Most in demand skills for 2026 best career advice for student

By careerpulsehub 📅 September 20, 2026 💬 Comments

Best Tech Jobs to Get Into in 2026

I have just spent hours of my life researching this topic for you. Which are the best tech jobs you should look to get into in 2026? And this is not a vibes-based article, so I've done a lot of research and looked at what what is the data saying on which jobs are growing and which jobs are declining in tech and I put it all into one list that you can watch in a article.

Because this is a big decision. So maybe you work in tech already and you're looking to pivot into something. Maybe you're computer science student and you're looking at which which careers to choose.

I'm going to go through each one. I'm going to go through like AI-proof ones, the best paid ones, the most stable, which are growing.

What Are the Best Tech Jobs to Get Into in 2026?

So by the end of this article, I guarantee you you will have a clearer idea of which tech job or which tech career you want to choose. Because I remember when I started, I just found it so overwhelming all the different options in tech and now with AI, it's even like worse.

It's a big decision as well, but what if I choose something that's going to be automated in a few years? Which are going to be growing? Which are going to be paid well? Which like suit my personality and what I want to do with my career?

So we're going to go through all this and by the end of this article, you should have a way better idea of which area of tech is for you.

How AI Is Changing Tech Careers in 2026

And at the end of the article, I'm going to share the two best ways that you will earn the most amount of money possible in your tech career. There's two ways, so stick around for that.

Get a coffee. Let's get stuck into it.

If you're new here, my name is Andrew. I'm a software engineer and digital nomad. I got into tech in my 30s and now travel the world as a digital nomad, coding apps, making content, and yeah, sharing the journey with you guys, what I've learned and what I'm building.

Why Tech Jobs Are Changing With AI

And one thing to be aware of is that roles in tech evolve and the people who are like the smartest and the cleverest, they adapt with it.

A great example is network and system engineers. So this area was kind of being commoditized and the ones who saw that you could actually shift into cloud computing, you could basically ride the wave of what was replacing them.

And these people made a load of money basically by adapting, seeing opportunity, and jumping on it.

So, roles in tech will evolve. The ones who earn the most, and they basically squeeze the most out of their career, are the ones who adapt and evolve with these changes.

Which Tech Industries Pay the Most?

And also, a quick point on money.

So, if your big driver is to earn as much money as possible, the key focus should be the industry you work in rather than the actual job.

For example, you can work in cloud, and you could work for a charity or a non-for-profit, or like in the retail sector.

If you instead focus on the industry, like, for example, a big tech company, an AI lab, or anything in AI, fintech, so working for a massive bank, you're just going to earn so much more.

No matter what job you do in the non-for-profit or the charity sector, you will earn way way more in those sectors.

So, you want to look at fintech, AI, or big tech.

1. AI and Machine Learning Engineer

Okay, job number one is AI machine learning engineer.

If you are not sure about what you want to do, and if you like math and programming, please, just choose this.

This, without doubt, has the highest ceiling, the highest barrier to entry, but also like the biggest ceiling in terms of like opportunity and earning potential in tech, bar none.

You will have an incredible career, but the sacrifice is quite brutal barrier to entry.

You're looking at a PhD to get the real top jobs, you're looking at PhD.

You're looking at real deep mathematical and statistic knowledge, and also the software engineering.

So, there's a lot going on here that you got to learn, but so much opportunity.

We're reaching software 2.0.

Software 1 was writing code for a program we make step by step.

Software 2.0 is feeding a model loads of data, which outputs a program.

But yeah, if you're on the fence and you like math, let me make the decision for you, choose this.

2. Software Engineering Careers in 2026

Okay, next is software engineering.

So, I'm a software engineer, I have a lot to say about this.

I still recommend it uh, a job to get into in tech. It is changing a lot, though.

Basically, this is the job which AI is really focused on. It's really zoomed in on at the moment.

I think in 2 years that handwriting code, and even system design, is just is just going to be AI-generated.

And the role of a software engineer is going to be ideation within the business.

It's going to be requirements of a product.

So, you'll speak to the business, you'll speak to stakeholders, and they'll tell you what they want, and your job is to like think about it, and then look at what feature or app you want to make.

So, it's working with LLMs and validating the output, but also product management.

And I've talked about this in my newsletter, where I see the role of the software engineer moving more to the human side.

So, yeah, when I started in 2020, it was about how do you loop over an object in JavaScript?

Now, it's going to be what is the business problem? How do I turn that into a product?

And how do I use LLMs? How can I get the best out of an LLM so it outputs code?

Why T-Shaped Developers Are Becoming More Important

It's also changing a lot in terms of the specialisms.

So, let's take, for example, front-end development.

What companies are looking for is people who are T-shaped developers.

So, they're really good at one particular part of the stack, for example, front-end, but they also want people who are good at back-end and DevOps.

So, a job which was a front-end developer a year ago is now just a developer job.

Now, I'm biased, but I think software engineering is one of the best jobs in the world.

At its worst, it can be frustrating because you don't know how things work.

At its best, you're being paid to solve problems, listen to , it's very chill.

And what you can do is learn on the job, then try and build your own apps, and become a founder.

3. AI Engineer: What Does an AI Engineer Do?

Okay, so we've talked about software engineering, we've talked about ML engineers.

Let's talk about one of the hottest jobs in tech right now.

That's an AI engineer.

And there's a bit of confusion about what they actually do.

So, a software engineer will build the systems, the apps, the infrastructure.

A machine learning engineer will build and train the models.

The AI engineer, they take the models and turn them into real AI-powered products.

So, they're basically the ones who make AI usable in production.

