Ready for your next move?

Career growth happens as you take steps to align your interests and skills with what employers need. Here you’ll find tools to explore where your skills and interests match what San Diego County hiring managers are looking for, plus learn moves you can make now to land a dream job.

Professionals Illustration

What is a Priority Job?

We looked at all occupations in San Diego County to determine which pay best, have the most openings and are growing quickly. There are 72 priority jobs in San Diego County, ranging from stucco masons to biomedical engineers. These priority jobs pay at least 90% of workers $16 an hour or more, provide at least 63 openings a year and are projected to grow by at least 6.5% annually.

High Growth
High Employment
Sustainable Wages

What is a Priority Sector?

San Diego’s employers can be categorized into industries like Ship Building & Repair, and those industries can be grouped into larger sectors of the economy like Advanced Manufacturing. Priority sectors are areas of the economy that provide at least 10,000 positions in the 72 priority jobs.


Professionals 2
Working in the Priority Sectors
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Meet
Derrick Johnson 
Senior engineer

My path into electrical engineering was non-traditional; in high school I didn’t even have a 3.0 GPA, and I essentially just got good enough grades to play football. Being an engineer wasn’t in my thought process at all, but I did like to put in car audio systems for all my friends.

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Occupation
Senior engineer
Tony Hero1
Meet
Thomas Saenz
Senior IT project manager

Find out what you like and what you are interested in. There are so many different pathways you can take, whether it be mechanical, aviation or electrical. Try to get exposure to a variety of technical fields and find your passion.

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Occupation
Senior IT project manager
Olivia Final
Meet
Olivia Carrizales
Engineer

If you love what you do, you never have to work a day in your life. Figure out what you’re interested in and are passionate about and keep trying new things like building a toy robot or fixing up an old car. Also, make sure you are a passionate, communicative and responsible employee.

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Victor Hero
Meet
Victor Minces  
Research scientist & principal investigator in the science of music

I grew up in Argentina and, from elementary school through early high school, I loved art and science. In high school, the science classes were so dry and disconnected from my interests that they killed my love for science for a while. I stayed very engaged with the arts, so I started studying fine arts when I finished high school. After a few years, I started being curious about science again, so I signed up to take some physics courses at the University of Buenos Aires.

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Occupation
Research scientist & principal investigator in the science of music
Gabriel Hero
Meet
Gabriel Rodriguez
Design Engineer

I always tell people that Legos were my bread and butter growing up and I don’t know where I would be without Legos. When I was really young, my passion for engineering started by playing with Lego bricks. After school, as far back as I can remember, I loved coming home and playing with my Legos. I remember when Lego came out with Mindstorm, which let you create your own robot with different sensors, it really sparked my interest in robotics and the power it can have.  

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Priority Sector
Occupation
Design Engineer
Kaitlyn Hero
Meet
Kaitlyn Martinez
Applied Mathematician

I am what is called an applied mathematician, which means I do math for a living. What I do is use all the tools I’ve learned, from tools I learned in elementary school all the way to more complex tools I learned in graduate school, to solve problems and answer questions that people have.

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Occupation
Applied Mathematician
Richard Hero
Meet
Richard Alvarez
Senior Software Engineer

What I love most is the learning that’s involved with being a programmer. We get paid to solve problems that people haven’t encountered before, using solutions that we’ve seen in the past, putting together old pieces in new ways. 

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Occupation
Senior Software Engineer
Haro Pic
Meet
Haronid Moncivais
Engineering manager for Minecraft Education

I went to school through high school in Tijuana, Mexico, which is right across the border from San Diego. When I was in fourth grade, I wanted to be a writer because I really loved reading and making up stories. Later, I think it was that same creativity that drew me to computer science

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Occupation
Engineering manager for Minecraft Education
Meet
Dana Olivas
Consultant

The most important part of continuing to progress is being able to translate the work and skills from one job and apply it to the next, even if it is in a different vertical. Gaining certifications and degrees has helped propel my career forward and stand out to employers.

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worker waving
Meet
Matt Yagyagan
Director of Legislative Affairs, City of San Diego Councilmember Georgette Gómez (Council President, District 9)

After I graduated, I was unemployed for nine months before I could find a full-time job. I thought I would be able to find one sooner. I graduated from UC Berkeley with a double major and an internship on Capitol Hill with [then-Speaker of the House] Nancy Pelosi and had this amazing resume, but as it turns out there’s much more to it.

