Richard

A new study shows that AI jobs are concentrated in companies you’d least expect.

Computing solutions specialist Getac analyzed LinkedIn and Glassdoor job listings for companies with the most AI-related postings and looked for jobs like Senior Director of Analytics & AI, AI Technical Writer, AI Application Engineer, and AI Solution Sales Specialist.

Related: These Are the Top Tech Skills Employers Want the Most, According to a New Examination of 24,000 Job Listings

Microsoft topped the list, beating out Meta, which came in second.

The report found that, while the usual Big Tech AI players dominated the list, other companies made surprise appearances, too, including the U.S. Department of the Treasury, Mount Sinai Health System, and the Georgia Institute of Technology.

Here are the companies that currently have the most AI-related job postings listed.

1. Microsoft

Number of postings: 1,335

2. Meta

Number of postings: 1,232

3. Deloitte

Number of postings: 461

Related: Worried About AI Stealing Your Job? A New Report Calls These 10 Careers ‘AI-Proof’

4. U.S. Department of the Treasury

Number of postings: 417

5. Huntington Ingalls Industries

Number of postings: 363

6. Mount Sinai Health System

Number of postings: 355

7. Georgia Institute of Technology

Number of postings: 338

8. Accenture

Number of postings: 293

9. PwC

Number of postings: 279

10. InterSources

Number of postings: 249

Habit stacking is a powerful tool, especially for busy entrepreneurs who need to maximize their time and efficiency. While the topic has been discussed in depth and well documented by James Clear, author of Atomic Habits, the idea of habit stacking is to stack up a new habit on top of a current habit.

So, for example, Clear references a meditation habit: “After I brew my morning coffee, I will meditate for one minute.” Or a gratitude habit: “Before I eat my first bite of dinner, I will say one thing I am grateful for that day.”

I confess that I am a multitasker unless I’m working on a deep project or having conversations with friends and family. Below are some of the go-to habit stacks I practice regularly.

1. Morning digital detox and movement

I like to exercise first thing in the morning, and during my workouts, I do not use my phone. I am focused on my workout, my music and making sure I get the most out of my time in the gym, which I thoroughly enjoy.

It’s also wonderful to kick off the morning off my phone, not scrolling and keeping my mind clear, energized and my overall self in a healthy flow state. Morning routines are critical for productivity and positivity.

Related: How to Master Your Morning Routine

2. Driving and focused time with kids or partner

I speak with many parents who drive their kids to school and talk about how their children are glued to their phones. While I do take business and personal calls while I drive solo, I have always prioritized conversations with my two boys and husband when we are in the car together.

Most of us have chaotic days, and the time in the car together is a nice time to catch up, talk about the day and listen to music together. Instead of asking your kids, “How was school?” try something more like, “Who made you laugh today?” Or “What was the coolest class today?”

3. Podcasts and protein

I prioritize nutrition and am not one to skip meals. Lately, my breakfast is a skillet-sized chocolate protein pancake with no sugar and about 50g of protein. It’s basically raw cacao powder, protein powder and egg whites or eggs.

While I make this, I usually take calls, usually internal or more casual calls that do not require me to be in front of a screen. I also catch up on learning via podcasts. Most importantly, you should kick off your day with protein as it is the best fuel for your brain and body and will help prevent poor eating habits.

4. Sunlight, steps and creative thinking

I like to combine walking with brainstorming and thinking, and although it can be difficult, I schedule a few short walks where I don’t make a call, listen to a podcast or play music. Instead, I think. This ‘phone completely off’ habit stack ensures healthy physical activity and beneficial sunlight (when the sun is out!) and usually leads to creative ideas or problem-solving.

This habit is also an effective exercise to do with a work colleague. I’ve come up with multiple new ideas or solved problems while on a walk or hike. The endorphins and movement are proven to support this. If you really want to maximize this habit stack, plan this no-phone walk immediately after a meal, as this will help prevent the post-lunch energy slump.

5. Reading and eating

I’m not one to take a Zoom call while I eat my meals. I know enough about digestion and my own gut health that I feel best when I eat slowly, put my fork down in between bites, and genuinely enjoy the food in front of me. You will, too, alongside making better food choices and here’s why. As days are packed, it’s tough to find time just to eat and do nothing, so I choose to read through longer reports, documents and even emails while I eat.

