That IT professions are excellent It is well known to offer career opportunities. The selection of IT positions is huge. Anyone who is currently starting out in the world of computer science, however, asks themselves the question: Which IT professions will also be in demand in the future?
The question about the IT jobs with the best future prospects is not only answered by a number of regularly conducted surveys. An evaluation carried out by the career network LinkedIn also sheds light on IT jobs that will be in demand in the future.
Some key statements that IT professionals should be happy about:
- Most professions of the future are currently being created in IT.
- Two of the top 3 jobs of the future will come from the IT sector. Places 1 to 3 are: AI Specialist, Site Reliability Engineer and Customer Success Specialist.
Not all of these job profiles are very well known so far, but they are “trending” on LinkedIn Professionals used. This was found out by evaluating the public profiles in the social network.
IT job in demand: The AI specialist
Artificial intelligence and machine learning are currently fundamentally changing the world of work. AI specialists develop software that can process enormous amounts of data with an unprecedented degree of automation. Such algorithms continuously learn.
In this environment, the AI specialist is in demand. It helps companies understand customers and markets better, develop innovations much faster and generally become much more effective. In short: AI will bring the world of work and society as a whole huge step forward in the next few years.
It is not surprising that, according to the study, the position of AI specialist is one of the most sought-after IT professions and is likely to become even more important. Interesting: In the Google search, the “AI specialist” is not searched for too often. This job title is therefore a relatively new trend.
Interface position: Site Reliability Engineer
The Site Reliability Engineer is definitely one of the most popular IT jobs of the future . Even if the title sounds a bit puzzling at first glance, it is a great interface job with creative potential and a high level of responsibility. This job title has long been searched very often on Google. This is revealed by “Google Trends”, a publicly accessible platform that documents the search interest for any term worldwide over the years.
The Site Reliability Engineer ( SRE) the link between the admins of a website and the developers who program it. It defines the requirements for hardware and software. In doing so, he focuses on availability, latency, performance and capacity. A Site Reliability Engineer combines the reliable operation of IT systems with the need for rapid innovation. Goal: the highest possible user satisfaction with functions, service and performance.
He also ensures efficient communication between application developers and administrators. This helps to enable a reliable operation of the website, which is worth real money not only in the area of e-commerce, where the Site Reliability Engineer is particularly in demand, but also for every business-critical website. Very detailed information about this profession, which will undoubtedly be one of the most sought-after IT professions of the future, is available on an information page on SRE from Google in English.
Data protection officer: In-demand IT specialist with legal knowledge
Data protection officers are in demand today in every industry. The demand in this professional field is growing very rapidly, thanks to digitization and increased awareness of data protection.
There is no single, generally binding training to become a data protection officer. However, for example, the TÜV and various companies and associations offer compact training. A degree in law or computer science is an advantage for entry, but not absolutely necessary.
Data protection officers can work on a freelance basis, in addition to the main activity or full-time, depending on the size of the company. In their capacity as data protection officers, the data protection officers are not bound by instructions. You have to be independent, free from conflicts of interest.
Attractive: Lifelong learning is included in this job description. The data protection officer has to continuously develop his skills as he is involved in the company’s central IT decision-making processes. Further training in the areas of IT security and IT management creates the understanding required for these activities.
Computer scientists with in-depth knowledge of data protection are sought-after specialists and are given an attractive position almost everywhere on the job market. You will find career opportunities both in companies with more than ten employees and in administration. With their advice, they help to ensure that sensitive data is kept safe in the company.
Google Trends shows a surge in searches for “data protection officers” around the introduction of the EU General Data Protection Regulation. Since then, the search interest has been higher than immediately before.
Data Consultant and Data Engineer: In-demand like never before
Many jobs in the IT industry revolve around turning scattered data into valuable, usable information. The data consultant and the data engineer pursue exactly this task. For your employer or client (the data consultant, in particular, can also be a freelancer who works from your own office), you analyze existing data and processes. The data experts compare this information with the goals.
Many of his exciting projects then lead to software development. As an IT specialist, the data engineer models a data warehouse with a lot of initiative. In the course of such projects, the company learns how to make better use of existing data.
