IT Skills for a Bright Future

Information technology skills are in high demand in today’s job market, but IT skills are too broad to stand alone on your resume without more detailed elaboration. Include these niche IT competencies in your resume and cover letter to grab the attention of hiring managers who are desperate to find educated employees just like you.

Programming and Application Development

Thirty-five percent of managers are planning to hire employees for programming and application development in the coming year.  There’s high demand for professionals who can customize applications for the unique needs of individual business environments. Some of the top programming languages employers look for on an IT skills resume include:

• Swift
• Go
• JavaScript
• Java
• C#
• Scala
• Python
• Ruby
• PHP
• C++

If you can demonstrate expertise in these fields, you’ll be ideally placed for a promotion or move to a better company. Some employers are reportedly offering salary increases as much as 15 percent to lure applicants with experience away from their current jobs. Programming skills were cited by 13% of the survey respondents as the toughest IT experience to find when hiring employees.

Technical Support

Technical support is another area where over a third of managers are expecting to hire in 2017. Technical support skills must be broad-ranging to be of use. To excel in this area, your skills should include:

• Knowledge of hardware and software systems
• Experience with best practices and policies for tech support
• Customer service competencies

The best tech support applicants can troubleshoot efficiently and translate the issue into layman’s terms quickly so they can educate tech users on how to handle various issues as they’re working through their solutions.

Network and Information Security Competencies

Security is a critical concern in any industry. Twenty-six percent of managers are looking to hire job applicants with information technology skills that include security, compliance, and governance. A recent report from Intel Security indicates that there will be between 1 and 2 million open cyber-security jobs by 2019. A whopping 82 percent of IT decision makers already report a lack of cyber-security skills in their businesses.

Around half of these professionals indicated that they prefer to hire entry-level candidates. Building your information security skills through a degree program is one of the best ways to prepare for a job in this area. A Security Technology Associate Degree will give you a well-rounded base of knowledge in cyber-security with skills that include:

• Networking security
• Firewalls & VPNs
• Computer forensics
• Ethical hacking

Cloud Computing

Cloud computing is a growing area that you can’t afford to ignore if you’re in information technology. The cloud provides a safe and convenient way for businesses and individuals to store and share data. The public cloud infrastructure is expected to grow 36.8 percent in 2017, while software-as-a-service (SaaS) will grow about 20 percent. Cloud management and SaaS competencies are among some of the top IT skills in demand right now.

Data Analytics

The bank of data that’s collected today is broader and more comprehensive than ever before. While most companies have no trouble collecting this wealth of data, they’re often at a loss as to how to properly use it. Data analytics skills are in high demand as companies strive to translate their vast data banks into relevant, actionable information. Essential IT skills in demand in this area include:

• Data visualization
• Data science
• Data presentation
• Data mining
• Statistical analysis

If you excel at translating complex data into understandable insights and workable solutions, make sure this is highlighted on your IT skills resume.

Pursuing education in the right areas and highlighting these information technology skills on your resume will increase your chances of landing a great job in this field. Keep your focus in the right place for a stellar career outlook.

For more information on IT degrees at Bryant & Stratton College, call Admissions at 1.888.273.2758.