Related: 5 Eating Habits That Rewire Your Brain for Success

6. Camera-ready and virtual meeting days

When I review my schedule for the weeks ahead, I look to plan for a couple of days per week where I stack my video calls and meetings and in the morning when I can. Those are the days I am a little more camera-ready with hair and makeup for prospect client pitching, presentations, webinars and client update calls.

While I have no issue throwing back my hair after a workout and hopping on a Zoom call, I feel more professional and confident when I’ve cleaned up with my hair and a little makeup. Getting dressed and camera-ready requires an extra 20-minute block of time for me that, on a non-video call day, can be a 20-minute block of time to take a yoga or stretch break, go for a walk or spend a little extra time with family. Stacking video calls also makes for better time management and efficiency, as you are not distracted shifting from deep work to a call and then back to deep work.

7. Mobility and mindfulness

Who has 5-20 minutes to do mobility and mindfulness in the middle of the day? Track our scrolling habits, and you’ll quickly learn that almost all of us do! I prioritize mobility to keep injury-free from my workouts and especially how much I sit or stand every day in front of my screen. I take deep breaths while stretching and express gratitude for my body’s ability to move and be healthy.

Heidi Zak, Founder and CEO of Third Love, a leading women’s intimate apparel company focused on body positivity, inclusivity, comfort and fit, listens to podcasts post-workout while she stretches. Her latest workout and energy hack during the day is to do ten air squats every hour. Who would like to join her?

Related: 3 Ways Mindfulness Can Make You a Better Entrepreneur

8. Red light therapy and stretching

Red light therapy has been proven to support circulation, blood flow, reduce inflammation and improve mood. From mats to devices, there are many red light therapy devices out there across different price points.

I tend to use my red light therapy mat, made by HigherDOSE, in the evenings for 10-15 minutes (even in between kid drop-offs) or while dinner bakes in the oven. I meditate or stretch on it or sometimes put my legs up the wall, which is excellent for circulation and health.

9. Thinking of others and letting them know

After I drop kids off at school or while headed to pick them up at practice, I look to call a total of three people per day to check in on them, tell them I’m thinking about them or offer support. It’s rare for people to call each other the way we used to, and you’d be surprised at how many will say, “This is so thoughtful,” or “It’s so good to hear from you,” or “You made my day by calling.”

Thoughtfulness and kindness go a long way. Remember that family, strong friendships and camaraderie among team members make for happier and more productive human beings. Let your friends, colleagues and past clients know you are thinking about them. You may surprise yourself with how good “spreading sunshine” can make you feel, along with new potential business opportunities that could emerge from reconnecting with others. Next time you think about someone, send them a text or call them and let them know!

I encourage you to try one of these habit stacks or create one of your own. Do you want to read more? Put a book on your pillow and plan to go to bed 15 minutes earlier. Do you want a less chaotic morning? Pack lunches the night before or have overnight oats or hard-boiled eggs on hand in the fridge.

Be specific and set a specific cue for how you’ll stack a habit. Start small. For example, a 10-minute walk after lunch does wonders for your digestion and metabolism. Enlist a friend for accountability and give yourself a timeline, such as 30 days. If you consistently start a new habit stack that benefits your overall health and productivity, reward yourself. You may also find the reward to be fulfillment, satisfaction and how much better you feel with your new habit stack.

3 Benefits of owning a Destination Athlete franchise:

1. Exclusive territory rights providing a potentially unopposed market presence.
2. National brand support including advertising, SEO, and a robust franchisee network.
3. Flexible, home-based business model allowing for full-time or part-time commitment.

Destination Athlete is a franchise that provides comprehensive resources for youth and school athletic teams, specializing in equipment, apparel, fundraising, and performance solutions. Established in 2008, the company offers entrepreneurs a low-cost, home-based opportunity to support athletes and sports teams with a one-stop resource that aims to fulfill all their needs. Click Here to learn more about Destination Athlete.

Key Facts:

• Minimum Initial Investment: $28,300
• Initial Franchise Fee: $20,000 – $50,000
• Liquid Capital Required: $20,000
• Net Worth Required: $100,000
• Veteran Incentives: 15% off franchise fee

Alli Webb spent her twenties working in hair salons. When she moved to Los Angeles and became a stay-at-home mom, she started a mobile blowout side hustle — so she would go to a client’s home, blow-dry their hair, and style it for $40. No haircuts or hair color.

