Where are the IT Jobs?

IT workers in mobility, network virtualization, infrastructure, security and programming are in high demand, according to Jason Hayman, market research manager at TEKsystems, a Hanover, Md.-based IT staffing solutions, human capital management and IT services company.

TEKsystems’ major vertical markets include healthcare, government, financial services and communications. Hayman recently spoke with CompTIA about the IT areas seeing hiring growth.

Q. What areas of IT are hiring?

A. Mobility – Whether it’s in app development for smartphones and tablets, mobile device management software, or being able to work on the phones or device hardware, or if you have skills programming for the various platforms, all of these mobility areas are hot right now. And they’re just going to increase as companies get a handle on mobility.

Virtualization — The cloud has been one of the top trends for several years now, but we’ve been waiting, waiting and waiting. Recently we’ve seen an increase in demand for folks with experience in these areas as organizations have begun investing in virtualization.

Security — Security, naturally, is a concern in virtualized Cloud environments, and a cross-industry need. Companies of all types are looking for workers to help them with IT security compliance, new security technologies, and defense against complex threats. With the growth of Cloud and virtualization technologies, the need for security-centric, IT personnel is now a reality of everyday business.

Business Intelligence (BI) & Data Analytics — “One of the hottest areas of IT is business intelligence and data analytics. There are opportunities for professionals with business backgrounds as well as technical IT experience. Organizations are seeking to harness the massive amounts of data in their operations and put it to work to improve their business decisions. Business analysts capable of distilling and presenting actionable enterprise data are essential to organizations’ ability to drive productivity and profitability.

Programming — .Net, Java, SilverLight, SharePoint— all of these different programing skills are hot right now.

Below are sample job titles for each of the areas we’re seeing growth in IT hiring.         

 In mobility, the “mobile device developer” is a broad title that includes developers with experience in Android, iOS, Blackberry, Palm or Windows operating systems. Really, each type of mobile device developer could be its own job title.

Q. How and where are these jobs being advertised?

A. (Through) big channels like CareerBuilder or Monster, but also on the more niche sites like LinkedIn or DICE.com. But we’ve found the highest rates of successful hires and placements happen through referrals, by building up a network of good people. Referrals (to TEKsystems) can come from our consultant population onsite at a particular company and also actual hiring managers.

Q. What new IT and "soft" skills do these hiring hot spots demand?

A. The overarching trend is that IT workers have to also have a business mindset. Those soft skills in project management, communication, and collaboration skills, plus overall general business knowledge, are increasingly important. You can’t just be locked away in an office somewhere writing hundreds of lines of code. You have to be able to collaborate when working on teams—not just be an order taker, but actually ask questions and find alternate solutions to move the organization forward that the business side didn’t think of.

Q. What's the level of opportunity for advanced security technicians?

A. It’s virtually limitless. Security touches every area of technology. …It’s becoming more critical to any type of organization. We’re going to see demand for these types of folks just continue to skyrocket, especially in healthcare but also on the government side as well.

Q. Any recommendations about what people can do if they want to get into IT? What areas are more likely to hire entry-level workers?

A. In general, one of the best things to do is network and build relationships whenever you have the opportunity….You never know whom you’ll meet. Secondly, do an awesome job at your existing role so you have a slew of references to speak on your behalf. For getting into IT, we encourage people to constantly want to learn and expand their technical capabilities and foundational skills. Read industry magazines and newspapers, participate in webinars—do anything that will keep you current on IT trends. IT industry certifications can also give you a platform for the next steps in your career by showing that you have the technical know-how in specific areas and also display you are dedicated to learning the trade. Doing these things can help seasoned professionals and entry-level workers grow their IT careers.