These are going to be the hottest jobs in 2019

To no one’s surprise, technology jobs are expected to continue to lead the way in 2019, according to a new study.

Salary-comparison website PayScale released its job predictions for 2019 and found that if you want high wages in the coming year, the tech sector is still the way to go.

“Individuals skilled in areas like AI, cloud computing, digital marketing and cyber security are anticipated to be in high demand in 2019,” Katie Bardaro, lead economist and vice president of data analytics at PayScale, told FOX Business.

“And businesses that employ people in these areas will need to remain competitive in their compensation strategy even if a recession occurs, as many believe is likely, if they don’t want to lose ground in this talent market.”

PayScale said the “on-again, off-again, maybe-on-again trade war with China is injecting uncertainty into already jittery markets,” which means storm clouds could be on the horizon for 2019. And, with workers’ wages remaining stagnant over the last year, if workers are looking for a boost next year, they may need to switch their careers.

Among the highest demand job areas for 2019 are cloud computing, artificial intelligence, big data, cybersecurity, virtual/augmented reality, digital marketing and cannabis.

As for 2018, Bardaro said the hottest job of the year was as a full stack software developer, someone responsible for both front-end and back-end development.

“[They] need to understand multiple programming languages and database formats [and] as companies invest in their usage of the internet, the need for this job has increased,” she said.

“Additionally, as companies try to remain agile in their software development approach, having employees who can address problems as they arise regardless of which part of the product they impact is necessary for quick iterations and improvements.”

Here are PayScale’s predictions for the hottest jobs in 2019.

1.     Cloud Computing Software Developer

         Median Pay:  $108,000 

2.     Data Scientist

        Median Pay: $98,400 

3.     Artificial Intelligence Software Developer

        Median Pay: $93,300

4.     Cyber Security Engineer

         Median Pay: $92,600

5.     Virtual Reality Engineer

         Median Pay: $89,000

6.     Mobile Applications Software Developer

        Median Pay: $88,000

7.     Drone Pilot

        Median Pay: $57,900

8.     Digital Marketing Analyst

        Median Pay: $49,600

9.     Budtender (Cannabis)

         Median Pay: $25,600

 10.   Gig Economy Workers

         Median Pay: N/A