It’s been a busy week in remote work discourse. It kicked off with Monday’s Return to In-Person Work memorandum, issued by President Trump, which instructed that heads of departments and agencies are to take all necessary steps to terminate remote work arrangements for federal employees.
Outlining a requirement for “employees to return to work in-person at their respective duty stations on a full-time basis, provided that the department and agency heads shall make exemptions they deem necessary”, the directive was not unexpected, though it wasn’t warmly welcomed either.
For many, it signals a step backwards, while others don’t expect it to last.
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Outlooks and increases
Yakov Filippenko, CEO and founder of professional networking app Intch said, “Trump, as a businessman, treats the U.S. bureaucratic system like a company in need of optimization. He’s taking steps similar to big corporations, including bringing everyone back to the office.”
He goes on to predict the outcome of this directive. “Just like in the private sector, some employees will quit—which, to be fair, aligns with the goal of cutting costs. The issue is, this move is super unpopular. There’s no strong public support for it, so it’s likely to face resistance and fizzle out sooner rather than later.”
This may be especially true when high-performers leave for one of the plethora of high-paying full-remote jobs that are currently on offer.
According to a new report, opportunities to land a six-figure remote or hybrid role really rebounded in 2024, despite return-to-office (RTO) mandates.
Its figures show that in Q3 and Q4 of 2024, 10% of jobs that pay $100,000 or more were offered remotely, up from 8.83% in Q1 and 8.95% in Q2.
To reach these insights, data scientists analyzed over a million of job postings each quarter and helpfully, the report also lists the highest-paying job trends by industry, and company.
High-paying industries and companies
In first place on the top industries list is aerospace and defense, followed by business services, consumer technology, then in third place, education, government and non-profit.
Other high-ranking sectors include finance and insurance, information technology, legal and accounting, plus media, staffing, and technical services.
If finding a high-paying remote role is of high importance to you, then the report also lists the top 30 companies with the most high-paying jobs available. Unfortunately, it doesn’t correlate the top-paying companies with those offering remote opportunities, so a little digging is required.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, Amazon tops the list of high-paying companies, being the fifth largest employer in the world after various military and Walmart. However, its full five-day RTO woes are well documented.
Following Amazon is Appcast, Theoria Medical, the U.S. Government, Walmart, CVS Health, JP Morgan Chase & Co, General Dynamics, Walgreens, and Apple.
In the top 20 are Raytheon Technologies, Symmetry Financial Group, Leidos Holding, DCS Corp, Northrop Grumman, Lockheed Martin, Stantec, and Citigroup, reflecting the trend of aerospace and defense, finance and professional services all offering employees top dollar.
Completing the top 30 are well-known names Google, Microsoft, Wells Fargo, Cognizant, TikTok, Tata Consultancy Services, UnitedHealth Group, Accenture, ManTech International, and Deloitte.
If you’re wondering what the competition is like for high-paying remote roles, the analysts also looked at the number of applicants per six-figure role.
Jobs paying $100,000 or more are most competitive in the areas of marketing, media, design, and human resources. While jobs in engineering, construction and healthcare had less competition.
Lastly, its experts make predictions for the job market in 2025, and you’re a remote worker, there’s plenty of optimism in the air.
Specialized opportunities will emerge from AI and machine learning and remote work will continue and evolve.
Healthcare and technology will continue to intersect, bringing opportunities in tele-medicine, healthcare data analytics, and for tech professionals who can blend clinical expertise and experience with tech innovation.
And as economic uncertainty looms, a renewed focus on revenue growing roles is expected. Think chief revenue officers, strategy directors and global operations leaders.
As 2025 unfolds and the Trump administration rolls out changes, the job market will continue to adapt to shifts. Though remote work does seem to be under threat, teleworkers may be comforted by these stats that show that remote working also remains a sizable working model, with high-paying opportunities available across industries.