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Priority Sector
Occupation
Director of Legislative Affairs, City of San Diego Councilmember Georgette Gómez (Council President, District 9)
Meet
Steph Barry
Managing Director

But the real secret to how I got where I am today is that I always keep my eyes open for opportunities. I push myself to learn, grow and do things that make me feel uncomfortable. I am constantly looking at the angles and figuring out where things are going.

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Occupation
Managing Director
Lindsey Danner, career profile
Meet
Lindsey A. Danner
Aquatics and Energy Manager

At the beginning of my career, I didn’t imagine ending up where I am today. My career isn’t “normal” in that it was not a traditional, linear pathway from points A to Z. The skills that I developed throughout my career path have led me to where I am today, without any formal training in energy management.

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Occupation
Aquatics and Energy Manager
Meet
Joe Bielawski
Clean Transportation Project Manager III

Don’t be afraid to blaze a new path. Look for the role or take on the job or the task that other people are not willing to do. Look for those jobs that maybe other people find hard because these are the jobs that will challenge you to grow and learn completely new things.

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Occupation
Clean Transportation Project Manager III
Annamay Luyun
Meet
Annamay Luyun
Clean Transportation Project Manager III

I consider the PM role similar to conducting a symphony as it requires the ability to deliver a customer project within certain parameters and guiding the team members, who each play a separate but equally important role, toward the collaborative implementation of a project.

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Occupation
Clean Transportation Project Manager III
Leslie2
Meet
Leslie Mateo
Chemical Process Engineer

Growing up, my mom was a school bus driver and my dad had a paving business and worked in construction. My dad used to take me on jobs with him on the weekends and I really enjoyed being a hands-on worker. In school, I was always really interested in math and science because I was curious about how things worked.

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Priority Sector
Occupation
Chemical Process Engineer
Tysen Brodwolf 0225224200007 Edited
Meet
Tysen Brodwolf
Director – Transportation

I love the everyday puzzles that my work presents; solving obstacles like how to cover this person with that bus driver over there, because that kid isn’t going, and making sure this kid arrives on time, and so on. The transportation department is solving puzzles all day long, and it makes me feel proud when we successfully do what we do every single day, even with the resource shortages that we have.

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Occupation
Director – Transportation
Claire Garcia Headshot 2
Meet
Claire Garcia
Grant Team Lead

For high school students, I want to note that there are a lot of different ways to get into a job or industry and you don’t have to take the traditional path of a four-year degree or a master’s degree. Things are flexible and academics aren’t the only way forward.

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Occupation
Grant Team Lead
Lion School Bus Hero
Meet
Bianca Heroiu
Director of Grants and RFPs

For 25 years, I’ve worked in public affairs working for companies where I believe in their product. If you don’t believe in what you’re doing, there’s a good chance you’ll be miserable at work. I believe that your personal values must align, at least a little bit, to whatever it is that you’re participating in and working on.

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Occupation
Director of Grants and RFPs
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We need
people like you
Do you know someone (maybe it’s you!) in a priority sector who’s making big moves and breaking the mold?
Let us know

Ready for Action?

We offer training, job search and career development resources to all San Diego County job seekers—at no cost to you. Use these resources to identify your interests, gain new skills or prepare a job application.

Find the Right Fit

Landing a job that fits your interests means you are more likely to enjoy your job and often leads to being more successful at work. Take our free RIASEC quiz to learn about yourself and get career suggestions based on your interests.

Take the Quiz

What is RIASEC?

Develop Essential Skills

While technical skills are what you do at work, essential skills are how you do it. Employers value these skills in their employees—often as much as technical skills. Developing them and helping employers understand your expertise will help you to get a job and be successful in your workplace.

how to do it

Build Your Resume

A resume is often the first impression a business has of what you bring to the table—make it a good one. Access our easy-to-use resume builder to bring your professional experience to life.

Resume Builder

How Can We Help?

Finding the right job isn’t easy. We’re here to help. Visit a career center or explore our On-demand Training Library to jumpstart your job search.

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