The top 25 jobs Britain has to offer in 2016 – and the salaries to expect

In 2015 it was revealed that some 5.5m UK employees were so keen to earn more money from a new post that they said they would be willing to exaggerate their current salary by £4,000.

That’s the spirit – nothing quite like lying to a potential boss.

But with earnings in mind, a study later in the year advised Brits to stay in their existing posts, declaring advertised salaries are in “spectacular” decline across the entire country.

However, with 2016 underway, 41 per cent of people are looking for a change of career, according to Glassdoor.

The job marketplace, which secured a Google-backed investment of $70m a year ago, has revealed its second annual round up of Britain’s top jobs and the new list has some significant changes from 2015.

Read more on job-seeking and salaries:

• Five key reasons why a third of UK workers want new jobs in 2016
• Salary trends across the UK show where and how you can earn more outside London
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This year’s rundown saw business development manager come out as the number one job in the UK, achieving a job score of 4.3, which is calculated by salaries, opportunities and job openings. In 2015 though, the job role was ranked at number 12.

Elsewhere, the second and third-placed jobs in the UK are finance manager and operations manager with respective salaries of £55,000 and £45,000 – both higher than the £40,000 salary of the top job.

And while marketing manager was named the number one job in 2015, the former favourite job has fallen to number five in 2016. Interestingly, lawyers, mechanical and civil engineers were all out of this year’s top 25 altogether, while the number of tech jobs fell from seven in 2015 to two this year.

Check out Glassdoor’s full list of the 25 best jobs in the UK for 2016 below:

1. Business development manager – Glassdoor job score: 4.3

• Number of job openings: 5,143
• Average base salary: £40,000
• Career opportunities rating: 3.5

2. Finance manager – Glassdoor job score: 4.3

• Number of job openings: 2,762
• Average base salary: £55,000
• Career opportunities rating: 3.3

3. Operations manager – Glassdoor job score: 4.3

• Number of job openings: 1,797
• Average base salary: £45,000
• Career opportunities rating: 3.7

4. HR manager – Glassdoor job score: 4.3

• Number of job openings: 1,268
• Average base salary: £50,000
• Career opportunities rating: 3.8

5. Marketing manager – Glassdoor job score: 4.2

• Number of job openings: 2,234
• Average base salary: £45,000
• Career opportunities rating: 3.4

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6. Business analyst – Glassdoor job score: 4.2

• Number of job openings: 4,382
• Average base salary: £41,000
• Career opportunities rating: 3.4

7. Commercial manager – Glassdoor job score: 4.1

• Number of job openings: 1,317
• Average base salary: £57,000
• Career opportunities rating: 3.3

8. Project manager – Glassdoor job score: 4.1

• Number of job openings: 7,187
• Average base salary: £45,675
• Career opportunities rating: 3.1

9. Product manager – Glassdoor job score: 4.0

• Number of job openings: 2,077 
• Average base salary: £54,000
• Career opportunities rating: 3.2

10. Software engineer – Glassdoor job score: 4.0

• Number of job openings: 23,020
• Average base salary: £40,000
• Career opportunities Rating: 3.1

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11. Marketing analyst – Glassdoor job score: 3.9

• Number of job openings: 2,366
• Average base salary: £30,225
• Career opportunities rating: 3.7

12. Account manager – Glassdoor job score: 3.9

• Number of job openings: 5,200 
• Average base salary: £35,000
• Career opportunities rating: 3.2

13. Recruiting manager – Glassdoor job score: 3.9

• Number of job openings: 566
• Average base salary: £43,000
• Career opportunities rating: 4.3

14. Recruitment consultant – Glassdoor job score: 3.9

• Number of job openings: 7,471
• Average base salary: £22,000 
• Career opportunities rating: 3.8

15. Solutions architect – Glassdoor job score: 3.8

• Number of job openings: 1,119
• Average base salary: £63,500
• Career opportunities rating: 3.1

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16. Sales manager – Glassdoor job score: 3.8

• Number of job openings: 11,382
• Average base salary: £37,500
• Career opportunities rating: 3.0

17. Brand manager – Glassdoor job score: 3.7

• Number of job openings: 624
• Average base salary: £45,000
• Career opportunities rating: 3.5

18. Accountant – Glassdoor job score: 3.6

• Number of job openings: 2,784
• Average base salary: £32,000
• Career opportunities rating: 3.1

19. Business development executive – Glassdoor job score: 3.5

• Number of job openings: 2,116
• Average base salary: £25,000
• Career opportunities rating: 3.5

20. Consultant – Glassdoor job score: 3.5

• Number of job openings: 403
• Average base salary: £41,700 
• Career opportunities rating: 3.5

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21. Talent acquisition specialist – Glassdoor job score: 3.5

• Number of job openings: 229
• Average base salary: £40,000
• Career opportunities rating: 4.2

22. Design engineer– Glassdoor job score: 3.5

• Number of job openings: 4,789
• Average base salary: £33,813
• Career opportunities rating: 2.9

23. Service Manager – Glassdoor job score: 3.5

• Number of job openings: 968
• Average base salary: £43,315
• Career opportunities rating: 3.1

24. Trader – Glassdoor job score: 3.4

• Number of job openings: 182
• Average base salary: £50,000
• Career opportunities rating: 3.4

25. Personal assistant – Glassdoor job score: 3.4

• Number of job openings: 962
• Average base salary: £28,000
• Career opportunities rating: 3.7

By Zen Terrelonge

Image: Shutterstock

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