Top 10 Jobs for 2014 by Salary Gain (Predictions)

Published on April 11, 2014 at 11:51 am by David Nixon in Lists

Amongst our New Year resolutions, most of us have probably written down making more money in 2014. But with the economy slowly recovering, this might just be a one resolution that some of us will be able to comply with in the year to come.

Following, we would like to present you with a list we have compiled of the top 10 jobs for 2014, according to their projected salary growth over the next 12 months. The figures used in ranking the following jobs are based on the statistics issued earlier this year by Robert Half, a $4 billion staffing firm from Menlo Park. The analysts at Robert Half interviewed over 1,000 recruiters from across the country and evaluated current trends in local markets in order to come up with these figures. The experts predict that salaries will grow, on average, by 3.7% during 2014.

The biggest salary growth will be registered by professionals working in engineering, software, programming, and developing. This is not at all surprising, considering how technology has become a must in our day to day life. On the other end of the spectrum, the lowest financial gains will be registered by those working in administrative positions. For example, legal assistants or junior paralegals can expect a salary increase of only 1.1%. For a mid-sized law firm, that would amount to a salary range of $41,750 – $54,250. Legal word processors can expect an even lower increase, of only 0.5%, which roughly amounts to somewhere in between $41,750 – $55,000. However, on the plus side, nobody should expect their salaries to decrease in 2014, which is a great indicator that the economy is finally on the right track.

Broadly speaking, Robert Half analysts divided the workforce into 5 main sectors, with the following projected increases: technology (5.6%), accounting and finance (3.4%), creative and marketing (3.3%), administrative and office support (3.3%), and legal (2.7%). All ten jobs in our countdown belong to the technology realm.

Curious to see who will make the most money in 2014? Let’s take a look at the countdown.

Note: all figures used in the making of this countdown are simple predictions and not guarantees. The salary range for the following jobs is so wide because the experts at Robert Half analyzed companies from all over the country, from big cities such as Los Angeles to smaller communities, such as Louisville.