“I got tons of clients,” Webb told entrepreneur Jeff Berman on the Masters of Scale podcast earlier this month. Her first pitch was to other moms on a Yahoo group. It read: “I’m a stay-at-home mom and a longtime hairstylist. I’ll come over and blow out your hair for only $40 while your babies are sleeping.”

Webb’s pitch was successful and she soon couldn’t keep up with demand. She started thinking about opening a brick-and-mortar location so her clients could come to her, instead of her going to them.

Related: How to Overcome Imposter Syndrome and Start a Business, According to Gary Vee, a Serial Entrepreneur Worth Over $200 Million

Her brother, former Yahoo marketing director Michael Landau, was willing to help financially back the business, though he did have some questions at first.

“He was a little perplexed, ‘Like, why can’t women blow out their own hair?'” Webb said. “And I was like, you did grow up with me.” In previous interviews, Webb shared that she had frizzy hair growing up and was “obsessed with her hair.”

Landau was finally convinced by the success that Webb saw in her side hustle. He invested $250,000 while Webb and her then-husband Cameron Webb put in their savings of about $50,000. In 2010, the founding team opened the first Drybar salon in Brentwood, California. It famously offers no cuts and no color.

^{Alli Webb. Photo Credit: Brian Stukes/Getty Images}

Though Drybar’s salons offered a limited range of hair services — just the wash, blowout, and style — Webb says that she wasn’t concerned about the business model. What she wanted was volume: 30 to 40 blowouts per day to break even.

Related: The Side Hustle She Worked on in a Local Starbucks ‘Went From Nothing to $1 Million.’ Now It Will Make Over $30 Million This Year.

Demand ended up doubling expectations — to 60 to 80 blowouts per day.

“We realized very quickly, like within the first few days, [that] we had captured lightning in a bottle,” Webb said. “Women were coming in and quite literally droves. I mean, we were turning people away left and right.”

Drybar grew to over 150 salons across the country within a decade. Webb ended up selling Drybar’s product line to leading consumer products company Helen of Troy for $255 million in cash in 2020. WellBiz Brands acquired the franchise rights to Drybar salons in 2021 for an undisclosed sum.

Webb couldn’t have imagined what Drybar would become. When she opened her first shop, she just wanted it to be a place where she could do what she loved.

“I was really excited about it and not thinking I was going to turn it into this massive multi-million-dollar blowout empire,” she said.

Related: They Started a Home-Based Side Hustle Earning Up to $20,000 a Month — and It’s Still Growing: ‘Will Never Get Old’

As the founder of a leading global personal branding agency for CEOs, I am always on the lookout for lessons we can learn from people in the public eye. Even when they are not entrepreneurs or business owners themselves, their experiences frequently offer takeaways we can apply to our leadership journeys.

As a Ukrainian-Canadian, I have no political affiliation in the case of American politics. Yet, I watched the recent presidential debate through the lens of personal branding with fascination — and in this article, I’ll share my observations.

U.S. debates take place on what can arguably be considered the world’s biggest stage with the highest of stakes. Although we may all be far removed from the world of politics, as leaders who are working on building our own leadership brands, we can learn some incredible lessons as we observe the presidential candidates.

Clarity is one of the foundational elements of building a brand. Before we put ourselves in the public eye, we need to be clear on the WHY behind our brand building (i.e., our goals), clear on our unique strengths, clear on the audience we want to be addressing and clear on the messaging we want to be delivering to that audience. We also need to be prepared both with intentionality before any public appearance and for the criticism our visibility may attract.

Let’s unpack this further.

As you begin to build your personal brand as a leader of your organization, you need to:

Related: How to Build a Personal Brand in 5 Steps

1. Have clarity of your goals

Why are you on stage (virtual or physical)? Why are you writing an article? Why are you agreeing to a podcast interview?

Harris’ goals were clear. She came to dispel the image of being ineloquent, uncomfortable on stage and laughing out of place. To dispel the image, she most evidently prepared extensively. She clearly rehearsed not only her talking points but also her body language (from her physical positioning during Trump’s remarks to the smiling to the “not true at all” mouthing). How do we know that she was intentional and rehearsed? Due to the sheer volume of repetition that we all observed.

Lesson for you: Don’t just “go with the flow.” When you are building your personal brand as a leader, do it with intention and clear goals in mind.

2. Be clear on your strengths and play to them

This is when we feel that someone is “on brand” or isn’t. What does being “on brand” look and feel like for you? This will apply to all scenarios: from the morning huddle to the leadership strategy retreat to the industry conference you may be speaking at.

