We know there’s a high demand for specialized IT skills but which hot tech skills continue to dominate 2016? We’ve compiled a list of the hottest tech skills on the market–and skills that are losing their sizzle. Check to see if your skills are in high demand, and consider adding more to keep yourself competitive!
Top 10 Hot Tech Skills
- UI/UX Design
- Full-stack Web Development
- Cybersecurity
- Mobile (iOS and Android)
- Big Data (Hadoop, MongoDB, NoSQL, AWS)
- Business Intelligence and Analytics
- IT Project Management (Vertical Specific)
- Cloud (SaaS, IaaS)
- Salesforce
- Internet-of-Things (IoT) Technology
Hiring Trends
Relative to industry expectations for product performance, IT think tank International Data Corporation (IDC) ranks cloud technology specialties 1st and 3rd, respectively, in 2016. CIO ranks cloud architects and integration skills 8th on its top 10 list and 9th by Computer World.
Andrew Ho, president of technology at Global Strategy Group, says GSG has made a significant investment in Salesforce tools, and he wants someone who can ensure that the firm is getting its money’s worth from that technology and any cloud offerings it uses in the future.
“We bought ourselves a Ferrari, but we haven’t figured out how to get it out of first or second gear. There’s so much more we can do with it,” Ho says of Salesforce, noting that many companies face that challenge with other cloud-based systems as well.
Others are following his lead, as the cloud continues to reshape enterprise IT. Research firm IDC predicts that more than half of enterprise IT infrastructure and software investments will be cloud-based by 2018. Specifically, spending on public cloud services will grow to more than $127 billion by 2018, according to an IDC forecast report.
Holding steady in the top 10 skills list is another data-related area of specialization: BI and analytics. According to a Computerworld survey, 34% of respondents with hiring plans said they will be seeking people with this Business intelligence/analytics skills in the next 12 months. Hiring managers are looking for recruits with technical expertise, but they also want BI specialists who understand the business and the industry. Such requirements put a premium on good candidates.
Now considered a skillset as well as an industry, cybersecurity continues to be a hot draw. IDC, CIO and Computer World have all rated it among the top skillset of 2016. Security professionals are in demand and can command high salaries. Exactly 50% of the IT professionals who participated in the ComputerWorld Forecast 2016 survey said they plan to increase spending on security technologies in the next 12 months, and security was No. 2 among the most important IT projects that respondents have underway. Compensation for security pros keeps going up because demand for talented people is strong, and because security specialists play a critical role in most organizations. Research shows the security field will rise about 5% to 7% next year, ranging from $100,000 on up to nearly $200,000 on average. 25% of respondents with hiring plans said they will be seeking people with this skill in the next 12 months.
5 Skills that are in Low Demand
These alone won’t give you a competitive edge anymore, so transition to a relevant technology that delivers the solution.
- Cobol
- Mainframe
- Solaris on premise
- Systems Engineers
- Adobe Flash
- Legacy ASP 2.0
Check out this dynamic tech skills visualization from DICE: “Every circle (or node) of the visualization represents a skill. Hovering over a node will reveal the skill and its associations. Colors designate different “communities” that coalesce around skills; for example, the sky-blue cluster (bottom left) is mostly composed of skills related to customer/tech support, whereas the light green group (top right) includes “Big Data” skills.” (How Tech Skills Connect, Dice Data)
In today’s rapidly changing tech landscape, no one knows which technologies are here to stay and which ones will bite the dust. Pay attention, be agile and constantly be iterating–your projects and your skills. Stay curious, friends.
Research Support
Sources
IT Skills: 10 Hottest Tech Skills for 2016, Computer World