The top 10 most in-demand IT skills for 2019
Computing examines the hottest IT skills for 2019, and runs through the average salaries for the top roles. Are you being paid what you're worth?
Skip back 20 years and the most in-demand IT roles would have involved management of infrastructure and other physical hardware.
Today, with software now delivered via the cloud, and hardware heading very much in the same direction, some of the hottest skills and roles didn't even exist in 2010.
Computing has gathered data on which skills and roles are most in-demand today, and which are likely to continue to lead the pack into 2020. Read on to find out which skills you should be looking to develop yourself, or recruit into your organisation today.
According to recruitment firm Michael Page, the top ten most in-demand roles in IT today are the following:
- Software Development
- Transformation Project Management (including Digital Transformation)
- User Support / Application Support (particularly across cloud-based technologies)
- CRM skills (e.g. Dynamics , Salesforce)
- DevOps Engineers
- Business Intelligence and Data Analysis
- Cyber Security
- Business Analysis
- Infrastructure and Systems Architecture
- Testing
At the same time, some skills and roles are becoming less desirable.
"In terms of skills falling by the wayside, there are fewer requirements for general PMO roles within an IT project context - lots of this responsibility is being absorbed into the project/programme managers or a wider central PMO function focused across more business change," said Ben Lyons, Operating Director, Technology, Michael Page.
Computing also recently examined the gender pay gap in IT, and found that women are paid slightly more than men, on average.
For more on diversity in IT, including how to maintain a good work/life balance, mentoring and building a balanced technology team, register for our upcoming Women in Tech Festival.
The skills of the future
New technology and ways of working are driving the skills organisations seek to employ. Experience with python programming, cyber security, and blockchain are likely to continue to be in high demand this year, along with AI and big data competencies that are fundamentally changing roles both inside and outside the tech sector.
Lyons ran through the top ten skills recruiters will be searching for throughout the rest of 2019:
1. Machine learning
Machine learning is a method of data analysis that automates analytical model building. It is a branch of artificial intelligence based on the idea that systems can learn from data, identify patterns, and make decisions with minimal human intervention. The main machine learning programming languages are Python, C++, Java, R, and JavaScript, but Julia, Scala, MATLAB, and SAS also fall under this specialism.
The languages used are dictated by the environment and sector they are applied in. Data scientists in financial services may use a combination of Python, SAS, and Matlab, to enable all aspects of data modelling, algorithm development, risk/statistical analysis, web analytics, and data extraction to be incorporated.
Next: Big Data
The top 10 most in-demand IT skills for 2019
Computing examines the hottest IT skills for 2019, and runs through the average salaries for the top roles. Are you being paid what you're worth?
2. Big data
Big data is a term that describes the large volume of data - both structured (from internal CRM/data systems or external Information providers) and unstructured (internet/web-based) - that inundates a business on a day-to-day basis.
Big data can be analysed for insights that lead to better business decisions (e.g. product enhancement) and commercial strategy.
Defined by the 3 ‘V's (volume, velocity and variety) key challenges revolve around data capture, storage, analysis, transfer, querying, and privacy. Key technologies/tools are: Amazon EMR, Apache Spark, MapR, Hadoop, MongoDB, and other NoSQL databases.
Next: Python
The top 10 most in-demand IT skills for 2019
Computing examines the hottest IT skills for 2019, and runs through the average salaries for the top roles. Are you being paid what you're worth?
3. Python programming
Python is an increasingly popular tool for data analysis and data science. Python was explicitly designed a) so code written in Python would be easy for humans to read; and b) to minimise the amount of time required to write code.
Many highly trafficked websites, such as YouTube, Spotify, and Dropbox, are created using Python as it allows you to create, update, store, and retrieve data in a variety of libraries and operating systems.
Python is widely used for data science, statistical analysis, modelling, and machine learning, using extensions such as SciKit, SciPy, Pandas and NumPy.
Next: AI
The top 10 most in-demand IT skills for 2019
Computing examines the hottest IT skills for 2019, and runs through the average salaries for the top roles. Are you being paid what you're worth?
4. AI engineering
Often regarded as the ‘Holy Grail' within the technology community, artificial intelligence (AI) is an area of computer science that emphasises the creation of intelligent machines and systems that work and react like humans.
Some of the activities computers with artificial intelligence are designed for include: predictive analytics, speech recognition, learning, planning, and problem-solving.
Knowledge engineering and machine learning sit at the heart of AI engineering, and are vastly complex. Real-life situations when you come across the advances in this field include Siri, Alexa, Pandora, Netflix, Chatbots, and Smart Cars. Development languages are those mirrored in machine learning.
Next: Cyber Security
The top 10 most in-demand IT skills for 2019
Computing examines the hottest IT skills for 2019, and runs through the average salaries for the top roles. Are you being paid what you're worth?