The same applies to data consultants and data engineers: These IT professions are in high demand, but are not on a list of common training professions. If you want to become a data consultant, you should be very familiar with mathematics, databases, scripting and statistics. A degree in business informatics, for example, is a good prerequisite for starting a career in this very popular field. University graduates and career changers have the chance to prove themselves as data consultants.
Strongly related to the professional fields of data consultant and data engineer is that of a data scientist. All these data jugglers live in the same professional world. But the engineer and consultant are primarily responsible for collecting, providing and channeling the data. The data scientist focuses more on modeling and presenting what comes out at the end of the data pipeline. He’s an internal researcher, so to speak, constantly looking for answers. On the basis of the data collected, he tries to give the management of the company steep templates for implementation.
The data scientist shows the company what it can do with the generated data, how it is to be read.
Job sought: IT security specialist
Finding weak points in IT and eliminating them is one of the tasks of the IT security specialist. Specialists in this profession are in demand, because they put digitalization on the basis of security.
Regardless of the industry: In the age of hacks and ransomware attacks, the basic requirement for corporate success is that data is secure , can only be accessed by authorized employees and can be restored in the worst-case scenario, for example after restoring a failed system.
The IT security specialist also documents the infrastructure including computers, Network, firewalls and other components from the Internet of Things area or the cloud, for example. He works closely with the IT management and the system administrator, because this is the only way to increase security to the maximum. Application developers also seek advice from security experts. Because what the software developer creates should be safe according to his concept.
DevOps Engineer
The job description is made up of two different areas: development and IT operations. The mission: higher productivity and reliability in software development. The DevOps Engineer can achieve this through more cooperation between previously separate areas. The specialization of a DevOps engineer therefore has numerous facets: He is a developer and administrator at the same time.
Agile methods are often used in DevOps environments. If new applications are developed for customers, they are given an early insight. Many small updates are typical for application development within a DevOps environment. After the new versions have been imported, the software is directly tested. Improvements are being made continuously.
The entry into the world of DevOps engineering is possible, for example, through courses such as computer science as well as technical and business informatics or information technology. Dual courses of study or IT apprenticeships also pave the way to this extraordinarily varied digital position. DevOps Engineers are among the most sought-after IT specialists!
Chief Digital Officer (CDO): Desperately wanted
This job description in top management is still very new. In contrast to the CIO (Chief Information Officer), who manages IT operationally, the CDO primarily has strategic tasks. He’s a lateral thinking manager. Because his job is to develop a digitization concept. In addition to IT specialist knowledge, the CDO needs life and leadership experience. A lateral entry at the management level is conceivable. He communicates with specialists and top management alike and is, so to speak, a designer for digitization.
The CDO naturally has one of the most promising starting positions for a real management career. On the other hand, in such a position the risk also increases. Because conflicts and resistance are part of everyday life for a CDO. Even the introduction of such a position can lead to defensive reactions. It’s always uncomfortable when a new management member joins the team and underlines the need for change in the company.
In addition, the CDO has a certain tendency to abolish itself. Because once the digitization concept has been successfully launched, the question arises in some cases: Do we still need this special position? What is the demarcation from the area of responsibility of the CIO?
The Agile Coach
The result of his work is better processes. The agile coach ensures that self-learning structures and processes are established in the company. This is exactly what the term “agile”, which was established in this context at the beginning of the millennium, stands for: The development work in IT should be structured in such a way that it adapts to changing conditions at any time. The task of the agile coach is to anchor precisely this flexibility in the company.
The agile coach supports the cultural change in the company, which begins with the introduction of agile methods such as Scrum, Kanban, Xtreme et al. go hand in hand. He advocates related values and direct, transparent communication. Operationally means that: An agile coach can be used as a trainer, coach, mentor and moderator. A job for computer scientists with excellent soft skills and a wealth of experience.
One thing is certain: In the future, people who have the courage to specialize across disciplines will be in demand in IT to think and work together and never stop learning.
IT professions are not only in demand, they are also more exciting than ever!