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In April of 2020, the U.S. saw the highest unemployment rate ever recorded due to COVID-19. Many jobs were eliminated due to the simple fact that people must stay apart in order to prevent spread of the virus. But there has been a silver lining: the saying “necessity is the mother of innovation” has proven to be true.
The COVID-19 pandemic may have eliminated many jobs, but it also created many more. Once America had a moment to recover from the shock of the pandemic, and perhaps accept that whatever we decided was “normal” wouldn’t be returning for a while, innovators of industries began creating new roles that respond to the current situation. Like so many of the pandemic-triggered changes, for example, schools and meetings moving online, maybe these new jobs will stay beyond the pandemic. Only time will tell, but here are interesting jobs that were created as a result of COVID-19.
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COVID-19 tester
Glassdoor.com reports that the annual salary for this job is roughly $55,000, and it typically involves taking oral and nasal swabs of patients. COVID-19 testers are needed at temporary testing sites (like those set up outside of sports stadiums and libraries), pharmacies, nursing homes, offices, hospitals, and places of business where staff must regularly be tested to perform their job. The pay can range based on your experience, but the jobs are commonly filled by registered nurses. To demonstrate how in-demand testing is, know that the University of California San Francisco developed a model for building a testing site in eight days.
