- The U.S. Department of Labor expects computer and information technology occupations to grow 12 percent from 2018 to 2028 and add about 546,200 new jobs. Demand for these workers “will stem from greater emphasis on cloud computing, the collection and storage of big data, and information security.”
- LinkedIn’s 2020 Workplace Learning Report reports that cloud computing – defined as “design, delivery, and maintenance of cloud architecture on platforms like AWS and Azure” – is among the top ten technical “hard” skills most in-demand among the 20+ million jobs studied.
- Forbes reports an ongoing gap in finding qualified professionals to fill the 4 million open cybersecurity jobs worldwide. The article cites a TechRepublic student that suggests closing cybersecurity gender gap – women make up less than 25% of the cyber workforce – would boost the U.S. economy by $30 billion.
- Fast Company predicts “Technology and Computational Thinking” to be one of the six most marketable skills in 2025. This skill area includes both software developers and computer systems analysts as the need to “manage the massive amounts of data we process” continues to grow.
- Money Inc. ranks “Computer Systems Analyst” as one of the 20 most in-demand jobs in 2020. The article also cites estimates that suggest by 2026 there could be 500,000 job openings in this field as IT “becomes more pervasive in business as well as in our private homes.”
- Norton believes 21 billion Internet of Things devices worldwide will be connected to the internet by 2025, driven by faster 5G networks and improved AI. This boom – which will expand more and more outside the home into automobiles and municipal city infrastructures –will bring it with it unique cybersecurity vulnerabilities and privacy challenges
- Gartner predicts that total worldwide public cloud service revenue will top $354 billion by 2022. This growth will be driven by “the demands of modern applications and workloads, which require infrastructure that traditional data centers cannot meet.” Research Vice President Sig Nag states “At this point, cloud adoption is mainstream.” IT specialists are needed to manage this vast number of cloud services.
*All data above is a picture of reports, surveys and studies on the employment outlook from a variety of sources. Not all the information sources will reflect the educational requirements for the positions, the geographic variables or the changing economic conditions that have occurred since these reports were published. IT in some cases may also refer to programming, which is not primarily defined as a convergence technology.
And with that growing demand comes higher wages:
- Monster.com names “Computer Support Specialist” as one of the top five most in-demand IT jobs in the country and projects a median annual salary of $42,000. Also on the list is “Computer Systems Engineer” which projects to a $104,000 annual salary.
- IDG Insider Pro and Computerworld’s 2020 salary survey reports 2018 to 2019 salary increases for the many IT jobs, including Network Administrator (3.4%), IT Technician (4.3%), App Developer (4.4%), Cloud Specialist (5.1%), and Help Desk/Technical Support specialist (5.7%), The biggest salary increases went to workers with specialized skills, such as cloud computing which saw a 13.4% overall salary boost.
- Robert Half Technology's "2020 Salary Guide for Technology Professionals" projects a 25th-percentile (entry-level) salary range of $76,250 to $92,500 for a Network/Cloud Administrator, $62,500 to $78,500 for a Data Reporting Analyst, and $58,000 to $69,250 for a Mobile Device Support Analyst.
- Technical Support Representative ($26,373-$58,477 – hourly)
- IT Support Technician($28,817-$60,744 – hourly)
- IT Help Desk Specialist ($30,687-$57,035 – hourly)
- Information Technology Specialist ($33,000-$93,000; average $57,030)
- Desktop Support Specialist ($34,649-$68,601 – hourly)
- Network Administrator ($40,000-$82,000; average $59,346)
- Systems Administrator ($41,000-$88,000; average $62,127)
- Network Engineer ($47,000-$110,000; average $73,598)
- CompTIA A+ (average $61,000)
- CompTIA Network+ (average $65,000)
- CompTIA Linux+ (average $72,000)
- CompTIA Security+ (average $74,000)
- Microsoft Certified Systems Administrator (average $75,000)
- System Security Certified Practitioner (SSCP)(average $75,000)
- Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA) (average $78,000)
- Cisco Certified Network Professional (CCNP) (average $95,000)
- Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP) (average $112,000)
- AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Associate(average $113,000)
* The information above (“Job Titles" and "Salary Range") was found using Payscale.com's website, and it is accurate as of May 22, 2020. This data reflects the national salary range and may not be a direct reflection of the market in your area. Salary amounts also reflect multiple positions that have these particular certifications and may include needed additional skills and certifications.