Top 10 Entry-Level Jobs for College Grads in the COVID-19 Era

For new college graduates, entering the workforce now is daunting, to say the least. According to the latest U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics report, the U.S. economy lost an unprecedented 20.5 million jobs in April, with an almost 15% unemployment rate.

However, the current crisis has hit specific industries harder than others, and demand has soared for some types of jobs. Let’s take a look at 10 great entry-level positions that the class of 2020 can apply for right now, complete with average starting salaries and number of job listings.

1. Contact Tracer

Average Starting Salary: $55,000/yr. (Because of the relative newness of this position, this has been based on an average of media-reported estimates.)
Average # Of Online Job Listings: 100 (Because of the relative newness of this position, this average based on several online job sites may not reflect what is available. Check local/state websites for opportunities directly available from the government and other organizations.)
Educational Requirements: H.S. Diploma; training courses available
Popular Industries: Hospitals and Health Care, Federal/State Government
Remote Work Available? Yes

If you’re looking for a career in public health, you may want to start here. “Contact tracer” is one of the most talked-about jobs of the moment, but if you haven’t heard of the job title you are probably not alone. While contact tracing—the identification of who may have come into contact with an infected person—has been around for decades, it has gained prominence in the era of the coronavirus. The Centers For Disease Control (CDC) provides a detailed contact tracing guide and the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health offers a free six-hour course on the subject. Remote contact tracing jobs are common, some of the positions offer benefits, and reported salaries range from $35,000 to $65,000 a year.

As of this writing, over 10,000 Americans have applied to become contact tracers, and job listings are available from local governments as well as large healthcare companies. Experts estimate that anywhere from 100,000 to 300,000 contact tracers will be needed across the country. As former CDC Director Tom Frieden told the medical news website Stat, “We need an army.” With immediate national demand for such a key position in the fight against the coronavirus, contact tracing is a field with a lot of potential. With so much immediate and future opportunity, this role is a perfect jumping off point for a long career.

2. Health Informatics Specialist

Average Starting Salary: $62,000/yr.
Average # Of Online Job Listings: 1,100
Educational Requirements: Bachelor’s degree in computer or information science; or business/liberal arts degree with information technology or programming experience
Popular Industries: Information Technology, Hospital & Health Care, Research
Remote Work Available? Yes

If you’re a recent college graduate desiring to enter a lucrative field with growth potential in the COVID-19 era, health informatics is the area to pursue. A perfect position for those with either a computer science degree or a liberal arts background with programming experience, the health informatics specialist develops methods to collect and distribute health data via information systems. It is projected to have 11% job growth between 2018-2028, classified as “much faster than average,” and senior staff in the health informatics field can make upward of $100,000/yr. There are health informatics jobs available in industries as varied as telemedicine, insurance, biotech, and public health, and these listings for entry level positions at BlueShield and Advocate Healthcare can be applied for right now.

Please note while job searching that the “health informatics specialist” position concentrates largely on computer/IT work, and the more traditional “health information specialist” role deals more with medical records. To reflect this overlap between the two, we considered both roles for our job listing metric for the position.

In a time when gathering information on issues such as infection rates and other sensitive health data is so crucial in tracking and controlling the spread of COVID-19, jobs like this and contact tracing are increasingly in demand. The CDC lists health informatics as one of their most common jobs and offers a good deal of online training and information on the topic. According to the Brookings Institution, the US currently lacks the extent of information technologies in place to adequately fight the coronavirus epidemic. Brookings also points out that having robust health informatics systems in place will also help tremendously with managing telehealth, which is another burgeoning industry due to the current pandemic. One thing about this pandemic is certain: The healthcare industry will face unprecedented changes long after it’s over. Taking all of this into consideration, this position is a great opportunity in an exploding industry for a new grad.

3. Web Developer

Average Starting Salary: $57,000/yr.
Average # Of Online Job Listings: 1,500
Educational Requirements: Associate’s in web design or bachelor’s in computer science, programming, or a related field
Popular Industries: Retail, Financial Services, Food and Beverage
Remote Work Available? Yes

Web development is another excellent field for new graduates with well-paying jobs and a bright future. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the employment rate of web developers is projected to grow 13% between 2018 and 2028. While formal educational requirements for the position vary, experience with programming languages, server architecture, database systems, and online security principles is essential. Experienced developers can make upward of $87,000 a year, and there are jobs available at a multiplicity of industries from food delivery wizards Postmates to media software titan Cision.

As in the case of customer service representatives, an increased need exists in the era of COVID-19 for professionals to create and maintain websites. For example, a web developer can assist the transition of local brick and mortar businesses to ecommerce in order to compete in a post-coronavirus marketplace. Some companies also require added developers on the team to help integrate remote working and video conference technologies to keep up with an increasingly stay-at-home world. Perhaps this is part of why web developers ranked relatively safely at 96 in a recent list of the 100 jobs most likely to be in danger of layoffs during the coronavirus pandemic.

