Indeed Releases The Top 20 Best Jobs in Canada for Job Seekers Looking for a Fresh Start
January is a time of reflection, resolutions, and fresh starts, and for many people, jobs are usually high up on the list of things that need to change in the new year. The good news is that there is a wealth of opportunity out available, and there is more data than ever on what makes a job good – or great. The quality of a job depends heavily on factors that matter to job seekers, and those factors have been impacted by transformation of the labour market these past few years.
The Canadian job market was in solid shape at the end of 2022 and job postings remain plentiful into 2023. While on the surface this may seem like great news, it’s important to consider that not all of these available jobs are necessarily desirable. The overall increase in job postings can be attributed to an increase in jobs in low and mid-wage sectors, while high-wage, white-collar postings – such as in the tech and finance sectors – have declined (although they remain above pre-pandemic levels).
It may seem like the effects of the pandemic are mostly behind us, but there’s no doubt it has left a lasting impact on our priorities and mindsets. According to Indeed and Glassdoor’s 2023 Hiring and Workplace Trends Report, job seekers in 2023 are placing greater emphasis on health and wellbeing and company culture than their 2020 cohorts. It’s a job seeker’s market out there, giving them the negotiating power. This means employers need to be upfront about their offerings when posting a job, as potential employees are no longer willing to settle.
To help Canadians find these top-tier opportunities, Indeed delved into its database to craft the Top 20 Best Jobs in Canada in 2023, based on the factors that matter most to job seekers in 2023: opportunity, salary and flexibility. For the first time, this year’s list ranks jobs that are good for remote or hybrid work, offering the flexibility that Canadians have come to expect post-pandemic.
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Learn moreHere are the 20 best jobs in Canada, according to Indeed:
Data engineers are responsible for collecting, managing, and converting raw data into information that can be interpreted by data scientists and business analysts.
$102,500 median annual salary | 39% remote/hybrid | 871 jobs/1M
Data Analysts collect, clean and interpret data to identify key insights into a business's customers and ways the data can be used to answer a question or solve a problem. They also communicate this information to company leadership and other stakeholders.
$65,258 median annual salary | 31% remote/hybrid | 771 jobs/1M
Business Systems Analysts are responsible for overseeing the analysis and development of a company's business operations. They are highly-analytical specialists and have both business and technical expertise.
$77,870 median annual salary | 25% remote/hybrid | 672 jobs/1M
Risk managers work closely with operations managers to forecast any threats to operations. Responsibilities include handling all risks that can threaten a company's security, reputation, finances, or business operations.
$89,615 median annual salary | 17% remote/hybrid | 442 jobs/1M
A technical lead is a professional who oversees a team of technical personnel at a technology company. They often lead software development or software engineering teams and troubleshoot technical issues that involve software development, engineering tasks and product releases.
$99,951 median annual salary | 40% remote/hybrid | 421 jobs/1M
A dietician is responsible for coaching you through diet and lifestyle changes to improve overall health and wellbeing. They are trained professionals who alter an individual's diet based on medical conditions, blood makeup etc.
$71,130 median annual salary | 13% remote/hybrid | 379 jobs/1M
An android developer designs software and applications for Android devices and the Google Play Store. This software developer creates apps used on Android phones and tablets. They often work for large organizations or directly for an app development company.
$100,000 mean annual salary | 47% remote/hybrid | 354 jobs/per 1M
A delivery manager, also known as an information technology (IT) service manager, is a professional who helps coordinate a project team to develop and deliver a product. These professionals typically gain employment in the technology industry, developing computer software.
$105,000 median annual salary | 30% remote/hybrid | 299 jobs/per 1M
Directors of People & Culture are responsible for employee development, payroll and benefits administration, labour laws regulation, and recruiting processes while conducting miscellaneous administrative tasks and ensuring employee wellness.
$75,000 median annual salary | 32% remote/hybrid | 283 jobs/per 1M
An R&D engineer performs research and development duties for their company. They use research theories, principles and models to perform a variety of experiments and activities.
$65,000 median annual salary | 18% remote/hybrid | 247 jobs/per 1M
A principal software engineer is a management and technical professional who develops and tests software to help achieve company goals. Principal software engineers work to develop teams while overseeing the technical aspects of computer software projects
$155,000 median annual salary | 47% remote/hybrid | 211 jobs/per 1M
A Python developer can work as a web developer, data analyst or software engineer. Python developers assist organizations with their technological framework. They supervise the information flow between the servers and the users.
$101,497 median annual salary | 38% remote/hybrid | 207 jobs/per 1M
Engineering managers generally plan, direct and supervise team members in engineering or tech companies. They are core members who create products or services, set project timelines and complete administrative tasks like budgeting
$107,500 median annual salary | 55% remote/hybrid | 195 jobs/per 1M
Environmental, Health, and Safety specialists are responsible for planning, implementing, and enforcing an organization's Environmental, Health, and Safety (EHS) policies and procedures. Their primary objective is to create a workplace that is safe and healthy for people and the planet.
