Fast-growing occupations (think mathematician and home health aide) offer lots of job possibilities now and job security in the years to come, making them attractive to job seekers.
A fast-growing salary is also an attractive trait when looking for a job.
GOBankingRates used data from career info and recruiting site Glassdoor to determine the top 10 occupations where employees can expect fast-paced salary increases.
Customer service manager
Four-year pay increase: 18.3%
Annual average salary: $89,326
Pharmacy technician
Four-year pay increase: 16.9%
Annual average salary: $33,060
Operations analyst
Four-year pay increase: 13.6%
Annual average salary: $73,080
Recruiter
Four-year pay increase: 12.4%
Annual average salary: $64,317
Sales manager
Four-year pay increase: 12.1%
Annual average salary: $137,650
Sales representative
Four-year pay increase: 12%
Annual average salary: $69,680
Software engineer
Four-year pay increase: 12%
Annual average salary: $86,240
Emergency medical technician
Four-year pay increase: 11.7%
Annual average salary: $36,700
Certified nursing assistant
Four-year pay increase: 11.1%
Annual average salary: $28,540
Financial advisor
Four-year pay increase: 10.9%
Annual average salary: $124,140
Arm yourself with these numbers if you're interested in a job that pays more, or just negotiating pay if your salary has stalled but you're happy at your current position, GOBankingRates recommended.
On the road to good raises
They didn't make the cut for GOBankingRates' list, but drivers are experiencing a phase of quick raises. As recently as 2018, artificial intelligence experts like Digital Trends chose that occupation as one of the most likely to be replaced by automation or artificial intelligence.
Instead, "truck driver pay rose on average close to 10 percent last year from 2017, with 20 percent of motor carriers that increased pay doing so more than once, an 'unusual' number," said JOC.com, using National Transportation Institute figures.
Walmart added 1,400 drivers in 2018 but was seeking hundreds more for 2019. That led to the box store giant raising its trucker compensation to an average $87,500 to overcome a trucking employee shortage, according to CNBC.
Driver pay moves have been "so aggressive" only two other times, from 1997-1999 and 2004-2006, NTI principal and founder Gordon Klemp told JOC, which added, "in 2018, the kind of pay hike that once took three years occurred in 12 months."
And while 2019 industry experts don't expect over-the-road drivers to experience these fast raises long term, they don't anticipate the AI takeover any time soon, either.
"Legitimate worries do surround the prospect of self-driving trucks, which, some analysts claim, could be a reality within a decade," noted TheStreet. "However, most of the companies testing the possibility of a self-driving truck also claim they fully intend to keep drivers stationed in each of the trucks at all times to insure nothing goes wrong. Considering the newness of the technology and all the possibilities for it to go wrong, this claim seems highly-plausible, at the very least for its early stages."
