Discover the 5 tech skills that are most in demand this year

If you’re looking for a career with growth potential, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) has your back. When it comes to occupations with the highest projected percent change of employment up to 2031, the BLS reports that careers such as data science, information security analysts and web developers are projected to grow 36%, 35% and 30%, respectively.

It’s good to know for those working in the tech industry who may be a little nervous about their career potential given the on-going spate of layoffs in the sector. Layoffs.fyi data indicates that 503 tech companies have made 139,165 employees redundant so far this year, and the blows keep coming. As Meta leans into its “year of efficiency”, another 10,000 staffers are due to be laid off, and Amazon just announced it’s set to lay off an additional 9,000 employees.

Getting granular, what specific skills will be in demand this year — and beyond?

If you already work in a business intelligence or data analysis role you’ll be familiar with what’s involved. It is increasingly important to companies both within the tech sector, and across industries, to look for insights from the ever-increasing amount of data that is available.

Data storytellers go one better in that this specialized ability allows them to create narratives and scenarios, drawn on data, to make business cases and decisions. That ability to connect soft skills such as communication and persuasion to hard technical skills is rare — and valuable.

Cybersecurity, both as a sector and as a profession is on the rise. Global cyberattacks increased 38% in 2022, according to one source. In the U.S., healthcare facilities saw an average of 1,410 weekly cyberattacks per organization in 2022. 

The rapid adoption of cloud computing during the pandemic is also driving demand for cybersecurity and information security jobs. As so much more data goes online and we use the cloud in new ways, for example via collaboration tools used by remote workers, this opens up new opportunities for bad actors.

The arrival and huge uptake of generative AI such as ChatGPT and Google’s Bard have thrust AI and ML into the public domain. No longer the province of those in the know, this mass adoption is contributing to predictions that global spending on AI technology will top $500 billion in 2023.

With Snapchat launching My AI, a chatbot based on ChatGPT that will engage with Snapchat users, and many more companies looking to implement or adopt AI and ML technologies, there will be increasing demand for experts in these fields.

Companies that want to make more money invest in user experience — by looking at, and optimizing, the complete customer journey, this creates better customer experiences, drives revenue, and delivers efficiencies across a digital marketing strategy. These are just some of the reasons that UX design ranked in Glassdoor’s top 50 best jobs in America in 2022.

A key part of any modern digital transformation strategy, cloud computing plays a vital role for companies which are in the process of moving to become a digital business by realizing a digital workplace or creating a digital supply chain, for example. Gartner data shows that 82% of businesses consider cloud migration to be an essential part of digital transformation.

It is another sector that has been fueled by the pandemic: Gartner estimates that global cloud spending will reach $591.8 billion this year 2023 — a 20.7% increase on 2022’s figures.

If you are interested in a new role across the skill set above, or in another area of tech, the VentureBeat Job Board is a great place to begin. Discover three open roles below.

Cloud Operations Specialist (Remote In CA), University of California Office of the President, Oakland

Identity and Access Management Architect, Fiserv, Berkeley Heights

Software Engineer III, Dynamics, JB Hunt, Remote