
Since the CareerCast.com Jobs Rated Report first began tracking the growth of mathematic and data analysis jobs in the mid-2010s, we have repeated the exciting possibilities in this discipline. Little did we know five years ago or so just how fast the space could evolve.
The exponential proliferation of blockchain technology has created a booming new sector within the larger blanket profession of data analysis. You have perhaps heard or read about blockchain technology, or even used it for your own cryptocurrency investments. No matter your level of understanding, a simple explanation of how it impacts the Best Jobs of 2021 is it's reflective of the rapidly changing and growing job market for mathematic professionals.
Less than a decade ago, Data Science programs at college and universities were still something of a novelty. The discipline has become in-demand enough that U.S. News & World Report dedicates an entire ranking to the best Data Science/Analytics programs in the country.
Meanwhile, within certain Data Science schools are opportunities to specialize in certain emphases — like blockchain technology, which the University of California at Berkeley has tapped into.
Data Scientist, our No. 1-rated profession in the Best Jobs of 2021, has promising opportunities in blockchain technology because the commodity is literally data. But it isn't just the growth of these decentralized, global currencies that deal in data to keep the world moving. Hardly.
The COVID-19 pandemic served to accelerate the shift of consumers from physical stores to web-and-app-based options. With millions of customers using these products, Statisticians, Mathematicians and Data Scientists with the know-how to interpret the trends of shoppers are in ever-growing demand.
Likewise, Information Security Analysts who can protect consumers in this new frontier are of utmost value. Customer trust is paramount to a company's success, those employers who deal in online trade are increasingly willing to invest in protecting the private data of users.
With Data Scientists and Mathematicians analyzing data and Information Security Analysts there to protect, the combination of these and other factors become the focus of Operations Research Analysts whose focus is on implementing best practices. And then there are Software Engineers, the architects of the digital marketplace.
All these careers are intertwined in their own, but not exclusively. Our increasing reliance on technology in day-to-day life means healthcare providers, educators, and basically any other industry in the United States today works digitally.
That translates to virtually limitless opportunities for many of the Best Jobs of 2021.