Security guards have just made LinkedIn’s fastest-growing jobs list for the first time

LinkedIn’s 2025 Jobs on the Rise report details the fastest-growing positions in the U.S. over the past three years. As expected with the A.I. boom, advanced technology roles were the most popular. But surprisingly, security guards have ranked as the tenth fast-growing job in the U.S. right now.

Andrew Seaman, news editor for jobs and career development at LinkedIn, tells Fortune this could reflect reduced police forces, the cannabis industry’s need for guards, and a rise of in-person activities. 

There’s no telling if demand for security guards will lose steam—especially after the highly publicized shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in December last year. Security experts recently told Fortune that they’ve been fielding more calls from companies since the event. CEOs and executives are increasingly concerned with keeping their employees safe.

Security guards on the rise 

Security guards haven’t made LinkedIn’s Jobs on the Rise list ever before. While LinkedIn’s data predates the UnitedHealthcare killing, the highly-publicized event could drive even higher demand from the Fortune 500.

The corporate world is on edge as leaders scramble to assess their strategies with security services and see if they need their protection beefed up. That’s where security guards come into play. 

“We’re getting calls from everybody,” Glen Kucera, president of enhanced protection services at Allied Universal, told Fortune last month. “Demand for the security business follows events. If there’s a specific incident, then companies say, ‘I need to protect my executives. I need to protect my employees from this happening again.’”

“Boards [and] CEOs are already going to their chief security officer asking, ‘What do we have in place? What systems, what tools, what bosses do we have to identify threats?’” Dave Komendat, former chief security officer for Boeing and founder of a risk services company, echoed. “This is one of those incidents that causes people to stop and look at their current program they have in place.”

LinkedIn’s fastest-growing jobs right now

While security guards ranked 10th on LinkedIn’s list of the fastest-growing roles this year, other entries are perhaps less surprising.

The U.S. has entered a new era of advanced technology, and it’s catapulting several industry roles into the spotlight. A.I. engineers and A.I. consultants were ranked at the top of the list. This aligns with how quickly the technology is growing; in 2022, the gen A.I. market sat at just $40 billion but is projected to reach heights of $1.3 trillion over the next decade, according to a 2023 report from Bloomberg Intelligence. 

Interestingly, physical therapists filed in third as the fastest-growing job, and workforce development managers placed fourth. Travel and in-person experiences are also making a comeback—travel advisors were ranked in fifth, and event coordinators followed suit at sixth. LinkedIn says these roles are new to the list this year, and reflects a post-pandemic bump in entertainment and jetsetting for both business and pleasure. In pursuit of creating the best experiences possible, travel advisors and event coordinators are in high demand. 

Then there are the directors of development, who came in seventh on the LinkedIn list, and typically oversee a company’s fundraising strategy. Outside sales representatives—tasked with selling products or services to clients in person—came in at eighth. Sustainability specialists ranked in ninth place, mirroring greater green efforts from organizations over the past few years. 

The top 10 roles on LinkedIn’s Jobs on the Rise 2025 report

1. Artificial Intelligence Engineer
2. Artificial Intelligence Consultant
3. Physical Therapist
4. Workforce Development Manager
5. Travel Advisor
6. Event Coordinator
7. Director of Development
8. Outside Sales Representative
9. Sustainability Specialist
10. Security Guard