGH |
Rules follow us throughout our lives, determining where we learn, work, eat, and sleep. Compliance officers administer rules daily. And some of the most successful officers exercise their penchant for ethics by reviewing government regulations like housing programs or affirmative action laws, ensuring they are properly enforced.
See all Cashier Job Openings
#14 Cashier
Overall Score: 5.5
| Growth: | 250,200 |
| Unemployment: | 9.3% |
| Median Salary: | $18,500 |
| Satisfaction: | MEDIUM |
From the smocked attendants who bag your groceries to the convenience-store clerks who scan your favorite magazines, cashiers are all around us. Quick on their feet, they often combine basic mathematical skills with a friendly disposition to keep lines moving and shopping aisles clear.
See all Marketing Manager Job Openings
#15 Marketing Manager
Overall Score: 5.3
| Growth: | 24,200 |
| Unemployment: | 9.5% |
| Median Salary: | $112,800 |
| Satisfaction: | MEDIUM |
Sending the right message about a product can take it from shelf-warmer to must-have sensation in a matter of days. That’s what effective marketers do—highlight what’s fresh and relevant about a commodity to entice consumers.
See all Logistician Job Openings
#16 Logistician
Overall Score: 5.3
| Growth: | 27,800 |
| Unemployment: | 9.5% |
| Median Salary: | $70,800 |
| Satisfaction: | MEDIUM |
Logisticians solve theoretical problems for manufacturing or retail businesses, sometimes proving indispensable to large-scale disaster-relief efforts. Their input can be life-saving. Logistician employment is expected to expand 25.5 percent by 2020.
See all Financial Manager Job Openings
#17 Financial Manager
Overall Score: 5.1
| Growth: | 46,300 |
| Unemployment: | 4.9% |
| Median Salary: | $103,910 |
| Satisfaction: | LOW |
Financial managers’ daily work reaches beyond calculators. They are sometimes out in full view at their workplaces, overseeing the progress of large teams of people and translating complicated financial concepts into decipherable layman’s terms. This profession is expected to grow at a 9 percent clip in the next decade.
#18 Administrative Assistant
Overall Score: 5.1
| Growth: | 118,500 |
| Unemployment: | 9.5% |
| Median Salary: | $30,830 |
| Satisfaction: | HIGH |
Today’s administrative assistants are expected to offer support to all echelons of their organizations. Yes, they schedule meetings and maintain paper and electronic files, but they also conduct research and assist with managerial projects.
See all Real Estate Agent Job Openings
#19 Real Estate Agent
Overall Score: 4.9
| Growth: | 45,000 |
| Unemployment: | 9.5% |
| Median Salary: | $40,030 |
| Satisfaction: | HIGH |
Many of us have fond memories of buying a new home. The person who helped us find that perfect domicile might resonate with us as well. Real estate agents analyze properties, meet new clients, and research housing markets with ease.
#20 Business Operations Manager
Overall Score: 4.8
| Growth: | 81,600 |
| Unemployment: | 9.5% |
| Median Salary: | $94,400 |
| Satisfaction: | MEDIUM |
Business operations managers work with various groups of people, making the tactical and strategic decisions necessary to achieve outcomes beneficial to all employees involved. They are tasked with formulating new policies and making sound business decisions quickly.
