The Most Popular Jobs for New Graduates – And The Skills You Need to Get Them

It’s May. And that means thousands of people across the country have just achieved something truly worth celebrating: they’ve graduated college.

Congratulations! But, once the caps are flown off and the diplomas passed out, reality hits: it’s time to get a job. And hopefully a good-paying one – the average student today graduates with $37,172 in student loan debt.

That can be a problem – it’s highly competitive to get a job, particularly for new grads. Well, we want to help. Using LinkedIn data, we compiled a list of the most popular jobs among new graduates, coupled with the LinkedIn Learning courses to gain the skills you need to get them.

They are:

1. Software Engineer

Salary: $100,500

Recommended courses:

• Learning Jenkins
• Angular: Building on Azure Microservices
• Docker: Continuous Delivery
• Navigating .NET and .NET Standard for Cross-Platform Development
• C# Framework Design

2. Investment Banking Analyst

Salary: $90,000

Recommended courses:

• Finance Foundations
• Mergers & Acquisitions Foundations
• Developing a Competitive Strategy
• Business Development Foundations
• Finance Foundations: Business Valuation

3. Marketing Coordinator

Salary: $50,330

Recommended courses:

• SEO Foundations
• Online Marketing Foundations
• Danny Sullivan on SEO
• Marketing to Millennials
• Marketing to Humans

4. Graphic Designer

Salary: $49,230

Recommended courses:

• How to Get a Job in Design
• Graphic Design Careers: First Steps
• Introduction to Graphic Design
• Branding for Designers
• Running a Design Business: Freelancing

5. Assistant Media Planner

Salary: $58,000

Recommended courses:

• Advertising Foundations
• Public Relations Foundations
• Marketing Communications
• Public Relations Foundations: Media Training
• Writing a Press Release

6. Account Executive

Salary: 68,250

Recommended courses:

• Solution Selling
• Craft Your Sales Pitch with Competitive Differentiation
• Asking Great Sales Questions
• The Science of Sales

7. Business Analyst

Salary: $80,200

Recommended courses:

• Business Analysis Foundations
• Business Analysis Foundations: Business Process Modeling
• Requirements Elicitation and Analysis
• Business Analysis: Business Benefits Realization

8. Recruiter

Salary: $55,310

Recommended courses:

• Talent Sourcing
• Recruiting Foundations
• Finding and Retaining High Potentials
• Performance Based Hiring
• Social Recruiting for Recruiters

9. Account Coordinator

Salary: $46,140

Recommended courses:

• Interpersonal Communication
• Creating a Positive Customer Experience
• Building Customer Loyalty
• Key Account Management
• Business Etiquette: Phone, Email, and Text

10. Administrative Assistant

Salary: $39,290

Recommended courses:

• Administrative Professional Foundations
• Administrative Professional Weekly Tips
• Event Planning Foundations
• Interpersonal Communication
• Business Etiquette: Meetings, Meals, and Networking Events

Really want to land and thrive in these jobs? Hard skills alone aren’t enough.

Mastering the hard skills above are necessary to be considered for these roles. But, they are the most sought-after jobs by new grads – to actually get them, you need to learn how to best represent yourself online and in-person, job search strategies and how to ace a job interview.

Some LinkedIn Learning courses that can help are:

• J.T. O'Donnell on Making Recruiters Come to You
• Professional Networking
• Job Search Strategies
• Acing Your Interview
• Turning an Internship into a Job

Additionally, if you do land one of the listed roles, hard skills will give you the technical knowhow needed to do them. But, as we’ve discovered, soft skills are essential to excel in those roles and advance your career.

Some LinkedIn Learning courses that can help are:

• Leading without Formal Authority
• Communicating with Confidence
• Influencing Others
• Communicating with Empathy
• Body Language for Leaders