5. Cyber security expertise
‘Cyber-security' is the practice of defending computers servers, mobile devices, electronic systems, networks, and data from malicious attacks.
The term applies in a variety of contexts but is more aligned to the core technical operations elements of information security (with InfoSec being the umbrella term). New security threats emerge every single day, so it's important that professionals in this space are adaptable and inquisitive, and able to think on their feet when it comes to devising counter-strategies.
Next: Data visualisation
The top 10 most in-demand IT skills for 2019
Computing examines the hottest IT skills for 2019, and runs through the average salaries for the top roles. Are you being paid what you're worth?
6. Data visualisation
Data visualisation tools go beyond the standard charts and graphs used in Excel spreadsheets, displaying data in sophisticated ways such as infographics, dials/gauges, sparklines, heat maps, and fever charts.
Visualisation tools such as Tableau, QlikView, PowerBI, and Microstrategy help companies to make better strategic and commercial decisions by pulling data from finance, sales, marketing and operations systems.
The creation of dashboards within these tools enables end users to manipulate them or drill into the data for enhanced querying and analysis. The quality of output is dependent on the quality of data input from databases/data warehouses and is normally extracted via coding in Microsoft SQL or Oracle SQL (PL/SQL).
Next: Data governance
The top 10 most in-demand IT skills for 2019
Computing examines the hottest IT skills for 2019, and runs through the average salaries for the top roles. Are you being paid what you're worth?
7. Data governance
Data governance is a data management concept that enables an organisation to ensure that high data quality exists throughout the complete lifecycle of the data.
The key focus areas of data governance include availability, usability, consistency, data integrity, and data security. This includes establishing processes to ensure effective data management throughout the enterprise such as accountability for the adverse effects of poor data quality and ensuring that the data which an enterprise has, can be used by the entire organisation effectively.
Next: Blockchain
The top 10 most in-demand IT skills for 2019
Computing examines the hottest IT skills for 2019, and runs through the average salaries for the top roles. Are you being paid what you're worth?
8. Blockchain
Blockchain is a growing list of records (called blocks) which are linked using cryptography. Each block contains a cryptographic hash of the previous block, a timestamp, and transaction data.
A blockchain is resistant to modification and is "an open, distributed ledger that can record transactions between two parties efficiently and in a verifiable, and permanent way".
For use as a distributed ledger, a blockchain is typically managed by a peer-to-peer network validating new blocks and cannot be altered retroactively without alteration of all subsequent blocks. Originally invented in 2008 to serve as the public transaction ledger of the cryptocurrency bitcoin, the invention of the blockchain for bitcoin made it the first digital currency to solve the "double-spending" problem without the need of a trusted authority or central server.
Next: Information security
The top 10 most in-demand IT skills for 2019
Computing examines the hottest IT skills for 2019, and runs through the average salaries for the top roles. Are you being paid what you're worth?
9. Information security
Information security is a term that describes the process of ‘safeguarding' a firm's intellectual property and ‘data' (otherwise known as ‘data security'). Organisations now hold vast volumes of data (in both structured and unstructured forms).
A firm needs to have a clearly defined risk management strategy, on how to protect their data. Furthermore, a firm needs to have the correct processes, tools, and policies, necessary to prevent, detect, document, and counteract threats to digital and non-digital information.
While the threat of data breaches and leaks increases, so too does the scrutiny which is placed on firms, the level of compliance, and IT resilience that they are required to meet.
Next: Commerciality
The top 10 most in-demand IT skills for 2019
Computing examines the hottest IT skills for 2019, and runs through the average salaries for the top roles. Are you being paid what you're worth?
10. Commerciality
One of the key skills that many businesses are looking for is commerciality within their sector and current market with the view to maximise profit.
A professional should be aware of, and involved in, any upcoming challenges and opportunities that the business is facing, now or in the future, and make the best of them. The ability to construct and oversee a deal, which will increase profit, or the ability to consider the wider picture to improve processes and deliver better revenue, is a desirable skill across sectors.
What about data scientists?
Finally, what of the data scientist? A few years ago these were considered so rare, and yet so in-demand, that they were thought of as almost mythical creatures, compared (admittedly frivolously) to the Yeti in a Computing article of the time.
The volume of roles in the Data Science realm has held steady, however the main change has been the job titles companies have used to hire these individuals into.
"We see a lot more Business Insight / Commercial Insight role or Business Intelligence Developer roles where at the core they want Python, R or Alteryx (or combination) to develop more complex modelling capabilities or algorithms. It's very subjective depending industry / sector," said Lyons.
"Salary levels have remained competitive but always on a broad spectrum as in most hire scenarios, clients will evaluate how much commercial value a Data Scientist can bring and pay accordingly," he added.