The happiest jobs with the highest salaries

As vacancies hit new highs, job movers have the upper hand in wage negotiations. Lauren Almeida reports

With job vacancies at record highs, remote working becoming the norm at many companies and some firms even offering employees a four- day week, 2022 is shaping up to be one of the best times ever to switch careers.

Since the start of the pandemic, the jobs market has been turned on its head by lockdowns, an exodus of European workers and more recently, demands for more flexible working policies. The mismatch between supply and demand has meant workers have more power to ask for higher salaries or even switch careers entirely.

Victoria McLean, of the careers consultancy firm City CV, said jobseekers were enjoying a rare “sellers’ market”. “It’s not the ‘Great Resignation’, it’s the ‘Great Reshuffle’,” she said. “Rather than walking away from work, people are re-evaluating what they want.”

Fancy a change? Here are the happiest jobs with the highest salaries.

CORPORATE RECRUITER With an average base salary of £50,000 and satisfaction score of 4.59, according to jobs website Glassdoor, this is a sweet spot for fulfilment and pay. A recruiter is someone who seeks out new talent to join their company. They find candidates by assessing skills, interests and ambitions.

HR MANAGER/ BUSINESS PARTNER These roles followed closely for job satisfaction, with scores of 4.4 and 4.3 and median base salaries of £48,433 and £50,000 respectively.

Such jobs involve hiring, interviewing and shaping the culture of a company. It can also include conflict resolution, which requires a high level of emotional intelligence.

FULL STACK ENGINEER A full stack engineer ranks highly, with a satisfaction score of 4.3 and a salary of £47,000. These engineers are experts in web, application and software development. They will typically have a degree in computer science or a related field.

They work with a range of coding languages, such as JavaScript, HTML and SQL to improve digital services.

UX DESIGNER AND FRONT END ENGINEER Both “user experience” – or UX – designers and front end engineers have similar roles. They also share high satisfaction scores of 4.3 and 4.2 and salaries of £46,382 and £43,803 respectively.

A UX designer supervises the interaction between human users and websites and apps. It is an extremely varied role, combining elements of psychology, design and technology.

A front end engineer is responsible for user interface, but people in this role are often more focused on software programmes. They usually create and optimise systems, and help with testing and troubleshooting. Employees in both jobs typically have a degree in computer science or a related subject.

‘Rugby was my life but now I want to be a financial adviser’ SCARLETT COOPER-WALL After a career as a professional rugby player and coach, including representing the England under-20s team, Scarlett Cooper-Wall, now 27, has begun training as a financial adviser. “During the pandemic I realised I needed to settle down a bit and find something more stable. So I fell back on my old passion for finance.”

As the jobs market recovers from the impact of the pandemic and an exodus of European workers, some industries have bigger gaps than others. Data from Totaljobs showed people left the farming and agriculture, travel and sports and fitness sectors the quickest in 2021. However, the education sector saw among the highest number of people leaving, with 6,841 moves.

Teaching assistant ranked among the top 10 roles currently advertised on the jobs website Adzuna. Strongest demand was for a warehouse operative, who is typically responsible for unloading items, packing them and collecting orders for delivery. On Adzuna, the highest advertised salary for a warehouse operative was £22,769.

Other in- demand manual jobs included care assistant, labourer and cleaner. The highest paying job among the top 10 most advertised was project manager, which paid a maximum salary of £60,068.

While the prospect of stepping into a new career can be exciting, the idea of resigning from a current job can be equally as daunting. Ms McLean said movers should first make sure they can keep up with existing financial commitments and that they are psychologically prepared for a major lifestyle change.

“When resigning, remember never to burn any bridges with your employer and colleagues,” she said.

“You never know – you could end up working with them in the future, even as your own clients.”

Ms McLean added: “When you’re discussing your resignation, always remember to focus on the pull factor of the new job, rather than the push factor that is driving you away from your current job. Try to end your time at your current employer on a positive note.”