Trump’s undeniable strength is in his off-the-cuff quips. The very few viral highlights of the debate are a testament to that. Harris, on the other hand, stumbles and stutters off-script, and we saw it a couple of times when she fell for Trump’s bait.

Lesson for you: Don’t observe someone else’s style and attempt to emulate it. Instead, get very clear on your strengths and over-index them, even if your style garners criticism.

3. Paint a narrative

We live in an era where, for better or for worse, words now matter more than actions. Many people were asking on X yesterday why the candidates were not being fact-checked. Although to an extent they were and continue to be post-debate, the truth remains: If someone says something, then it is often believed to be so.

Harris seems to have come into the debate with a goal of painting the narrative of Trump as erratic, dangerous and out of control. She focused a lot of her storytelling on that specific narrative and baited Trump strategically to ensure that his rhetoric matched her narrative. In many ways, this turns what should be a fact-based debate into a he said/she said game of verbal ping pong, but there is a lesson for us here, nonetheless.

Lesson for you: If you are going to build a personal brand as a leader, you need to become a strong storyteller. Stories are memorable, they create emotion, and they build affinity.

Related: The 3 Biggest Mistakes CEOs Make With Their Personal Brand (and How to Turn Those Mistakes Around)

4. Define your audience

Your audience will be closely tied to your goals, so lesson number one remains a crucial one. If your goal as a leader is to attract higher caliber talent to the organization, then this is a very different audience than that of a leader who wants to secure more board work, for example.

Once again, Harris came to the debate with more clarity and intent. She was evidently casting a wide net and made it clear by continuously referencing middle-class Americans as “all Americans.” Trump failed to address the audience, and it remained unclear whether his goal was to focus on his existing follower base or to address a wider audience hoping to sway swing voters.

Lesson for you: Clarity of audience leads to clarity of key talking points. Define yours before you begin creating any content, be it a LinkedIn post or a talk on a big stage.

5. Learn to handle criticism

The bigger your visibility gets, the more backlash you can expect to receive. It truly is not a question of “if,” but rather a question of “how much.” We are all subject to keyboard warriors’ boundless desire to criticize and virtue-signal, but how we react is what affects how others perceive us.

Trump made a crucial mistake last night. He fell for Harris’ baiting over and over again. Instead of having clarity of goals and building out his own narrative, he began to reply about crowd sizes at his rallies, world leaders mocking him and other disconnected jabs. Rather than remaining cool, calm and collected, he began to babble incessantly. You might relate: So many of us have fallen for baiters at least once or twice on social media. What begins as an unpleasant remark from a stranger can quickly lead to us losing face and not putting our best foot forward.

Lesson for you: Prepare for criticism. Have a go-to way of replying, and stick to it no matter how hard someone tries to knock you off course.

Related: 5 Secrets People With Popular Personal Brands Never Told You

Ultimately, the key lesson for all of us is that intention matters. I have seen many leaders go with the flow when building their leadership brand and then be disappointed with the lack of results or not getting the results they were hoping for. This is where strategy rooted in clarity makes a key difference. Clarity first, execution second, and consistency for the win!

Webinars have become a popular presentation tool for many businesses. They allow a company to educate clients and promote products or services to an online audience. However, some businesses do not use webinars to their fullest advantage. Here are some tips for utilizing webinars that may not be as commonly known to help companies build their reputation as experts and sell more value to customers.

Provide real value without directly selling

When people sign up for a webinar, they want to learn something useful without feeling like they are being sold to. You need to focus your content on providing real value to your attendees through helpful tips, strategies, case studies or data they will find useful. You can do this without directly pitching your products or services. This will build credibility as an expert people want to learn from. Later in the webinar or in the follow-up, you can discuss how your offerings can help them implement what they learned.

For example, if you are in web design, your webinar could provide tips for improving website usability without a sales pitch. Later you may explain how your web design services can apply those usability best practices. Attendees will be much more open to your solutions after first benefitting from the helpful content.

Related: Why Webinars Should Be a Key Part of Your Business’s Online Strategy

Ask compelling discussion questions

One main thing you can do is pause during your webinar to ask open-ended questions that encourage discussion and interaction in the chat box. Questions like “What challenges have you faced with this” or “How could these tips apply to your situation” get people engaged and thinking deeper about the content. It makes the webinar feel more like a conversation than a one-way presentation. Compelling questions also help reinforce the key ideas since people need to process them to answer.

