The global IT industry is one of the fastest-growing sectors worldwide, with plenty of career opportunities in both tech and managerial positions. The last few years saw a growing demand for AI automation, big data analysis, and cloud computing — and we can safely assume that these careers will remain as relevant in 2024 as they were in the past.
But IT is a growing market that offers plenty of new opportunities each year, with an estimated compound annual growth rate of up to 11%. So, what trends can job seekers expect in the near future? Below, we list some of the top developments and predictions for the global IT industry.
IT Careers in Highest Demand in Late 2023
In late 2023, SignalHire, a recruiting database that allows candidate search by multiple customizable parameters, including specific job titles, locations, and industries, carried out an interesting study to determine which IT openings were in the highest demand by recruiters. For this, they pulled all search data made via the database during the fall of 2023 and separated all searches related to the IT industry.
Without regard for location and years of experience, the top 10 in-demand IT jobs in late 2023 were:
1. Software Developer
2. Data Scientist
3. Chief Information Officer, Chief Technology Officer
4. IT Manager
5. Project Manager
6. System Administrator
7. Chief Information Security Officer
8. Business Analyst
9. Data Analyst
10. Data Engineer
Of course, this data may not fully represent the situation in the IT market because the analysis is limited to one contact database. Nevertheless, the obtained insights are in perfect tune with the global and US trends — the Bureau of Labor Statistics, for example, estimates job growth rates for software developers and data scientists at 25% and 35%, respectively. The international job growth rates for these careers are very similar, with the global demand on software engineers expected to rise by 20% before the end of this decade.
In addition, the IT market has a steady demand for project and IT managers. Here, BLS estimates up to 6% job growth by 2032, which makes perfect sense — as tech staff within a given company grows, so does the demand for qualified managerial personnel.
Careers in information security should also remain on the rise in the next few years because data breaches remain a growing concern worldwide, with 98% of web services vulnerable to cyberattacks. Here, the scale of the service is no longer relevant because small and mid-size businesses are as likely to be attacked as large enterprises.
With this in mind, security experts will have plenty of career opportunities in this decade alone and possibly, even further. But what about other developments in the rapidly changing IT world?
High-Demand IT Skill Sets
Considering the top ten jobs in demand, it should come as no surprise that the most desired skill sets on the IT resume, according to Techopedia, are:
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Cloud Computing
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Data Science & Analytics
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Robotic Process Automation
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Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning
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Blockchain
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and UX Design
Besides, according to Techopedia’s analysis, digital marketing also makes it to the list of highest-demand IT skill sets. Still, this is not the only non-technical IT career that has plenty of opportunities — as already mentioned, qualified managers with sufficient technical background and the right combination of hard and soft skills should have good employment prospects in the IT niche.
In fact, the combination of hard and soft skills is gaining momentum in all industries, including IT. While the exact combination will vary greatly depending on the specific positions, most employers continue to emphasize the need for creativity, emotional intelligence, and problem-solving.
One more IT trend that has been transparent for a while is the focus on factual skills rather than education credentials. This tendency will only become more obvious in the next few years, as classic academic curricula simply cannot keep up with the rapid pace of the ever-evolving IT industry. This, in turn, will mean the need for self-education and continuous learning.
The good news for already employed professionals is that many companies today have already grasped the need for constant up-skilling of their staff — a trend that should also strengthen its positions in the years to come.
Emerging Green Jobs & Focus on Sustainability
Another global trend that is gradually finding its way into the IT industry is the growing focus on resource sustainability. The concept of sustainable IT, with its emphasis on the development, management, and disposal of information technology with minimal effect on the environment is a relatively new trend, but we are certain to see more developments in this area soon.
What does it mean for all the IT professionals out there? Most probably, the focus on actual technologies will remain the same. Still, the global IT industry is likely to open its door to professionals from the renewable energy sector to promote close collaboration and new sustainable technology development.
This means that soon enough, IT experts will closely work with sustainability consultants and green designers. In fact, this tendency is already in full swing in Western Europe. The UK for example, is working on using tidal powers to generate electricity and hopes to eventually cover up to 20% of total consumption needs — a development that would not be possible without collaboration with qualified IT experts to ensure proper automation and maintenance of the new equipment’s ‘user’-end.
The shift to sustainable energy is another reason why business and big data analysts will remain in such high demand. It is not yet clear how quickly the new energy sources will find their way into our lives, but it seems likely that the demand for IT business analysts and data scientists will grow even further.
Highest IT Salary Estimates in 2024
The IT industry is also known for its highly competitive salary packages. Technopedia carried out research on high-demand IT careers, sorting them by average US salaries (median wages, without consideration of bonus packages or years of experience). According to their research, the highest-paid IT jobs in the US are
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Cloud Solutions Architect, $156,093 per year;
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Blockchain Engineer, $146,250;
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Cloud Security Engineer, $140,000;
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Cloud Engineer, $130,000;
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Data Scientist, $128,425
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Cyber Security Engineer, $120,000;
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AI/Machine Learning Engineer, $115,000;
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Front End Developer, $107,000;
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Product Manager, $87,000;
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Computer Network Engineer, $63,000 per year.
Of course, these figures may vary greatly depending on the region, employer, and years of professional experience, so they do not fully reflect the situation for top-tier professionals working in large corporations. Still, they give a pretty good picture of entry and mid-level earnings in the US — and once again, highlight the steady demand for qualified cloud engineers, data scientists, AI automation experts, and professionals with marketing experience.
In Western Europe, qualified IT experts can count on similar, even if slightly lower, compensation packages. For example, a data scientist can expect to earn:
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United Kingdom – €110,061 per year ($118,854)
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Germany – €144,366 ($155,900)
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France – €75002 ($80,994).
Average annual salaries for business development managers are:
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Netherlands – €100,504 per year ($108,533),
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United Kingdom – €119,154 ($128,673),
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Germany – €101,182 ($109,266).
Product Manager can expect to earn:
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Germany – €71,404 per year ($77,108),
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United Kingdom – €152,127 ($164,281)
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France – €106,135 ($114,614).
While IT project managers can count on compensations of:
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United Kingdom – €127,362 per year ($137,537),
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Germany – €113,211 ($122,256),
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France – €109,673 ($118,435).
All in all, these figures can be compared with the last year as the salary growth rates in the IT niche have been rather modest worldwide. While in specific careers, the salary growth reaches 30%, the average figure across the industry remains at 2-3%, based on different estimates.
Shift to Remote, Hybrid and Gig Work
One more general trend that is especially conspicuous in the IT industry is the growing focus on hybrid, remote, and short-contract work. Even in large international corporations, such as Google, Microsoft, and Apple, employees already work remotely up to 50% of the time. While the hybrid and remote work scheme has been largely brought up by the Covid lockdown, it looks like the trend is going to stay in the past-pandemic world.
Surveys carried out in the US and UK show that 42% and 38% of employees, respectively, are planning to quit unless the employer offers them part-time remote work options. Gig work, in turn, has been strengthening its positions for years and today’s professional landscape, with its versatile digital collaboration platform and a focus on independence, is a perfect environment for short-term contractual work.
So, the global IT industry offers multiple opportunities to dedicated experts — not only in terms of actual careers but also in work hours and logic. The market is growing at a steady pace, and even though the peak job demand varies greatly depending on professional specialization, the overall industry growth is very optimistic, even if analyzed generally. This means that experts with the right combination of hard and soft skills, willing to invest in continuous self-growth and education, will always find their spot in the sun.
Source: Story.KISSPR.com
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