What they do all day? Like business traffic cops, compliance managers make sure their employers understand and conform to all relevant industry laws and regulations. Commonly found in pharmaceutical, health care, financial services and other regulated fields, managers may spend their workday trying to identify hidden risks, arranging employee training, tracking regulatory developments, and drafting and implementing new corporate policies.

How to get the job? An undergrad degree in accounting, management, economics, finance or law is hugely helpful. Big pluses: an industry certification, or a law or other related master's. It's also important to demonstrate thorough knowledge of an industry's laws and regulations -- and to enjoy a challenge, since this job involves a lot of moving parts.

What's great? What's not? Job security is high, and there's the chance to really influence what a company is doing and where it's going. But it's not always easy to do the job well and make everyone happy -- compliance managers have to feel comfortable saying 'no' to people, even if they're higher-ups. --K.A.

What they do all day? Like business traffic cops, compliance managers make sure their employers understand and conform to all relevant industry laws and regulations. Commonly found in pharmaceutical, health care, financial services and other regulated fields, managers may spend their workday trying to identify hidden risks, arranging employee training, tracking regulatory developments, and drafting and implementing new corporate policies. --K.A.