Share relevant case studies and examples

Nothing sells better than real-world examples. Look for case studies from customers or public case studies about how other businesses leveraged the strategies or tools in your webinar topic successfully. Discuss the challenges they faced, the steps they took and the results they achieved. Attendees can more easily imagine applying the ideas to their own situations when backed by specific examples. Make sure to get permission to share any customer stories or to only share what is publicly available.

Record and distribute the webinar later

Many people sign up for a webinar with the intention to watch it live, but real life gets in the way and they miss it. Others may discover the valuable topic after the live date passed. By recording your webinar, you give it longer legs and an opportunity to reach a wider audience. You can upload the recording to your website, share it on social networks or send the link in follow-up emails. It becomes a piece of evergreen content promoting your expertise for months afterward.

Offer a valuable downloadable resource

Along with sharing the webinar recording, also provide attendees with a downloadable workbook, checklist, template or other takeaway resource they can reference later. This could be a compilation of the webinar discussion questions, key stats shared or a planning guide for implementing the strategies. By giving them something immediately useful they can apply, it leaves them with a positive experience of your webinar and brand.

Related: 12 Steps for Creating the Perfect Webinar

Ask for interactions during the live session

To keep people engaged when attending your live webinar, frequently ask questions for poll questions or type answers in the chat. Questions like “Type A if you’ve faced this challenge or B if not” or “Rate your confidence on a scale of 1 to 5” make people active participants instead of passive listeners. You can even have everyone introduce themselves in the chat to create connections. Interaction makes the webinar experience more engaging and impactful.

Follow up consistently after the event

Just because the session ended does not mean your contact with attendees should end. In the days following, you could send at least 3 follow-up emails thanking people for attending, recapping the key takeaways, and offering additional support or resources. You may also want to send a survey to collect feedback on your webinar experience. Consistent follow-up is important here!

Promote your upcoming webinars in advance

Don’t just publish a webinar signup link the day it will happen. Promote your upcoming webinars well in advance, whether on your website, blog, in emails or on your social networks. Using emails enables you to inform your customers about your next session. This is important because you need to give attendees time on their calendars and generate early interest and commitment through teasers about the topic and speaker. You may even do an early bird discount for those who register several weeks before to encourage this. This advance promotion will spread the word wider and will lead to higher registration numbers.

Related: 7 Practical Steps to Host Webinars That Drive Sales

Consider a webinar series

Instead of one-off webinars, you can even plan a webinar series around a specific topic or set of related topics. This could work greatly — it could be a monthly webinar series like “website optimization tips” or a multi-part series like “social media marketing mastery.” A series approach will allow you to go deeper into the content over time and build community around the topic. It will also give your attendees a schedule to look forward to.

While getting started with webinars requires some planning and preparation up front, putting these strategies into action can start generating positive results for your bottom line over time. Good luck!

Running a business is a huge undertaking, especially if you are a woman entrepreneur. Despite progress in gender equality among most sectors of society, women-owned businesses still face unique challenges in the marketplace.

A 2023 Bank of America survey found that 31% of women business owners said they have had difficulty accessing capital, while 31% felt they do not have the proper information or qualifications to feel confident applying for capital.

Another persistent challenge for women-owned businesses is the ability to earn consumer trust. Even though about 40% of all small businesses in the United States are owned by women, 46% reported experiencing gender bias while operating their businesses.

One way to overcome these obstacles is through customer-facing business certifications. These independent, third-party evaluations can boost your credibility with potential lenders and customers alike.

Just like seeing an A+ health rating in a restaurant’s window can encourage first-time customers to try a new restaurant or help retain regular customers, earning third-party certifications can help women-owned businesses build customer and lender confidence in their offerings.

Today’s certifications cover various areas, including environmental impacts, ethical business practices and supplier diversity. These certifications can help define your place, values and ethics, as well as those of other businesses in the market. And while some certifications are harder than others to obtain, doing the required work can pay off in the long term with many benefits that can boost your business’ bottom line.

Related: Grow Your Business and Strengthen Your Entrepreneurial Mindset — 3 Key Strategies for Women Entrepreneurs

Enhancing your brand story

Business certifications help to share and tell the store of your company’s values. They show customers what you stand for and what matters most to your business. When customers see your business has a certification badge, they understand that it meets certain standards and requirements. This helps to enhance your brand story.

