The 5 Most Sought-after IT Positions

The 5 most sought-after IT positions

You may want to consider some of these positions if you're nearing burnout in your current position or believe your role is approaching a stalemate. They will provide stability and steady growth in the foreseeable future.

Cybersecurity

For example, according to Kent Blackwell, a senior manager at Schellman & Co., the skills gap is widening in a number of security roles that require qualified candidates.

The security space is expanding at a breakneck pace, with demand far outstripping supply, according to Blackwell. “Blue team security operations center analysts, web application security testers, and network engineers capable of locking down routers are just a few of the positions available,” he says. A career in network administration, help desk support, systems administration, or even web development is a great place to start if you want to move into a more security-focused role because many security jobs require an understanding of the systems you are attacking or protecting.

The Global Executive Solutions Group's Information Technology practice is led by Jeff Friess. According to Friess, firms are so concerned about cybersecurity breaches — which can cost businesses millions of dollars per incident — that there are many more open positions than qualified candidates to fill them.

He believes that security analysts should be generalists with a breadth of skills rather than a depth of knowledge, and that they should be able to work in a variety of areas within the organization that is hiring them. The ability to think strategically and see the big picture are essential when it comes to information security, as are the interpersonal skills necessary to communicate effectively with stakeholders and board members.

Data scientists and data engineers

The growth of data science and machine learning, according to some, has resulted in an increase in the demand for new positions that more accurately describe the work performed.

Toptal's Alvaro Oliveira, vice president of talent operations, observes that the market is beginning to grasp data science. “As a result, rather than a single role emerging beneath it, there are now multiple roles emerging beneath it — for example, data engineers, who are more closely related to computer science, and data scientists, who make sense of the data but do not have a traditional computer science background.”

A consensus has been reached by Flavio Villanustre, vice president of technology and chief information security officer at LexisNexis Risk Solutions, that data scientists — as well as data analysts and modelers — are in short supply, and that specialization is likely to continue in the future.

Because it is difficult for a single individual to have a complete understanding of all of the necessary knowledge, Villanustre explains that data science has become more complex, comprehensive, and involved. There will be plenty of opportunities for those interested in pursuing a career as a data analyst, statistical modeler, or data scientist (which is a subset of the first two)."

According to Ken Underhill, master instructor at Cybrary, recruiters and hiring managers will have difficulty filling these positions due to the high level of expertise required to perform the job duties.

Underhill explains that there is a severe shortage of qualified candidates for these positions. Despite the fact that educational institutions, including traditional universities and online platforms such as Cybrary, Udacity, and Coursera, have made strides in closing the cyber talent gap, “some actual work experience in these fields is still required to fully understand the intricacies involved in these fields.”

Machine learning and AI engineers

"A machine learning engineer" is a new job title defined by Ali Ghodsi of Databricks, the company's CEO and co-founder, who describes it as "a portmanteau of the terms data engineer and data scientist." Companies looking for machine learning engineers are typically looking for someone who is not only knowledgeable in data science, but also experienced in the development and operation of systems. Companies that hire these positions are ahead of the curve, and given the critical role they play in the success of AI/ML projects, it's only a matter of time before they become as common as data scientists in the workplace.”

The field is in desperate need of new talent as artificial intelligence (AI) accelerates our ability to work with massive amounts of data and transform it into actionable insights. As corporate and consumer interest in areas such as automation and autonomous driving grows, it is becoming increasingly difficult to find engineers with deep learning experience in these fields.

And if you're thinking about making the switch, you can rest assured that the demand for engineers with artificial intelligence, machine learning, and deep learning skills isn't going away anytime in the foreseeable future.

With such a strong emphasis on predictive analytics, deep learning, machine learning, and artificial intelligence, Villanustre believes that these positions will be relevant for many years to come

A career in artificial intelligence, according to Hu, necessitates "technical expertise that extends beyond data analytics, as well as sufficient business acumen for integrating and applying knowledge to real-world business problems."

Multi-cloud integrator

As suggested by Caleb Hailey, co-founder and CEO of Sensu, businesses implementing mixed cloud environments have compelled a shift in integrator roles, which were previously reported to be in high demand, according to Caleb Hailey.

As Hailey explains, “the reality of integrating previously unconnected systems is becoming increasingly complex, which means businesses require dedicated individuals with the appropriate skill set and experience to link them together.” The Cloud Native Computing Association (CNA) states, "Even cloud native thought leaders readily admit that there is no one-size-fits-all solution to every problem." The appropriate tool for each job must be used, and because these tools are increasingly cloud-based and typically originate from multiple cloud platforms or providers, you must rely on cloud integrators to bring them all together.”

Full-stack engineer

In response to web users' increasing demand for more robust, app-like consumer experiences, the demand for front- and back-end web developers — and even more so for individuals who combine those skills as full-stack engineers — has grown significantly.

In the words of Gautam Agrawal, vice president of products at Confluera, "progressive web app technologies are bringing the web experience closer to the native experience on mobile platforms." It won't be long before the web replaces native mobile platforms as the preferred platform for developing mobile applications, particularly in the enterprise, due to the obvious advantages of cross-platform development.

Candace Murphy, IT recruiting manager at Addison Group, emphasizes the importance of having a working knowledge of open-source software platforms. “Aggregate trends in open-source development are gaining traction,” says the author of the article. Businesses that are moving away from traditional licensing-based platforms are driving this trend.”