The 15 most popular tech jobs for Gen Z workers, and how much they pay

Generation Z—those born in the mid-90s to early 2000s—are entering the workforce, and they are no millennials, according to a Wednesday report from Comparably. This group has no memory of life without smartphones, and their no. 1 stress at work is having unclear goals, the report found.

This generation also has different opinions about the future of work than others, according to the report. Some 58% of the 2,000-plus Gen Z tech industry employees surveyed said they think the benefits of artificial intelligence (AI) will outweigh the potential risks. Another 62% said they feel comfortable giving their boss negative feedback, while 45% said they feel burnt out at work.

As the more than 61 million members of Gen Z continue to enter the workforce, they are targeting certain tech jobs more than others based on salary and work/life balance.

SEE: IT Hiring Kit: Programmer (Tech Pro Research)

Here are the 15 most popular tech jobs for people aged 18 to 25, ranked by average compensation, according to Comparably.

1. Mobile developer - $96,631
2. Data scientist - $96,115
3. Product manager - $95,266
4. Developer - $93,987
5. DevOps engineer - $87,400
6. UI/UX designer - $80,296
7. Financial analyst - $69,560
8. Business analyst - $69,367
9. System administrator - $67,464
10. Operations manager - $64,853
11. Account manager - $59,229
12. Sales rep - $53,891
13. Technical support manager - $50,306
14. Marketing associate - $50,185
15. Customer service rep - $43,924

In terms of top tech companies that Gen Zers want to work for, Google, Amazon, Microsoft, and Facebook top the list, according to another recent Comparably report. At this point, 46% of Gen Z workers are freelancers, and this number is projected to grow in the next five years, according to a report from Upwork.

Even considering these jobs and their relatively high salaries, Gen Z is quickly becoming the most mobile professional generation, according to a recent report from LinkedIn. Workers under age 24 averaged four or more jobs over the short period of time they've been in the workforce, and are 3X more likely to change jobs than Baby Boomers, who averaged just two jobs in the last 10 years, the report found.

The big takeaways for tech leaders:

• Mobile developer, data scientist, and product manager are the most popular and highest-paying tech jobs for Gen Z. — Comparably, 2018
• 58% of Gen Z tech industry employees said they think the benefits of AI will outweigh the potential risks. — Comparably, 2018

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Also see

• Interview tips: How to land your next tech job (free PDF) (TechRepublic)
• Where are the best cities for millennial entrepreneurs to start businesses? (ZDNet)
• How to become a DevOps engineer: A cheat sheet (TechRepublic)
• Millennial tech buyers need to trust brands before purchasing IT (ZDNet)
• Only 9% of millennials are interested in a cybersecurity career (TechRepublic)