Building trust through transparency

Customers will appreciate the transparency and commitment to the standards that certifications require and the efforts made by your business to meet them. By undergoing the certification process, your business is committed to the respective certification requirements and goals. This builds consumer confidence, as they know they are supporting a business that adheres to high standards.

Joining a community of like-minded individuals

Business certifications can give business owners access to a network of other businesses that share similar values. By joining a certified network, you gain access to events, forums and partnerships that can help your business grow and thrive with like-minded individuals. This community can be an invaluable resource for support, collaboration, mentorship, new opportunities and growth.

Boosting business development

Businesses with the same certification are more likely to do business with you because they share the same values and missions. This can lead to new partnership and collaboration opportunities, and as a result it can increase a business’s customer base.

Raising visibility, awareness and association

Having business certifications can make your business more attractive to companies and customers looking for partners or suppliers with similar values. Business certifications are a great way to stand out in a marketplace flooded with many consumer options. It also doesn’t hurt to have your business associated with other well-respected certified companies.

When choosing the best certification for your business, it may be helpful to keep in mind Simon Sinek’s Golden Circle model, which consists of three concentric circles: why, how, and what.

He emphasizes the importance of starting with “why” when communicating a brand’s value proposition. According to Sinek, the “Why“ represents the core purpose, beliefs and values of an organization. It’s the emotional driver behind what they do. The “How” describes the unique approach or process that sets the organization apart. And, the “What” refers to the tangible products or services offered by the organization.

People are inspired by shared purpose, causes and beliefs. Customers don’t just buy products or services; they buy into the underlying purpose and values. By obtaining certifications in keeping with your own vision and values, you are effectively communicating your “why” to your customers, attracting loyal brand evangelists who believe in your mission.

Related: What if Women Entrepreneurs Actually Got What They Needed for Their Businesses?

Top certifications to consider obtaining

Women Owned Certification

This certification verifies that a business is at least 51% owned, controlled and operated by a woman or women. It helps customers and other businesses support women-owned businesses. For women-owned businesses, this network can be empowering as it offers a networking opportunity to connect with other women, share experiences and support each other in navigating the challenges they face.

Certified B Corporation

Certified B Corporations meet high standards of verified performance, accountability, and transparency regarding factors such as employee benefits and charitable giving, supply chain practices and input materials. This certification is ideal for businesses committed to positively impacting society and the environment. Having a certification like B Corporation shows your audience that your business is not just about making a profit but also cares about making a positive impact on the world.

Climate Neutral Certification

The Climate Neutral Certification demonstrates that sustainability is part of your brand’s core values. This certification proves your commitment to reducing, and even eliminating, carbon greenhouse gas emissions, and mitigating climate change. This is a popular and well-recognized certification that can attract eco-conscious customers to your businesses.

Fair Trade Certification

This certification is for businesses that are committed to ethical sourcing, ensuring products meet rigorous social, environmental and economic standards. It’s a powerful way to demonstrate your commitment to fair trade practices, especially to female and minority workers.

Getting business certifications is not just about adding a badge to your business; it is about enhancing your brand story, building consumer trust, joining a supportive community, boosting business development and increasing visibility. For women-owned businesses, these certifications can help them overcome the unique challenges and barriers they face in their business journey.

The number of college students in the U.S. majoring in computer science hit 600,000 last year — a 40% increase from five years ago. Meanwhile, it’s simultaneously getting harder for these graduates to find work as they compete with career changers and fluctuating demand.

A new study from software company Finoit aimed to understand the job market by finding the most in-demand skills across tens of thousands of job postings in the U.S. The findings can help job seekers discover which technical points to highlight on their resumes and give career switchers an idea of which skills to learn first.

Related: Worried About AI Stealing Your Job? A New Report Calls These 10 Careers ‘AI-Proof’

The researchers started with a list of tech skills, pinpointed exactly how many listings required them, and then matched the skills to average salaries from Indeed. They found that traditional programming languages like Java and C++ came up often, while emerging areas like quantum computing and blockchain didn’t make the list.

Still, that doesn’t mean job seekers should neglect to study emerging fields.

“The tech landscape is constantly evolving,” Finoit co-founder and CTO Mukesh Choudhary said, in a statement. “While developing expertise in high-demand areas like Python and SQL is crucial, it’s equally important to keep an eye on emerging trends and be ready to upskill accordingly.”

