Top 5 Fastest Growing Jobs in Technology
LinkedIn News released an article last month highlighting 25 UK roles that have grown in demand. Based on LinkedIn data, nearly half of the jobs highlighted were technology related, including Cloud Engineers, Data Analysts, Data Scientists, Cybersecurity Specialists and Software Engineers, mirroring our own experience of the fastest growing jobs in technology, based on demand from our clients.
In this blog post we will discover:
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Which specialist technology jobs are on the rise.
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Why demand for technology jobs have grown.
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Which tech skills and experience are required to excel.
Cloud Technology (Cloud Engineers)
Background: With the introduction of remote working, cloud technologies are being added to an organisation’s technical landscape, to ensure servers, databases, and applications can now be accessed from a home environment. This negates the need for expensive fixed office space, minimises hardware/software costs and enhances remote working capabilities.
Increase in demand: We have therefore seen increased demand for Cloud Engineers since the pandemic. Organisations are looking for those specialists who are capable of overseeing cloud infrastructure and with knowledge on how to design, support and maintain cloud environments such as AWS (Amazon Web Services), Microsoft Azure or Google Cloud.
In larger organisations, the scope of cloud specialists increases, with roles such as Cloud Network Engineer in the network team, or Office365 Application Specialists in the system team.
The wave of the ‘cloud’ has appealed to many IT specialists globally. However, whilst many have been exposed to new cloud projects in their organisations, the demand is for those that have played a significant role in transformations or have upskilled in that specific area, it is those people that can command the higher rates and salaries.
Data Analytics (Data Analysts & Data Engineers)
Background: With the rise of Big Data, skills in data analytics have become high on the list of fastest growing technology jobs, and pivotal to organisational success.
The way that we use data has seen an evolution, with more data being produced and collected than ever before, through the countless devices that we use daily. Whilst cloud environments have replaced legacy systems that are outdated and lack performance, data is another layer and adds a whole to meaning to how technology is approached.
Increase in demand: More organisations are opting for data transformation projects as they strive to become more data driven in their business strategies. Forbes describes this new data driven necessity as a way of adapting to ever-changing business transformation, “as businesses require more and more real-time decision-making, streaming data becomes paramount to making real-time business decisions.”
Strong Data Analysts and Data Engineers are therefore crucial to enable informed decision making, business strategies and performance monitoring. Also, to understand how data is stored within a business, to create tools to make that data more accessible and to develop data platforms to ensure data quality and reliability.
The specialist technology skills we expect to see to secure a role in data analytics include:
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Statistics
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Scripting languages such as SQL and Python to manipulate data
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Data modelling and data visualization techniques when data is being interpreted
Data Science (Data Scientists and Machine Learning Engineers)
Background: Whilst organisations are exploring data transformation projects and making more use of their data, data science delves into this even further. Realising the benefits of becoming data driven, many are taking their data literacy more seriously, to achieve more value out of their data.
Many would say that the technology involved in data science is still fairly new, growing out of statistical analysis and data mining. Whilst both analysts and scientists are involved with analysing data, data analysts will collect and analyse that data, whilst data scientists delve further into the process of data modelling and visualisation. They create new methods for analysis and build new models using programming languages, as well as writing algorithms and predictive models for unknown forms of data.
Increase in demand: Born from the capabilities of data science, there has been an explosion of projects, particularly around Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence; both revolutionising the way that we approach data. Businesses are currently exploring methods of training their data through AI and may bring in machine learning engineers to do so. Machine learning can research and understand what the organisation is looking to achieve with AI, then engineers will design, build, and maintain such systems.
There is constant competition to develop and enhance technology and keep up with the next ‘big thing.’ In-house AI specialists are very much in demand. Whilst programming languages such as R, Python and Java are seen as essential in the AI field, additional skills of deep learning and natural language processing are valuable skills to obtain to gain that extra edge and higher rates or salaries in this area.
Cyber Security (Information Security Analysts and Cyber Security Engineers)
Background: As a result of cloud transformations and data servers moving to online platforms, there is another layer of vulnerability that organisations are facing. Effective cybersecurity is crucial to safeguard organisations and individuals against malicious cyber-attacks. By implementing robust cybersecurity measures, businesses can shield against identity theft, data breaches, and other cybercrimes. Robust cybersecurity can protect both your customers and your data.
Increase in demand: Cyber-crime is increasing significantly, with security breaches such as phishing and hacking a huge threat to personal data security. We are therefore seeing a significant rise in demand for Cybersecurity Engineers and Information Security Analysts.
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Cyber Security Engineers own the responsibility of protecting an organisation’s infrastructure such as their systems, devices, and network. They have an active role in deploying software across the organisation such as SolarWinds, Antivirus and Firewalls, to detect and monitor suspicious and corrupt activity. Cyber Security specialists are also expected to anticipate threats or data breaches, and to create a disaster recovery plan if the worst does happen.
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Information Security Analysts, whilst having an overlap with cyber security, will also look at establishing what security measures can be put in place, developing the means of data access by authorised individuals. They might conduct assessments on risk and vulnerability, using this knowledge to suggest policies or security processes.
For individuals looking to move from other technology jobs into cybersecurity or develop their careers, there are some essential qualifications to consider. They include:
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CompTIA Security+
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Certified Information Security Manager (CISM)
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Cyber Essentials
An official programme that is a recognised scheme for cyber security training is the NCSC Certified Training from the UK Government’s National Cyber Security Centre.
Software Engineering (Software Engineers)
Background: Software Engineers play a significant part in supporting all areas of IT and ‘making things happen’. For instance, Cloud Engineers often work beside Software Engineers to build in-house cloud applications or Cyber Security Engineers will work with Software Engineers to build secure technical environments.
Increase in demand: We are currently seeing demand for Software Engineers increase rapidly, this is in line with research by Knowledge Hut, highlighting that the need for Software Engineers has increased by nearly 17% coming into 2023. We have seen a particular increase in demand for full-stack developers. Having one person that can cover both front and back-end development, rather than two, streamlines resources and workflow.
Full-stack development roles are a great example of how useful investment in long-term personal development can be. Specialists are building up versatile specialist skills:
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HTML
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CSS
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JavaScript
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Back-end languages (Python, PHP, Ruby)
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Database storage
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HTTP
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REST
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NPM
These skills help individuals move into in-demand roles, take on more responsibility and achieve greater business impact, leading to the ability to earn significantly higher salary packages or contract rates. Other valuable skills include soft skills such as stakeholder management and effective communication to enable team collaboration and improved project delivery and outcomes.
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