Glassdoor Picks the 25 Top Jobs for 2015

Top positions selected for salary, hiring outlook

AOL Jobs Staff

Looking for a new job this year? Unsure where to start? Take a pinch of inspiration from this new list from Glassdoor, released Tuesday, which uses salary data, hiring outlook, and number of job openings to determine the 25 best jobs of 2015. Click through below to see the year's top career prospects, all of which ranked highly in those three categories--and if you're feeling productive, why not go ahead and apply?

1. Physician Assistant

Glassdoor Job Score: 4.8

Number of Job Openings: 45,484
Average Base Salary: $111,376
Career Opportunities Rating: 3.5
> Find a job as a physician assistant

2. Software Engineer

Glassdoor Job Score: 4.6

Number of Job Openings: 104,828
Average Base Salary: $98,074
Career Opportunities Rating: 3.3
> Find a job as a software engineer

3. Business Development Manager

Glassdoor Job Score: 4.6

Number of Job Openings: 11,616
Average Base Salary: $94,907
Career Opportunities Rating: 3.5
> Find a job as a business development manager


Read more at Glassdoor Picks the 25 Top Jobs for 2015

The Best Careers For Your Personality Type

Get those Myers-Briggs questionnaires ready

Business Insider

People who fall into the 'empath' personality type make ideal candidates for teaching careers.

By Jacquelyn Smith

Ever wonder why you've always been drawn to the idea of becoming a veterinarian or microbiologist? Or why you're convinced you'd be happy as a landscape architect or teacher?

Your personality type has a lot to do with why you fancy some jobs over others. And that's why understanding your personality type could be a key factor in finding the career that makes you happy.

To help, Truity Psychometrics, a provider of online personality and career assessments, and the developer of the TypeFinder personality type assessment, put together an infographic with the details of the four dimensions of personality type, as well as suggestions for ideal jobs for each:

Companies Hiring in January

Apply now for a great job in 2015

CareerBuilder

By Debra Auerbach, CareerBuilder writer

At the start of each year, there is always a lot of talk about making resolutions. While some people are on board with this notion, many others refuse to make them since they're always so hard to keep. But if you're determined to get a new job in 2015, that's one resolution we can help you see through.

Here are 20 companies hiring throughout January. If any of the jobs are a fit, go ahead and apply, and maybe you'll become a believer in New Year's resolutions after all.

1. A&R Logistics
Industry: Transportation
Sample job titles: Over the road truck driver
Location: Morris, Ill.; Columbus, Ohio; Highlands, Texas

2. Alliance Data Retail
Industry: Financial
Sample job titles: Collection representative, customer service representative, financial analyst, coordinator
Location: Coeur D'Alene, Idaho; Columbus, Ohio; Westminster, Colo.; Rio Rancho, N.M.; Lenexa, Kan.

3. Amadeus IT Group
Industry: Information technology and services
Sample job titles: Global account manager, big data engineer, software engineer – C ++, software engineer – Java, QA engineer
Location: Boston, Miami, Dallas

4. Diamond Resorts International
Industry: Hospitality
Sample job titles: Vice president of sales, director of sales, call center agent, vacation counselor, call center supervisor, telesales professional, marketing concierge, learning and development manager, regional reporting analyst
Location: Nevada, California, Arizona, Hawaii, Florida, Missouri, Virginia

5. DTZ
Industry: Facility management, commercial real estate
Sample job titles: Facility manager, finance manager, vice president of business development, energy manager, HVAC technician
Location: Chicago, Dallas, Atlanta, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Boston, New York City

6. Exelon Corporation
Industry: Energy
Sample job titles: Engineer, first line supervisor, analyst IT, financial analyst, senior analyst power pricing, business analyst, operations training instructor
Location: Illinois, Pennsylvania, Maryland, New Jersey, Texas, New York

7. F+W Media
Industry: Media, e-commerce
Sample job titles: Web developer, digital marketing manager, magazine editor
Location: Nationwide

8. Iasis Healthcare
Industry: Health care
Sample job titles: Registered nurse, certified nursing assistant, medical assistant
Location: Arizona, Utah, Texas, Louisiana, Arizona, Colorado

9. Liberty Tax Service
Industry: Accounting
Sample job titles: Tax preparer, guerilla marketer, insurance sales agent, waver – entry level street advertising performer
Location: Nationwide

10. National Federation of Independent Business
Industry: Nonprofit business association
Sample job titles: Outside sales representative – business development, B2B sales, telephone sales representative
Location: Nationwide

11. National HealthCare Associates
Industry: Health care
Sample job titles: Registered nurse, licensed practical nurse, CNA, RN unit manager, dietary aide, nursing home administrator, regional Medicare specialist
Location: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Vermont

12. Navistar
Industry: Automotive/motor vehicles/parts
Sample job titles: Engineering, management, IT, accounting sales, finance, manufacturing, skilled labor and trades, customer service
Location: Illinois, Oklahoma, Ohio, Georgia, Wisconsin, Alabama

13. PPG Industries
Industry: Paint coatings/manufacturing
Sample job titles: QC manager, business development manager, manufacturing engineer
Location: Pennsylvania, Minnesota, Ohio