Related: The AI Job Market Is Surging and Paying Up to $300K a Year. Here’s How to Snag a Role.

Python and SQL, both used for data science, came up the most — with each named in about 24,000 job listings.

Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Azure, with average salaries above $140,000, are also on the top 10 list, indicating that cloud computing skills are in demand. Robotics, a vaguely worded skill, ranked fourth.

“Robotics’ high ranking is particularly intriguing,” Choudhary stated. “While it’s clear that companies are investing heavily in this area, the broad nature of ‘robotics’ as a skill set may lead to some confusion. Hiring managers and job seekers alike need to be more specific about the exact robotics skills required for each role.”

Here are the top ten tech skills that employers list on job postings.

1. Python

Number of jobs containing the search term: 24,000

Average salary: $126,673

2. SQL

Number of jobs containing the search term: 24,000

Average salary: $92,457

3. AWS

Number of jobs containing the search term: 16,000

Average salary: $140,733

4. Robotics

Number of jobs containing the search term: 15,000

Average salary: $117,234

5. Linux

Number of jobs containing the search term: 13,000

Average salary: $84,939

6. Java

Number of jobs containing the search term: 11,000

Average salary: $92,177

7. JavaScript

Number of jobs containing the search term: 9,000

Average salary: $111,620

8. Azure

Number of jobs containing the search term: 9,000

Average salary: $140,733

9. C#

Number of jobs containing the search term: 8,000

Average salary: $122,372

10. C++

Number of jobs containing the search term: 8,000

Average salary: $126,129

The iPhone 16 may have been the focal point of Apple’s Monday event, but Apple had another announcement to pair with its new $799 smartphone — a free update to the $250 AirPods Pro 2, which Apple refreshed last year, to make the earbuds double as hearing aids.

“We’re really excited to announce that this fall, AirPods Pro will have a clinical grade, over-the-counter hearing aid feature,” Dr. Sumbul Desai, vice president of health at Apple, said at the event, specifying that the feature addresses mild to moderate hearing loss.

Related: FDA Finalizes Rule To Make Hearing Aids Over-the-Counter

After a software update this fall, anyone with a pair of AirPods Pro 2 and an updated iPhone will be able to access a five-minute, at-home, clinically validated hearing test. All they have to do is tap their iPhone screen in response to auditory cues. Based on the results of the hearing test, Apple promises that the AirPods will become personalized hearing aids sensitive to their needs.

Apple also added an “on by default” for everyone hearing protection mode, which actively filters out loud background noise, like the sound of a lawn mower, for hearing health.

Around 20% of the world’s population, or about 1.5 billion people, experience hearing loss, according to the World Health Organization. In the U.S., about 36 million people have mild to moderate hearing loss, while 1.8 million people experience severe hearing loss.

Related: Why Investing in the Accessibility Space Is a Smart Business Move

Hearing aids can be expensive, priced anywhere from $2,000 to $7,000 per pair, though some over-the-counter devices can cost as little as $30. The price variation arose in 2022 after the FDA passed a rule allowing for over-the-counter, lower-cost hearing aids. Though the quality and fit of over-the-counter options may be less satisfactory than prescription options, “very few” insurance policies cover the cost of prescription devices. So over-the-counter could be the affordable alternative.

^{The Apple AirPods Pro 2. Photographer: Nic Coury/Bloomberg via Getty Images}

Apple isn’t the first to offer affordable hearing aids. Sony has multiple self-fitting, FDA-cleared hearing aids ranging between $799 and $1,099, with its first two options released in 2022. Sennheiser introduced its own over-the-counter hearing aids in August 2023 and priced them at $999.

Apple differentiates the AirPods Pro 2 by saying that the device’s hearing updates form “the world’s first end-to-end hearing health experience.” About 100 million people around the world use AirPods, emphasizing the broad reach of hearing updates Apple could roll out in the years to come.

The AirPods Pro 2 has been available since 2022 but the company refreshed the product last year with USB-C charging and adaptive noise control. The earbuds did not get any hardware changes this year; Apple announced this free software update instead.

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Transitioning from a founder to CEO is a delicate dance. On the one hand, founders have vision, passion and a deep understanding of their business — after all, they did create it.

But the qualities that make a successful founder don’t necessarily translate to the next phase. History is littered with examples of entrepreneurs who held on too tight, unable or unwilling to relinquish control even after it became clear it was time. Some especially dramatic examples from recent years include Uber’s Travis Kalanick and WeWork’s Adam Neumann, both of whom clung to power with misguided ferocity and were eventually ousted.

