15 Best Jobs for Work-Life Balance (With Duties and Salary)

While some career paths require people to work long shifts that make it challenging to enjoy time outside of the workplace, others provide an optimal work-life balance. Work-life balance is about making time for both work and your personal life without sacrificing too much of either. Finding a position that provides a good work-life balance may improve your job satisfaction, increase your productivity and decrease your stress. In this article, we list 15 of the best jobs for work-life balance plus their national average salaries and primary duties.

Related: A Parent's Guide To Working From Home With Kids

15 best jobs for work-life balance

If you want to find a balance between your personal and professional lives, here are 15 of the best jobs for work-life balance for you to explore:

1. Substitute teacher

National average salary: £118 per day

Primary duties: Substitute teachers work in place of permanent teachers when they cannot be in school for reasons such as illness, holiday or maternity leave. They instruct students using curricula and lesson plans the permanent teacher provides, supervise the behaviour of the students, maintain the organisation of the classroom and help students with their assignments. Substitute teachers work on an as-needed basis, and they often receive a call from an employer about an available assignment one day in advance.

2. Marketing assistant

National average salary: £20,607 per year

Primary duties: Marketing assistants support marketing directors and other executives with marketing efforts and other projects. They work on projects as directed by marketing managers to help the company achieve their goal of maximising profits. Marketing assistants may research data and market trends, help their team develop campaigns and coordinate with sales managers to create strategies for positioning and pricing a product or service. They may also complete typical office duties, such as filing and answering phones.

3. Lab technician

National average salary: £21,037 per year

Primary duties: Lab technicians help scientists and other lab team members perform research and tests in a lab environment. They may work in medical, research or industrial settings, where they analyse materials and perform quality control tests on products such as plastics, chemicals, food and cosmetics. The responsibilities of a lab technician may include planning and preparing experiments, operating equipment, measuring test processes and results and ensuring the safety of the facility by removing waste and sterilising equipment.

Related:

• How To Become a Lab Technician

• How to become a lab analyst (with definition and skills)

4. Recruiting coordinator

National average salary: £23,043 per year

Primary duties: A recruiting coordinator is responsible for interviewing applicants and hiring candidates for open jobs being filled by the recruiting agency they work for. They also create and post job requisitions, draft offer letters to send to job candidates, conduct background checks and communicate with candidates throughout the interview and hiring process to keep them informed of decisions and timelines. As part of a recruitment team, recruiting coordinators maintain the integrity of the organisation's employment process and may provide support to their colleagues by completing other tasks as necessary.

5. Copy editor

National average salary: £24,493 per year

Primary duties: Copy editors are responsible for editing content produced by writers. They review the content and evaluate grammar, punctuation and spelling to ensure the material provides accurate information that fits the company's guidelines. Copy editors may also develop templates, writing and editing frameworks and organisational best practices to maintain the consistency of the content. Those that work for media companies, such as television news or newspapers, also ensure adherence to relevant codes of ethics and legal regulations.

6. Research technician

National average salary: £25,312 per year

Primary duties: Research technicians conduct experiments and tests and gather and record research discovered during these experiments. They typically work in support roles under the supervision of advanced researchers by completing duties such as analysing samples, performing safety assessments, training students and other technicians on how to use lab equipment and assisting researchers with ongoing projects. Universities often hire research technicians on a contract basis, and many candidates choose to use the job as an opportunity to advance their educational and professional goals.

7. Computer programmer

National average salary: £26,436 per year

Primary duties: Computer programmers are responsible for developing various parts of websites and typically work as either permanent employees for a company or on a freelance basis. They work with software development teams by using the instructions the engineer provides to write the code that produces the program. Computer programmers adhere to client preferences and requests as outlined in the project instructions and edit their work as necessary to resolve issues, make the program more efficient and meet the clients' needs.

8. Web designer

National average salary: £26,943 per year

Primary duties: A web designer is responsible for creating the layout, look and features of a website. Although their job differs from that of a programmer, web designers develop fluency in basic programming languages such as HTML, SQL and JavaScript. They use these languages to create the front-end features of a website or those the user sees when they visit the page. Web designers also use design software and their creative skills to create and update websites according to client preferences.

Related: 12 Essential Web Designer Skills

9. Project analyst

National average salary: £30,270 per year

Primary duties: Project analysts assist throughout the course of a software development project by implementing data analysis and performance evaluations, and ensuring all involved parties receive and understand the information. They update, test, change and fix software programmes as deemed necessary due to plan changes, software issues or client requests. Project analysts monitor projects at each phase of development and may also work with development teams to modify project plans.

10. Creative manager

National average salary: £32,564 per year

Primary duties: Creative managers are responsible for the development and implementation of projects aimed at creating new media and materials for marketing, advertising and web communications. They work with marketing and design teams to develop artistic approaches to appealing to their target markets through advertisements and marketing campaigns. Creative managers often use photo, video and audio editing tools to enhance creative resources, which they may use to create materials themselves or provide to marketing and sales teams for their projects.

11. Data analyst

National average salary: £32,179 per year

Primary duties: Data analysts collect, analyse and store data on various subjects, including linguistics, market trends and sales numbers. They use advanced mathematical formulas, algorithms and software programmes to extract data and perform statistical analyses. Then, data analysts use their results to compile reports, which they present to clients along with recommendations about how to improve specific processes based on the data analyst's findings.

Related: How To Become a Data Analyst

12. Content manager

National average salary: £34,151 per year

Primary duties: Content managers produce and publish content through writing, editing and proofreading. They often work on marketing teams, where they coordinate with marketing directors and colleagues, such as social media managers, to strategise plans for the use of the content. Content managers may produce material for digital and print platforms depending on their target audience. They may also help evaluate a marketing campaign's success and contribute ideas for new marketing and content projects.

13. Client manager

National average salary: £34,175 per year

Primary duties: Client managers are responsible for overseeing client relations and identifying potential clients to determine ways to convert them into paying customers. They establish and build relationships with new clients and maintain relationships with current clientele by using analytical and interpersonal skills to meet their needs. Client managers often work with sales and marketing teams to provide input on the company's market and determine how to meet the needs of customers through the company's products or services.

14. Marketing manager

National average salary: £37,092 per year

Primary duties: Marketing managers are professionals who develop and execute marketing strategies for a company. They oversee all aspects of a marketing project from start to finish, which may include communicating with clients and other company departments to determine marketing needs, developing marketing plans and strategies, creating and updating social media pages, designing marketing material and tracking marketing campaign analytics. Marketing managers may delegate some of these tasks to other members of the team, such as content managers or social media managers.

15. Corporate recruiter

National average salary: £41,991 per year

Primary duties: Corporate recruiters are responsible for finding and recruiting the best candidates for corporate positions. They manage the entire employee recruitment process for large organisations and may develop campaigns aimed at hiring entry-level, mid-level or executive employees. Corporate recruiters work with hiring managers to develop best practices for recruitment and employment. They also monitor market trends and company needs to determine which candidates to target through their campaigns and how many employees the company needs.

Salary figures reflect data listed on Indeed Salaries at the time of writing. Salaries may vary depending on the hiring organisation and a candidate's experience, academic background and location.