4. Tutor

Average Starting Salary: $30-50,000/yr. (depending on subject)
Average # Of Online Job Listings: 14,000
Educational Requirements: College degree preferred
Popular Industries: Education, Hospital & Healthcare, Financial Services
Remote Work Available? Yes

Whatever you studied in college, you can find tutoring positions that complement your field of expertise and interests—and make a lot of money doing it. Salaries for tutors do range widely depending on the specialized quality of the subject matter; for example, on Glassdoor tutors who specialize in math can make roughly $20,000/yr. more than those for English.

As the coronavirus temporarily forces schools from pre-K through college online, frustrated parents are increasingly turning to tutors. According to the Wall Street Journal, on-demand tutoring site Varsity Tutors saw bookings grow 40% in April over the same time last year, and is currently looking to fill 10,000 more tutoring positions. Tutors are looking increasingly attractive to parents who miss the individual attention that remote teachers struggle to give their students in the middle of a lockdown. For flexibility and the sense of accomplishment that comes with helping others, tutoring cannot be beat as a viable temporary position for the new graduate. It can also be a great steppingstone to a career in education.

5. Warehouse Manager

Average Starting Salary: $45,000/yr.
Average # Of Online Job Listings: 1,800
Educational Requirements: Associate’s or bachelor’s in logistics or a related field
Popular Industries: Retail, Hospital and Health Care, Construction
Remote Work Available? Yes

Warehouse management is a position currently plentiful on online job listings, with a robust career path for the ambitious. This role requires a great deal of proficiency in problem-solving, planning, and employee management, and is considered an excellent position from which to learn everything about a company one wishes to move higher within. Industries employing warehouse managers are wide-ranging and encompass everything from retail to construction to medical supplies. There are even positions available to be performed from home, using remote warehouse management software. Top earners in the position can make upward of $100,000/yr.

Cited by LinkedIn as one of the most in-demand jobs during the coronavirus, warehouse management seems to be more in need than ever before as shopping shifts from brick and mortar to online. Two recent examples of job postings for this work are from IKEA and DHL. The current boom in ecommerce has required more warehouse space for increased inventories—and, of course, more staff to oversee it all. So if you are seeking a new position out of college that is in demand and will make great use of your logistical and people skills, warehouse manager is one to consider. If you’re good at it, you can find yourself moving higher and higher in the large companies that employ people in this role.

6. Underwriting Assistant

Average Starting Salary: $44,000/yr.
Average # Of Online Job Listings: 600
Educational Requirements: Associate or bachelor’s degree in insurance, financial services, or a related field
Popular Industries: Finance, Hospital and Health Care, Insurance
Remote Work Available? Yes

Starting as an assistant underwriter is a great way to break into a field that can eventually pay upward of $150,000/yr. with experience. Involving a variety of clerical and research skills, a great deal of the training to be had as an underwriter will be conveniently provided by the assistant role itself. Insurance underwriters for a business like National General Insurance might look up a customer’s health history in order to help set a rate of coverage, and a loan or mortgage underwriter for a company like Mountain West Financial would instead research one’s credit score and financial assets.

LinkedIn has noted a “surge” in advertised underwriting positions despite the economic downturn, citing increases in mortgage refinancing and loan negotiations as people struggle with the COVID-19 financial fallout. And while virtually all of the major job categories such as manufacturing, transportation and utilities, and leisure and hospitality were hit in April by the economic downturn, the unemployment rate for financial services, at 5.4%, was the lowest of all those listed. For the graduate looking to embark on a solid career with on-the-job training, underwriting assistant may be the right position to take.

7. Data Specialist

Average Starting Salary: $36,000/yr.
Average # Of Online Job Listings: 1,800
Educational Requirements: High school diploma or bachelor’s degree in information technology, business, or related fields
Popular Industries: Information Technology and Services, Financial Services, Hospital and Health Care
Remote Work Available? Yes

Data specialist is a great starter job to build a foundation upon if one wishes to eventually become a business analyst or project manager—positions according to Glassdoor that can reach $100,000+ a year in salary. The ideal candidate is not only great with numbers but knows how to interpret and present them. There is occasionally some overlap between “data specialist” and “data analyst” job listings, so searching for entry-level positions with both titles can yield more job opportunities. And if you are particularly interested in a remote job, they are plentiful for this position.

As with several positions on this list, data specialist is yet another job that companies and organizations need regardless of the economic downturn. Here are two recent job listings for the position from Amazon and the VA Boston Healthcare System that can be applied for right now. COVID-19 has increased the demand for gathering and processing information on related issues like supply chain interruptions, medical data, and binge shopping. With abundant transferable skills and a consistent market need, this position has a lot going for it.