What separates a successful founder-turned-CEO from a failed one? As someone who remains the head of my company, Jotform, after founding it nearly 20 years ago, I’ve got some insight into what it takes to make the leap.

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The benefits of bootstrapping

The data shows that founder-CEOs can be wildly successful. Among the unicorns founded in the last 15 years, 65% have retained their original founder as CEO, writes Ali Tamaseb in his book Super Founders: What Data Reveals About Billion-Dollar Startups. Of those that were acquired or had an IPO valuation of more than $1 billion, 73% were founder-led at the time of acquisition.

But problems can arise for founders who find themselves suddenly beholden to VCs. Exponential growth and rapid scaling often don’t leave founders with the time they need to learn to be good CEOs — and believe me, becoming a good CEO doesn’t happen overnight. For evidence of this, look no further than the catastrophic meltdown of Groupon founder Andrew Mason, an undeniably smart guy whose product rocketed to popularity (and nearly unprecedented funding levels) faster than he was prepared to handle.

Bootstrapped founders have the advantage of growing slowly, which gives you much more time to learn the CEO ropes. In many ways, bootstrapping can be seen as a masterclass in leadership. I was a coder when I started Jotform and had zero skills in management, marketing, business, accounting, sales — the list goes on. But as my company grew, so did I. Having my hands in so many facets of Jotform’s operations helped me understand my own weaknesses and what I needed in a team to help it flourish.

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Staying on vs. stepping back

Of course, any founder, bootstrapped or not, can fail to become a good CEO. In his book The Hard Thing About Hard Things, Ben Horowitz argues that effective CEOs have to understand not only what to do, but how to get their companies to do those things. The second part tends to be more challenging, especially as a business grows and its operations become more complex. After all, tasks like streamlining operations, lowering costs and balancing the management of employees, products and services bear little in common with the skills required to launch a successful startup.

In a data analysis for Harvard Business Review, Bradley Hendricks, Travis Howell, and Christopher Bingham determined that while founder-CEO leadership is associated with nearly a 10% higher company valuation at IPO, the value of having a founder at the helm rapidly deteriorates afterward. Furthermore, they found that the value added by a founder-CEO “essentially dwindles to zero” three years from the time the firms go public; after that, they actually detract value from the company.

The authors note that these are only trends, and it’s not hard to conjure a list of founder-CEOs who have excelled. But I believe there’s value in simply being aware of the differences between the two roles. A caterpillar who emerges from a cocoon as a butterfly can’t expect to continue living life as a caterpillar, crawling around plants and munching on leaves. That just isn’t what butterflies do. Acknowledging that your day-to-day as a CEO will look fundamentally different from your day-to-day as a founder is step one.

Whether you should stay on or step back is a question only you can answer for yourself. What aspects of the CEO role actually appeal to you? Are you staying on because you have the desire and dedication to become a great CEO, or because you’re convinced no one else can possibly lead the company successfully?

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Establish your priorities

Being a CEO doesn’t mean you can handle every aspect of operations. Nor should you want to — not only is it impractical and a poor use of your time, but undoubtedly, there’s someone else who can do it better.

Instead, assess what aspects of your business interest you most, and where you can add the most value. Once you’ve established your high-level priorities and figured out what you — and you alone — are best suited to do, it’s time to delegate.

I agree with the take of Rich Barton, co-founder and CEO of the Zillow Group, who said that becoming a “leader of leaders,” rather than merely a “leader of a team,” takes a growth mindset, humility and hard work. In a rapid growth situation, responsibilities outgrow capabilities, and it’s a CEO’s job to recognize this — even as it applies to the CEO role itself.

“Leaders will need to be up-leveled and supplemented with outside talent,” he says. “Founder/CEOs who are not able to do this will ultimately be up-leveled themselves.”

It’s also essential to be open to advice and feedback. Of course, your stable of resources should include other CEOs, books and podcasts, but I think it’s also valuable to talk to peers who can relate to your challenges but also offer you a different perspective to counterbalance your own.

There is no one-size-fits-all approach to becoming a great CEO. But you do have to be honest with yourself about whether it’s a job you really want, and moreover, whether you want it for the right reasons. If you do, you have to prepare to establish your priorities, adopt a growth mindset and challenge yourself to do what’s best for your business.