By Catherine Adenle
Explore these 10 hot careers in tech right now. As modern technology moves forward in such great leaps, there’s no way of knowing what the next heavy-hitting career choice of the tech industry will be. One thing is for sure, the importance of the 10 tech careers on this list will only continue to grow.
A technology degree is one of the few qualifications out there that you can rely on to see you right. The rate of job offers and job acceptances, according to the National Association of Colleges and Employers, is higher among computer science graduates than any other STEM qualification. This goes some way towards explaining why we had 32% more computer and information science students in 2014 than in 2010 (according to one CareerBuilder survey), and why the number of students completing science technology degrees grew by 49%.
The rate of growth in computer science and technology degrees has been higher than almost any other qualification in recent years, and the reason why is no mystery. There are a great number of interesting and lucrative technology careers available. Here are the 10 hot careers in tech right now.
Data architects are responsible for supervising the maintenance and conception of a range of databases and networks. Their main goal is to make sure the data in a given database or system is accessible and reliable. A data architect needs to be able to figure out what methods can be implemented to improve existing systems on top of administering that system, and must employ analytical skills and understanding to determine whether data is being handled in the most efficient, effective way possible.
Median annual salary: £80,000
Education requirements: A Bachelor’s degree in a field like information technology, information systems or computer science. Postgraduate degrees may be required for some positions.
The next one of the 10 hot careers in tech right now. A solutions architect is responsible for developing an organisation’s technological solutions. They rely on critical thinking and technical know-how to identify an organisation’s technological goals and requirements, and to create a plan that will allow them to meet those requirements.
Median annual salary: £77,500
Education requirements: A Bachelor’s degree in information systems, computer science or information technology. A degree in business may also come in handy.
Image recognition, natural language processing and economic forecasting are just a few of the subjects AI developers spend their time training models in using big data. The demand for Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning Engineers is growing as the emerging field of automation becomes the focus of the tech industry. For those concerned about the future, by most measures, this means AI/Machine Learning jobs are among the best tech jobs going.
Median annual salary: £76,250
Education requirements: An advanced degree in computer science is preferred, but qualifications in electrical engineering or mathematics are sometimes sufficient. Many employers look for two or more years of experience working with machine learning.
“The sexiest job of the 21st century” (according to the Harvard Business Review), data scientists are in high demand from companies that need help making business decisions. There’s also a relatively low supply of qualified candidates, so if you can make the grade you’ll become a rare breed.
Median annual salary: £62,500
Education requirements: Bachelor’s degree in a science-based subject like computer science or mathematics (other favoured subjects include data science/computer and data science, engineering, mathematics and operational research, physics and statistics). A postgraduate qualification in big data, business analytics, data analytics or data science may also be useful.
Cybersecurity is another one of the 10 hot careers in tech right now. Potential threats both inside and outside the organisations must be neutralised in order to protect enterprise IT initiatives, and these IT professionals are the ones to do it. As data becomes increasingly important for everyday business operations, cybersecurity professionals and those with experience in data, information, network, systems and cloud security are in high demand this year.
Median annual salary: £57,500
Education requirements: A Bachelor’s degree in one of the following:
And/or professional certification such as those offered through Microsoft Virtual Academy or Apple Training and Certification, CISM or ISC(2).
According to international security company Gemalto, more than one billion records were breached in the year 2014 alone. Information security analysts have seen increasing numbers of businesses recognise their importance ever since.
Median annual salary: £50,000
Education requirements: A Bachelor’s degree in programming or computer science. Some employers look for a postgraduate qualification in information systems.
A BI Analyst needs to be able to communicate to stakeholders a company’s unique data with complete understanding and clarity. Aspiring Business Intelligence (BI) Analysts need experience with reporting tools, SQL programming and analytics. This role as one of the 10 hot careers in tech right now and is growing in importance as many businesses turn from simply harvesting data to making sense of it.
Median annual salary: £45,000
Education requirements: An undergraduate qualification in engineering, business or information systems.
See 10 Ways Artificial Intelligence Will Change Your Career
Software development positions account for the largest number of job openings in the tech world. Technology drives so many products like phone apps and programmes, and this drives the growth in software developer demand. Interfaces and operating systems are all developed by systems software developers, while other software developers are responsible for designing applications.
Median annual salary: £45,000
Education requirements: A Bachelor’s degree in mathematics, computer science or software engineering.
See 6 Most Sought-After Tech Career Skills (Infographic) and See Best Technology Jobs
A network administrator is responsible for keeping communications and information flowing smoothly by overseeing communications systems and networks. They ensure network performance standards, safety and availability, implement and maintain network hardware and software, and fix network issues. Another of the 10 hot careers in tech right now is that of a network administrator. In this role, as a network administrator, they will secure, implement and optimise new systems and increase productivity and cut costs by optimising a network’s existing systems.
Median annual salary: £40,000
Education requirements: A Bachelor’s degree in a related field such as network administration, computer science or systems engineering. A postgraduate qualification may also be preferred.
See 8 Rewarding and Highly Sought-After Tech Careers
Any computer hardware you’ve ever encountered has been designed by a hardware engineer. Whether the hardware is to be sold commercially as a product or used within a particular organisation, a hardware engineer’s job is to draw on computer engineering to develop new hardware. They work to troubleshoot, conceptualise and build new hardware or improve existing hardware by working in a team with other technology professionals and scientists.
Median annual salary: £32,500
Education requirements: Bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering, computer engineering or other relevant engineering fields. Some employers may ask for a postgraduate qualification.
Now that you have explored the 10 hot careers in tech right now, which other careers in tech can you add?
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