According to data from the U.S. Department of Labor, there are close to 30 million Hispanic workers in the labor force.
With one in every five U.S. workers being Latino, according to the Census Bureau, this group's relevance will be even bigger in terms of contribution to the country's economy. In 2030, the Department of Labor projects that their participation in the labor force will reach almost 36 million.
According to a report by the Center for American Progress (CAP), Hispanic and Latino men and women tend to have higher employment per population rates than non-Hispanic people of the same sex, including white, non-Hispanic people.
But despite this growth, Hispanics still face a huge challenge: they are overrepresented in low-paying jobs and underrepresented in the best-paid ones.
Hispanic and Latino workers, says CAP, experience persistent and pervasive ethnic wage gaps compared with white, non-Hispanic men, and due to the consequences of compounding systems of oppression, namely, sexism and racism, Latina women experience even larger wage gaps.
Nowhere is this underrepresentation more evident than in the STEM fields. As the Pew Research Center puts it, Hispanic workers make up 17% of total employment across all occupations, but just 8% of workers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
As demand for STEM workers is expected to grow by 8% from 2020 to 2030, much faster than the average for all occupations, Latinos could fill a lot of voids in this field.
In this context, The Latin Times consulted several job services and postings to find out which are the top job offerings in science and technology for Latinos.
| Job | Median Salary | Educational Requirements | Reasons Why It's a Good Choice for Latinos |
| Software Developer | $107,510 | Bachelor's degree in computer science or a related field | Software developers are in high demand and there is a shortage of qualified workers, which means that Latinos have a good chance of getting a job in this field. Software development is also a relatively high-paying field, so Latinos can expect to earn a good salary. |
| Information Security Analyst | $103,590 | Bachelor's degree in computer science or a related field | Information security analysts are responsible for protecting computer systems and networks from cyberattacks. This is a growing field with a lot of opportunities for Latinos. |
| Computer and Information Systems Manager | $142,670 | Bachelor's degree in computer science or a related field | Computer and information systems managers are responsible for planning, implementing, and managing computer systems and networks. This is a high-level position with a lot of responsibility, but it can also be very rewarding. |
| Healthcare Practitioner | $75,300 | Bachelor's degree in nursing or a related field | Healthcare practitioners are in demand, and there is a shortage of qualified workers, which means that Latinos have a good chance of getting a job in this field. Healthcare is also a relatively high-paying field, so Latinos can expect to earn a good salary. |
| Medical and Health Services Manager | $100,970 | Master's degree in healthcare administration or a related field | Medical and health services managers are responsible for planning, organizing, and directing the activities of healthcare organizations. This is a high-level position with a lot of responsibility, but it can also be very rewarding. |
| Cultural Resources Specialist | $100,000 | B.A. in archaeology, antrhopology, architectural historu or a related field | As in Latin America, the U.S. still has a lot to disover from its past, specially as the nation has seen a demand from Native Americans to rescue and protect their heritage. A Cultural Resource Specialist (CRS), for instance, takes responsibility for assessment, preparation of documents, reports and findings for archaeological surveys in the U.S. |
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