$75,000 median annual salary | 17% remote/hybrid | 194 jobs/per 1M
Platform engineers write codes that bridge the gaps between software and hardware. They are a vital part of software and hardware industries and run diagnostic tests that verify the correct hardware design.
$110,000 median annual salary | 51% remote/hybrid | 180 jobs/per 1M
IT managers are information technology professionals who plan, direct and oversee activities dealing with a company’s computer and information systems.
$82,956 median annual salary | 35% remote/hybrid | 165 jobs/per 1M
Safety Managers are responsible for ensuring compliance with regulatory bodies and standards, conducting audits and reviews of existing health and safety policies, advising employees on safety procedures, conducting training sessions, and addressing incidents and injuries.
$80,500 median annual salary | 11% remote/hybrid | 161 jobs/per 1M
Infrastructure engineers use their computer science expertise to build, maintain, and coordinate digital networks and systems that support network communities.
$114,323 median annual salary | 51% remote/hybrid | 132 jobs/per 1M
Child Protection Practitioners offer practical help and support to families involved with Child Protection Services.
$74,941 median annual salary | 11% remote/hybrid | 86 jobs/per 1M
Infrastructure specialists assess, configure, and maintain technological infrastructure systems to ensure they meet an organization's business needs. They evaluate existing systems and determine ways to better align those systems to support business operations for increased efficiency.
$72,500 median annual salary | 39% remote/hybrid | 77 jobs/per 1M
Every company is a tech company
With the rise of remote work, as more businesses move their operations online and every industry takes on new forms of digital transformation, workers with specialized technical skills are needed everywhere – not just in the tech industry.
Despite the slump in the latter half of 2022 amid mass layoffs following the boom earlier in the year, tech jobs remain above pre-pandemic levels: as of December 2022, tech postings were still 30% above where they were in February 2020.
Most of the list features tech roles, which shows the high demand for technical skills both in and outside of the tech industry. That’s great news for tech workers, but is also a big sign of where opportunities exist for those starting or switching careers. In fact, 13 of the top 20 jobs are in the tech sector, thanks to relatively high job availability, higher salaries and more flexibility, making tech an attractive avenue for job seekers.
Data in particular appears to have a wealth of opportunity. While many companies are awash with data these days, converting the information into something useful requires a unique skill set that's in high demand this year, as evident in the list across multiple titles, such as Data Engineer (#1), Data Analyst (#2), and Python Developers (#12). While salaries for these skew more towards middle-of-the-pack, they offer lots of opportunity for flexible work settings.
People-focused jobs are still in demand
This year’s list also sees health, wellbeing and workplace culture jobs among the top, meaning that if the tech sector is not what the job seeker wants, they don't need to worry. There are opportunities to find the best job in a variety of industries.
For instance, we saw Dietician (#6), Director of people and culture (#9) and Child protection practitioner (#19) on this year’s list for the first time, pointing to society’s ever-growing prioritization on health & wellbeing. We also saw roles like Safety manager (#17) and Environmental, health & safety specialist (#14) on the list for the first time... an encouraging sign of businesses prioritizing workplace culture and safety to retain top talent.
In fact, the top overall industries represented on the list are tech, HR and wellness, showing that while tech might be in the highest demand, more traditional, people-focused jobs are not going away anytime soon.
Salary isn’t everything: companies must prioritize health, wellbeing and workplace culture
Looking at the list, you’ll see that the highest-paying job doesn’t appear on the list until #11. The pandemic and its subsequent workplace trends like “quiet quitting” have reigned in a new era that prioritizes mental health and workplace culture.
According to Indeed’s Work Wellbeing 2022 Insights Report, 77% of people report that it’s important to see information around employee wellbeing when considering working at a company, and 49% believe that employee wellbeing equals business success. Despite this, only 39% of people report that their company is measuring happiness and wellbeing.
The fact that we see jobs like Director of People and Culture high up on the list (#9) is an indication that the tides may be turning as employers come to realize that lacking workplace culture and mental health support can be deal breakers for potential hires.
Landing that Career Change
For job seekers considering a change in their career, enhancing their skill set and searching for new opportunities is a good start. The current labour shortage means there’s a gap in hard skills, forcing employers to broaden their searches and place greater emphasis on soft skills, such as communication, teamwork, and ability to handle pressure. These are skills most job seekers already have from their previous work experience, and should be highlighted in their resume.
But first, job seekers should take the time to evaluate what matters most for them in their career – whether it’s salary, benefits, work-life balance, or all three. Indeed's list of "best jobs" can help job seekers on their career discovery journey as it identifies jobs that align with their priorities and those with the highest availability year over year - a clear indicator of where the most opportunities lie in Canada
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