It’s a great time to add new IT
skills to your arsenal. To help you focus your attention in the right
places, here are 10 in-demand tech skills that IT pros should master,
according to research from Dice.com.
Fastest-growing tech skills
Technology
is constantly evolving, and IT pros need to keep up with changing
skills demands to remain relevant. A recent report from Dice.com tracked
a year's worth of job postings on the site, from April 1, 2015 to April
1, 2016, to determine growth in demand for certain skills
year-over-year. Skills must appear in at least 1,000 job postings in
order to be considered statistically relevant.
Based
on that data, here are the top 10 fastest-growing technology skills IT
pros should consider adding to their repetoire, and examples of the
types of roles available for professionals with those skills.
1. Spark
Following
the success of its open-source framework, Hadoop, Apache developed this
open-source processing engine aimed at helping companies process large
data sets. With more companies building out their tech infrastructures,
Spark professionals with strong coding and programming skills are top
hiring priorities, says Bob Melk, president of Dice. In addition to
competitive compensation packages, hiring managers on Dice are offering
professional development and leadership opportunities to entice
candidates with Spark expertise to join their team, Melk says.
Example career opportunities:
Data Engineer
Spark Architect
2. Azure
Microsoft
Azure is a cloud computing platform designed to improve productivity
for tech professionals. Azure is a crucial skill to have, as it can help
streamline and simplify mobile app development or analytics, says Melk.
Professionals with experience in Microsoft Azure and Amazon Web
Services (AWS) are particularly marketable, with hiring managers on Dice
often looking for candidates who possess both of those skillsets, he
says.
Example career opportunities:
UI Developer
Senior Engineer, Cloud Infrastructure
3. Salesforce
Salesforce
is far from new in the technology world, but it is new to Dice's
fastest-growing skills list. Salesforce continues to be a dominant
player, offering innovative customer service services for sales teams
looking to drive leads and foster stronger client relationships.
Interest in Salesforce professionals is widespread, with universities,
management consulting firms and insurance companies all looking for
professionals with this skillset on Dice, says Melk.
Example career opportunities:
Salesforce Administrator, Databases and Initiatives
Senior Salesforce.com Developer
4. Big Data
Big
data is an all-encompassing term for any collection of data sets so
large and complex that it becomes difficult to process them using
traditional data processing applications. Companies today that are
looking for a competitive edge to leverage big data to gain insight into
customer behavior or patterns in users, making this a highly in-demand
skill, says Melk.
Example career opportunities:
Big Data Developer
Big Data Architect
5. JIRA
JIRA
is a bug, issue-tracking, and project management system developed by
Atlassian and commonly used in software development. JIRA has garnered
popularity in the tech world, with more and more hiring managers on Dice
citing JIRA as a mandatory prerequisite rather than just a
"nice-to-have" skill for a position in software development, Melk says.
Example job opportunities:
Portal Support Engineer
Developer, Software
6. Electrical Engineer
Though
it's the only engineering position on the list, it's no surprise
electrical engineers are in huge demand, says Melk. The role deals with
the design, programming, application, manufacturing and operation of
electronic or computer systems, and play a huge role in the design and
development of Internet-of-Things (IoT) technology; though these
professionals can work for a wide variety of employers from government
contractors to large tech firms and startups, Melk says.
Example career opportunities:
ALCS Senior Electrical Engineer
Electrical Engineer
7. Cloud
As
more companies adopt cloud technology as a solution for storage and
data access, as well as cloud-based applications and technology
providers, cloud skillsets are in high demand, Melk says. Cloud-based
applications are popping up across a variety of industries and the
technology is as ubiquitous today as mobile or big data. For that
reason, companies are more than willing to open up their wallets for
candidates with cloud expertise, Melk says.
Example career opportunities:
Cloud Support Engineer
Cloud Specialist
8. Hive
Apache
Hive is a data warehouse system that analyzes large Hadoop data sets.
Hive's popularity is growing in tandem with other big data skills, like
Spark and more general big data and data analytics skills, says Melk.
While still new to the market, this big data tool is continuing to
garner recognition, with companies like Apple and Amazon looking for
professionals with a working knowledge of Hive.
Example career opportunities:
Senior software engineer - Big Data
Senior software engineer
9. Cassandra
Cassandra
is another big data/Apache skill that's also used to help store,
process and access large sets of data. Essential to a company's success,
professionals with Cassandra experience are well-compensated. In fact,
Dice's 2015-2016 annual salary survey found professionals with Cassandra
experience to be the second-highest earners on the list, Melk says.
Example career opportunities:
Software Engineer Cloud
Sr. Administrator, Database Cassandra
10. Juniper
In
today's market, most companies rely on specific networking products and
services to drive their success, including vendors such as Juniper
Networks, which provides provides companies with network-based identity
and policy control products and firewalls. Melk says Dice often sees
hiring managers in the market for candidates with vendor-specific
network administration or security or support roles, especially around
Juniper Networks technology.
Example career opportunities:
Senior Manager, Information Security Ops
Network Deployment Planning Engineer
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