8. Delivery Driver

Average Starting Salary: $35,000/yr.
Average # Of Online Job Listings: 36,000
Educational Requirements: High school diploma preferred
Popular Industries: Package/Freight Delivery, Construction, Food and Beverage
Remote Work Available? No

While some college graduates enter their chosen field right away, others for a variety of reasons need an interim position to make ends meet. If you are graduating from college in June and need some extra cash before landing the job of your dreams, the flexible hours of delivery driving may be just the ticket! One of the positions on this list with consistently the most job listings posted, the expertise delivery drivers uses on a daily basis include logistics, scheduling, and sometimes even customer service. As this article on Monster explains, sometimes transferable skills developed in “temporary” jobs like delivery driving can impress hiring managers for a range of other opportunities.

While a lot of sales due to the coronavirus have shifted from brick and mortar to ecommerce, the items ordered still have to be delivered. Consequently, with ecommerce shipments increasing nearly 50% by the end of April, companies like FedEx and UPS have ramped up their delivery driver hiring efforts. The key to the current high demand for the position is not only an overall increase in online sales, but the need for some brick and mortar small businesses like restaurants to shift to a delivery model. Local governments in areas like New York City are also seeking gig workers to deliver meals to seniors and other quarantined citizens. You can find delivery driving job opportunities for big-name companies like Domino’s and FedEx right now, and it might be a great way to raise money as you hunt for your dream job.

9. Customer Service Representative (CSR)

Average Starting Salary: $32,000/yr.
Average # Of Online Job Listings: 8,000
Educational Requirements: High school diploma
Popular Industries: Retail, Financial Services, Food and Beverage
Remote Work Available? Yes

Like delivery driving, customer service jobs can be a solid means of earning a salary while on the way to your eventual long term career. Many companies offer positions in customer service tailored for their specific needs, such as Verizon and Amazon’s recent job openings, and it’s a great opportunity to learn about a big corporation from the “front lines.” And the skills needed to ace customer service—effective communication and problem-solving—can later be applied to a whole array of other positions.

In a time of quarantines and uncertainty, these jobs are more in demand than ever as people navigate everything from health insurance to software troubleshooting on the phone. And with US ecommerce sales increasing by 51% in May due to the COVID-19 pandemic, there is still very much a need for customer service reps for companies who sell online. Though there might be a reduced need for CSRs in badly-hit sectors like the hospitality industry, there are still plenty in areas like retail, financial services, and information technology. Snagging a position as a customer service rep may just be the “bridge job” you need to get to the next level in your career.

10. Store Associate

Average Starting Salary: $29,000/yr.
Average # Of Online Job Listings: 60,000
Educational Requirements: At least a high school diploma
Popular Industries: Retail, Food and Beverage, Electronic Manufacturing
Remote Work Available? Mostly in-person

Given the nation’s retail woes as the result of the COVID-19 pandemic, placing “store associate” on this list might seem more than a bit controversial, especially considering so many graduates will leave school thousands of dollars in debt. Yet not only is this an excellent job for the short term, but it’s also a great pathway to higher-ranking merchandise manager positions. There is probably no better opportunity to learn the ins and outs of your favorite company by starting at the ground-level.

The surge in store associate job postings is primarily due to the big-box franchises that have so far survived the current crisis. Because these franchises offer both durable (such as clothing) and non-durable goods deemed “essential” (such as food), they were able to stay open during state-enforced shutdown orders. On LinkedIn alone, the companies with the most listings for this position include Walmart, Lowe’s, 7-Eleven, CVS, and Aldi. Walmart’s latest earnings report for Q1, which ended April 30, indicated sales growth along both the brick and mortar and ecommerce fronts. The corporation has also hired 200,000 in-store employees during the pandemic. Don’t overlook roles like these in your career search; starting small can take you to unimagined heights.

The Bottom Line

There is no doubt that the Class of 2020 has encountered, and may continue to face, some challenges. At the same time, however, there are still career opportunities for the recently graduating—both of the short-term “gig” variety and ones with excellent growth potential for the future.

Methodology

We ranked the items on this list utilizing data and expert opinions from the fields of business, statistics, and health. These sources include the U.S. Bureau Of Labor Statistics, Statista, The New York Times, Business Insider, The Wall Street Journal, and the Brookings Institution.

We determined average starting salaries for selected positions by surveying the jobs posted within the last 30 days on Glassdoor, Salary.com, and PayScale.

We determined average # of job listings for selected positions by surveying the jobs posted within the last 30 days on LinkedIn, Glassdoor, and Indeed.

Other job information including education, popular industries, and remote-friendliness was determined using information from LinkedIn, Glassdoor, Indeed, Monster, Investopedia, Career Builder, and The Balance Careers.