5 jobs expected to boom this year

Business Operations Manager

Leaving their imprint throughout several company departments, operations managers hire people, acquire materials for customers, and attempt to predict what products are most likely to sell.

The field can be characterized as high-demand and low-supply, with plenty of opportunity for those thinking of dipping their toe in it. "If we talk to any employer, that's the [position] they're most interested in, especially around the idea of project management," Cote notes. "So being able to run an operation and [in] particular, to manage complex projects, there's an increasing demand and fewer people there to fill it."

It's also a profession welcoming of individuals who possess the rare duel qualities of business instinct and a penchant for number-crunching. "It tends to require a blending of quantitative skills and qualitative skills, and that seems to be an area where people fall on one side or the other, but that middle road is not one people pursue," he says.