So, if you want to work in AI, but you don't actually like training the models, which can be dry for a lot of people, and also you don't want to go back to school, and maybe you don't like the math, but you want to see your products out there in the wild, then this is a great mix between a software engineer and an ML engineer.

The AI bubble might pop, but this job is going to grow so much, and also it's a great option if you're a developer and you want a new challenge.

4. Cybersecurity Jobs in 2026

Okay, just a little pause.

If you're enjoying this content, if you're learning anything, if you're getting value from it, I would massively appreciate it if you just like the article.

Next one is cybersecurity.

This is just In this world of AI vibe coded apps, cybersecurity is going nowhere, and it's very AI proof.

But, it's getting very difficult to get into, because I think what's happening is a lot of people who studied software engineering or computer engineering are getting freaked out by AI, and a lot of them are moving into cyber, so it's harder now than it was two or three years ago, but it's going to get even harder.

Cloud Security and Cybersecurity Career Options

The best option, which I would do, is move into cloud security.

It's just loads of opportunity there.

And there's loads of different areas of cyber, too.

There's like offensive stuff, so like ethical hacking, which is just probably the coolest part of tech outside of programming.

Also, you've got the defensive stuff.

And also, there's more corporate ones, like government and risk and compliance.

There's just loads of different parts of cyber.

It's AI proof, really great money, but as I say, it's getting harder and harder to get into.

So, if you're more interested in protecting things, cybersecurity is a great option.

5. Product Management Jobs in Tech

Okay, next one is product management, and I think this is one of the biggest winners of the AI revolution.

And product management is like an outlier in tech, because a lot of tech jobs, they focus on basically solving a technical problem.

This is more like a lot of soft skills, it's a lot of influencing, it's a lot of managing different stakeholders, working across different departments to turn a business idea into a feature or an app.

So, a lot of it will be figuring out the how and the why of building software.

So, you'll be working across loads of different teams.

Is Product Management a Good Tech Career?

The negatives of this job of product management, I think, is just quite exhausting office politics, managing relationships.

Are you the type of person who would like enjoy that?

Lots of meetings.

Your calendar is going to be full.

It doesn't pay as well also than usual engineering jobs, but if you move into AI or data, you'll be fine in terms of pay.

Some people love solving problems listening to Some people love meetings.

So, it's whichever you like.

6. Cloud Computing and Cloud Engineering

All right, the next one I recommend, which is AI proof, great option for you, is cloud computing or like cloud engineering.

This is probably like the most stable kind of like unsexy part of tech, but it's just every company needs this and it is growing all the time.

And I think it's hard to describe what kind of person would suit cloud computing.

Maybe someone who's a bit OCD.

Maybe if you don't like building or you don't like the math side, then this is a good option.

You're basically just ensuring these systems are reliable, the infrastructure's good, and you're just going to focus on a few of the cloud providers like Azure and AWS, go really deep, and just learn everything about these platforms.

Very stable job.

This is going nowhere.

How to Make the Most Money in Tech

All right, as promised at the start of the article, I talked about the best ways to earn the most amount of money in tech.

And there's two ways.

Based on 99% of the people watching this article, I assume you don't have a PhD from Stanford and you're not going to go into like these research roles for like OpenAI.

I assume that's like most of my audience.

I'm talking to like the normal people working in tech.

There are two ways to earn the most amount of money in tech.

Number one is people management, and number two is sales.

7. People Management in Tech

All right, and this is how you become a people manager.

So, you work in a field for like 3 to 5 years.

For example, cloud computing.

Get good at it, and then you just ask the company to take on more responsibility.

So, ask for like managerial tasks.

You're not asking to get paid more, you're just asking to take on more responsibility.

Then you basically just have to prove yourself that you can become a manager before you're a manager.

And if it's a good company, they'll promote you.

If it's a bad company, just leave and then do the same at the next job.

8. Tech Sales and Sales Engineering

Okay, the next one is sales.

So, if you're someone who's watching this and you're quite good at speaking, you've got good communication skills, good soft skills, and you're not quite enjoying the technical side of working in technology.

Like you don't like building stuff, you don't like coding, or like hacking, whatever.

Then I do think sales is just such a great option for you, and it is probably the best paid area in tech if you do it well.

A lot of people think sales is like cold calling or like knocking on doors, but sales there's something called sales engineering, which is a lot different.

For example, I went to IBM last year, and I met a guy there who works in sales for IBM.

He studied quantum computing.

He has such a good technical knowledge that he just goes into meetings, he meets clients, and just gives them he just talks about the products of IBM and like their technology offering.

It's a kind of job where you're not working at 100% all the time, but if you do one good presentation for 20 minutes, you could make the company million.

It's a job where if you enjoy technology, like talking about it, and you like reaching goals.

Obviously, financially you're very money motivated, I really do think sales is a great option for people.

It's a lot of it's dependent on the environment, but if you get a good environment, it's a great way to be in tech, earn a lot, and still be talking and enjoying the technology space.

How to Choose the Right Tech Career in 2026

But a key part in all this is what's hot now and what's trendy right now, and what's not saturated might be different in 5 years time when you're in the career.

So, I wouldn't focus so much on what's trendy or what's like hot right now and what has loads of vacancies.

The key thing really is what do you like?

What do you enjoy?

Like do you just Are you creative?

Do you like designing things?

Well, like UX could be a good option.

Do you like security and protecting stuff?

Does that give you satisfaction?

Cybersecurity.

Do you like infrastructure and do you like seeing how things are reliable?

You want to keep things online?

Cloud.

Do you like math and experimenting, machine learning?

Do you like building things?

You quite logical, programming.

There's loads.

What Tech Career Matches Your Personality and Skills?

So, this is a big thing in all this, like, what is the work that you will enjoy spending like 40 hours a week doing?