14. Quest Diagnostics
Industry: Health care
Sample job titles: Representative - phlebotomy services, representative - route service III, technician - specimen, assistant - lab II, lab technician
Location: Nationwide

15. Schneider
Industry: Transportation
Sample job titles: Owner operator, dedicated truck driver, team driver, truck driver, regional intermodal, OTR truck driver
Location: Wisconsin, Illinois, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Indiana, Texas, Louisiana, Tennessee, Kentucky

16. Shake Shack
Industry: Food service
Sample job titles: Team member, restaurant manager, real estate manager
Location: Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Georgia

17. TMK - IPSCO
Industry: Manufacturing
Sample job titles: R&D test engineer, supply chain systems planner, production supervisor, project engineer, maintenance systems engineer, industrial electrician, cost accountant, process engineer, maintenance tech
Location: Arkansas, Iowa, Kentucky, Nebraska, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Texas

18. ULINE
Industry: Shipping and packaging
Sample job titles: Customer service, distribution manager, director of talent acquisition, inside sales, IT, marketing, recruiter, supply chain, warehouse
Location: Nationwide

19. U.S. Venture Inc.
Industry: Wholesale distribution
Sample job titles: Business development manager, material handler, driver, accounting manager, collection specialist, intern, business consultant, journeyman electrician, paralegal, risk analyst
Location: Wisconsin, Texas, New York, Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, Missouri, Kansas

20. Z Wireless
Industry: Verizon Wireless retailer
Sample job titles: Wireless sales consultant, wireless assistant store manager, wireless store manager, wireless district manager
Location: Nationwide      

Hiring trends to expect in 2015

CareerBuilder's annual forecast shows job seekers what to expect in 2015.

Matt Tarpey, CareerBuilder writer
The ball has dropped, the champagne has gone flat, and we’ve all forgotten the lyrics to Auld Lang Syne. The New Year is still young, but it’s already off to an encouraging start. According to CareerBuilder’s annual job forecast, 36 percent of employers expect to add full-time, permanent employees in 2015, up from 24 percent last year and the best outlook from the survey since 2006.
“The U.S. job market is turning a corner as caution gives way to confidence,” says
Matt Ferguson, CEO of CareerBuilder and co-author of“The Talent Equation.” “Hiring in 2014 was broad-based, including encouraging activity among small businesses and hard-hit sectors like manufacturing and construction. The amount of companies planning to hire in 2015 is up 12 percentage points over last year, setting the stage for a more competitive environment for recruiters that may lend itself to some movement in wages.”

Industries in the lead
The overall job market is looking up, and the outlook for several industries is even brighter. Information technology (54 percent), financial services (42 percent), manufacturing (41 percent) and health care (38 percent) are all expected to add permanent jobs at a faster rate than the national average this year.

Where’s the growth?
National job growth is great, but what kind of jobs can we expect? According to the survey, occupations in STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) fields will continue to be a safe bet, with 31 percent of hiring managers planning to create jobs in these areas over the next 12 months.
In terms of specific functions within organizations, the top five areas where employers are planning on adding full-time, permanent staff include:
1)Sales – 36 percent
2)Customer service – 33 percent
3)Information technology – 26 percent
4)Production – 26 percent
5)Administrative – 22 percent
Additionally, some new and emerging fields are expected to see strong job growth in the coming year, including:

• Cloud, mobile or search technology
• Cybersecurity
• Managing and interpreting Big Data
• Alternative energy sources
• Anti-terrorism
• Robotics

Increasing wages
With new legislation and a place in the public spotlight, minimum wage workers may be looking at pay increases in the near future. Nearly half (45 percent) of employers expect to raise the minimum wage within their organizations in 2015; 53 percent of whom will raise it by $2 or more per hour while 32 percent will raise it by $3 or more. Forty-seven percent will limit the increase to $1 or less.

Sixty-nine percent of employers say they’ll pay $10 or more per hour, while 39 percent will pay $12 or more and 18 percent will pay $15 or more.
Minimum wage workers aren’t the only ones who may start seeing bigger paychecks in 2015. Eighty-two percent of employers plan to increase compensation for existing employees – up from 73 percent last year – while 64 percent will offer higher starting salaries for new employees – up from 49 percent last year.

Education requirements growing too
Many employers are adjusting the education requirements for open positions to match the increasing complexity of these roles. More than a quarter of companies say they’re now hiring candidates with master’s degrees for positions that had been primarily held by workers with four-year degrees in past years. Similarly, 37 percent are now hiring workers with college degrees for positions that had been primarily held by workers with high school diplomas. The majority (65 percent) of these employers attributed this shift to the skills required for evolving positions within their organizations.


Part-time and temporary jobs on the rise
Twenty-three percent of employers expect to recruit part-time workers over the next 12 months, up six percentage points over last year. While various factors will influence this trend, 14 percent of all employers say they’ll likely hire more part-time workers in 2015 due to the Affordable Care Act.

Temporary employment is also expected to pick up in 2015, with 46 percent of employers planning to hire temporary or contract workers this year, up from 42 percent last year. Of these employers, 56 percent plan to transition some temporary or contract workers into full-time, permanent roles.