High-demand technology Jobs
With the rapid advance of Information Technology (IT) throughout industries in every country, the shortage of IT skilled workers is becoming more critical than ever. According to The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the demand for employment in computer and information technology occupations will continue to grow much faster than other occupations. As fast growth is expected for every IT occupation, more occupations will be created as new technologies are still emerging.”
In this unprecedented time of rapid growth, students need to seize this opportunity and adjust their study to focus more on science and technology skills. Following is where the high demand occupations are in the next decade:
Software development is the foundation of all IT jobs and continues to be among the high demand skills in the coming decade with a 20 to 30 percent growth from 2017 to 2027. Although technology industry needs more developers, other industries, from healthcare to banking, are also looking to hire more developers for their Digital transformation. The most popular programming languages that have high demand are Java, C++, JavaScript, Python, Ruby, R, and Swift. Among the preferred methods are Agile (Scrum) and DevOps. As a student, if you can develop these technical skills and knowing English, you can work almost anywhere.
As many companies are moving to Cloud computing, the need for Information System workers with skills in Java and. NET framework, Database, and DevOps tools such as Chef, Docker, and Git are essentials. Besides technical skills, the knowledge of security protocols and network systems are also needed. Since all technology works are done in teams, the knowledge of development lifecycle, project management, business processes improvement and data analytics are also becoming more important factors for future career advancing.
Cybersecurity is another occupation that has the high demand IT, and that demand is expected to grow significantly in the next decade as the volume and complexity of systems continue to increase. To work in this specialty, students must have knowledge of networks, firewalls, data monitoring, risks management, and access control to protect the company from being attacked. According to the Global Information Security Workforce Study (GISWS), there is a shortage of 1.8 million cyber-security specialists and almost every company and industry need to have many of them. Today a Bachelor degree in cybersecurity or cybersecurity certifications is in very high demand all over the world.
There are other IT skills that have high demand but require advanced training (MS or Ph.D. degree) such as Data Science and Analytics, Artificial Intelligence, Data Visualization etc. There are a lot of “Hype” about “special training” in these areas but I do not recommend students to take a few months training and be an expert. The fact is even in the U.S. there are only a few universities offer these training as they are still new and will continue to evolve.
Sources
- Blogs of Prof. John Vu, Carnegie Mellon University
