Let’s face it, top IT skills are where the future’s at! If you’ve got some expert technological skills, 2022 is going to feel more secure for you. With more and more people working remotely, the IT field has really opened up and there are a lot of top tech skills that are in high demand in the job market. If you’re unsure of what to focus on, HiCounselor has listed 12 of the most in demand IT skills that will help you secure a job in 2022.
1. Cybersecurity
If you’ve been paying attention to the news, you know that data breaches have cost companies millions of dollars in fines. Cyber crimes are on the rise and companies need professionals with slick IT skills to protect them from hacking, phishing, viruses and ransomware. This is where Cybersecurity engineers come in. This field is growing as all companies now have an online presence and need to safeguard their data. If you like saving the world from unethical hackers, this could be the field for you!
2. Augmented Reality (AR)/Virtual Reality (VR)
This is a field that saw record sales in 2020 according to Circuit Stream with a forecast of being worth 30.7 billion U.S. dollars in 2021. According to IDC Corporate, 2.2 million AR and VR headsets were shipped globally during the second quarter of 2021. This is a fast-paced sector which requires those with great technology skills to constantly help improve it. The AR/VR requirement isn’t just for video games anymore, because it’s also being used by the educational, health and advertising sectors.
3. Artificial Intelligence (AI)
Also referred to as Machine Learning, AI doesn’t have as many people with top IT skills as the field requires. This means if you brush up your competency, you could get a well-paying job that isn’t going to become outdated anytime soon. Many market forecasts have predicted that the AI/NLP (Natural Language Processing) market is going to grow from around 35% to 50% in the next few years, so you won’t have to worry about whether this boom is going to last or not.
4. IT Support/Network Administrator
When the pandemic hit, everyone had to work from home and many companies are still keeping it that way. This means that a lot of employees who aren’t tech experts need remote IT assistance. There are 1st line, 2nd line and 3rd line support jobs you can get depending on the level of your computer skills. If you’re good at LAN/WAN protocol, software, and hardware, you can become a Network Administrator for a company. These jobs require good communication skills because you’ll basically be troubleshooting for those who have limited technological skills.
5. Product Management
As a product manager, you’ll be expected to take a product from its conception to its final stage. You also have to manage your team’s workflow to ensure everyone is meeting their deadlines. You need good IT skills as well as the ability to bridge the gap between a company’s goal and its customers’ needs to be successful at this job. Product Managers roles are external and internal and span outside merely the technical side of things. If you like flexing your brain and coming up with win-win solutions, this field could be the right fit for you!
6. Cloud Computing
This sector is projected to rise in the coming years as more users switch to cloud technology. A more recent entrant in the field is Amazon Web Services, and you can be sure if Amazon does it, other companies will follow suit! There are several benefits of cloud solutions, such as price and greater security. According to Technojobs, from 2016-2019, cloud engineer jobs saw a growth of over 100%. With the field still growing, if you possess the right tech skills, you could land yourself a well-paying job with cloud computing.
7. Data Science
Data scientists use machine learning, artificial intelligence and predictive modeling to manage and interpret the large amount of data that companies collect. This in turn helps companies to make wiser decisions for the future. According to a report by Future of Jobs, Data Scientist is going to be the most in-demand job of 2022! Along with good IT skills, you should have strong math skills as well since you will be dealing with vast amounts of data. According to LinkedIn, this profile has grown by 34% each year over the last four years.
8. Software Development
As technology becomes a big part of everyone’s lives, another sector that has seen rapid growth is software development. This field is best for those who are adaptable because, according to Stack Overflow, developers usually learn a new technology each year. In an uncertain job market, it’s a good strategy to always be ahead of the game, otherwise one is at risk of losing their job to automation, as is happening with software testing jobs. Top tech skills required for software development are SQL, Python and Java.
9. Business Intelligence (BI) Analysis
We know that companies are all about revenue and that’s why they need BI developers. These tech professionals help companies go from average performances to accelerated growth by using advanced visualizations, dashboards, data integration, etc. Companies around the world are looking to add these top IT skills to their business strategy to ensure they can boost their performance and leave the competition eating their dust! So if you like data analysis and communication, this could be the job for you!
10. UI/UX
According to a report by Dice, UI/UX job growth is expected to rise by around 14.9% over the next decade. All companies realize the importance of building a more engaging user experience to ensure continued success. For this they need workers with top tech skills to join their UI/UX teams. While some areas of this field will surely become more automated in the future, the core experience will still require human input. Since this is going to be an in-demand sector for the foreseeable future, several companies are ready to pay top dollar for the right candidates.
11. Mobile Applications Development
As you already know, smartphone use is on the rise across the world, and that means that more and more people are using mobile apps every day. In many countries, it has become challenging to find mobile app developers because the field is growing at a very rapid rate. With most industrialized countries having 90% mobile phone ownerships, there are many companies that are investing in apps and need people with good tech skills to ensure they can rise above the competition!
12. DevOps Engineering
For this role, you need to be able to combine software development and IT operations with an aim to have continuous delivery with high software quality. You have to work with software developers, SysOps and nearly all IT staff to ensure all codes are released and deployed correctly. The top IT skills you’ll need for this job include coding, scripting, Linux, UNIX, Git, Jenkins as well as good communication and problem-solving skills. This is also a high-paying and stable job so it’s worth the additional effort it requires!
Those are the top 12 IT skills to have in 2022, so if you’re wondering what to focus on, this list is where you should get started. If you need additional help in mapping out how to better your career, you might want to get in touch with us at HiCounselor since we’re the best career-accelerator for the IT sector! Looking to land a job but nervous about how to get started? Let HiCounselor guide you every step of the way!
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