It is never too early or too late to start thinking about your next professional move. But how do you determine the perfect job for yourself? Well, it’s simple – by following the clearest job trends of the year.

If you have opted for distance education, the employment prospects are equally high for you in 2018. Let us look at a few promising job opportunities for students and professionals who have a distance learning degree.

Five promising jobs of 2018:

1. 1. Financial analysts – As the financial industry is growing in size and complexity, the demand for financial analysts is expected to soar, particularly in the mutual funds area. Financial analysts provide guidance to businesses as well as individuals and help them make profitable investment decisions. They assess the performance of stocks, bonds, and other types of investments. For this job, financial analysts are required to have a bachelor’s or a master’s degree in business management.

1. 2. Network system analysts and data analysts – As businesses are implementing newer technologies, the demand for IT professionals to monitor the efficiency of technologies and set up networks. Most jobs in this field demand a bachelor’s degree, although some only require a two-year degree in a course that covers practical technicalities related to the field.

1. 3. Business analysts – They guide business managers in improving collaboration between departments. Those who desire to work as a business analyst should have strong managerial and professional skill sets. These professionals should be well aware of the different aspects of business administration. A bachelor’s or master’s degree in business management can help acquire these professional skills.

1. 4. Medical assistants – The medical industry is expected to expand because of technological advances and the growing elderly population. With the healthcare industry expanding rapidly, more clinics requiring large support staff are opening. A one-year certificate or two-year associate’s degree program is often required to become a medical associate. These professionals also receive on-the-job training from their employers.

1. 5. Information Technology (IT) Consultant – Everyone from local start-ups to the Fortune 500 companies need IT consultants to help them figure out the cheapest and fastest ways to run their IT networks better. This profile ranks amongst the top 10 job profiles on CNN’s latest Best Jobs list. For this job, you need to do everything from evaluating the systems to conducting research that no one else entirely understands. A bachelor’s degree in computer science definitely helps in entering the field.

These are expected to be some of the most sought-after jobs of 2018. Did we miss any other most in-demand job?

Tell us via comments.