Weekly Word on the Street: Thumbs Up for IT Job Seekers

Takeaway of the week is an increasing number of thumbs-up signs for IT job seekers as the calendars prepare to flip another year. While a successful job search often comes down to the right combination of experience, education and luck, it’s becoming more apparent that some roles - whether for technicians or those leading them - might have an upper hand over other roles in the new cloud-based tech world.

For the Right Skills, the Tech Boom is Real

An increasing number of people in the know say today’s tech job market is nearly as hot as the dot-com boom heyday, especially if credentials include development, cloud expertise and business strategy.

Employment in that part of the job market is up 10 to 20 percent this year, according to a gaggle of economist, tech experts, job seekers and hiring managers interviewed recently in InfoWorld.

Jobs, however, just can’t be plucked out of a tree, as roles in programming, database analysts and support sill require the right expertise, schooling and, occasionally, a willingness to alter pre-conceived career paths, industry officials suggest.

With that said, the high-tech market is being compared favorably to the high-octane days of the late ‘90s more and more.

Experts noted, also, that salaries are inflating along with the hiring boom.

Helpful hints offered in the article include proper use of social media and back-to-basics consideration of a professionally-organized resume and cover letter.

Hot Stuff for the IT Higher-Ups

Demand in 2012 for management and executive-level IT positions might not be white hot, but that depends on which leadership position is being targeted.

A recent report in CIO.com, based on feedback from executive recruiters, targets the following 10 jobs as solid picks for would-be IT management in the coming year.

1. Head of Technology Infrastructure
2. Director of Outsourced Services or Vendor Management
3. Manager/Head of Unified Communications
4. Manager of Master Data Management/Director of Data Architecture
5. Manager/Director in Charge of Mobility
6. Business Relationship Manager
7. CTO/SVP of Engineering
8. CIO
9. CISO/IT Security Consultant
10. IT Consulting Firm Partners

Factors considered in IT leadership hiring, according to the article, include the need to manage capital investments, handle trending technology such as cloud computing and an altering demographic environment.

Poll: Biggest IT Investment in 2012 in the Cloud

Since it hasn’t been stated in the past few minutes, another new poll shows the continued capitalization of cloud computing technology as a major player in 2012.

High-tech job seekers not already on the cloud bandwagon are presented with another indication of its increasingly prominent role in their would-be industry.

For the second straight year, cloud computing was tabbed as the chief priority for IT investments in a Unisys poll. The latest findings, reported in eWeek.com, note half of the 300 online respondents, pegged cloud computing as their biggest area of investment for 2012.

“Over the past two years cloud computing has moved into the mainstream of IT investment decisions,” said Colin Lacey, vice president of data center services and solutions for Unisys.

The company, which offers its own cloud solution for clients, suggests to those interested in pursuing cloud opportunities the idea of a “hybrid enterprise” that can integrate existing IT resources with a cloud solution.

Note: The recently announced CompTIA Cloud Essentials certification covers a range of cloud computing principles and concepts – from both the business and technical perspectives – and what’s involved in moving to and governing the cloud.

10 Bold Predictions

Technology shouldn’t be exempt from that journalistic fallback of year-end lists and predictions.

Herewith, presented by eChannelLine, are the IT predictions for 2012 of one industry insider, Miles Kelly, senior director of product marketing for Riverbed Technology.

1. Data will continue to grow through increased use of mobile and cloud-based apps
2. Computing will become more ubiquitous through increasing use of smart phones, tablets and BYOD policies.
3. Dynamic content increases to demand better optimization of Web pages
4. Cloud storage adoption to increase as prices decrease
5. Hybrid cloud options will emerge as a hot trend
6. SaaS adoption grows, spurred on by continued consumerization of IT and increased mobility.
7. Mobile technology will reduce the organizations that need to own IT assets
8. Smart devices will overtake PCs in most-used vehicles for Web access
9. Growth in use of the new standard Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6).
10. Video use in the enterprise will boom.