7 In-Demand Skills for Software & Tech Talent

In the ever-changing technology landscape, it’s critical to acquire in-demand tech skills to stand out from the crowd. The tech world is vast, and it’s difficult to stay up-to-date with new technologies. Knowing the in-demand skills for software and tech talent make it easier to acquire the right skills, and land relevant jobs easily.

In this article, we will list the top seven in-demand skills for software and tech talent in 2021.

Tech Skill #1: Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML)

AI and ML are the two most in-demand skills for tech software and talent. They’re often used interchangeably, but ML is a subset of AI, whereas AI is a much broader category. AI is all about making machines intelligent by mimicking human behavior, and ML provides the means i.e. training algorithms to help them through the process.

Unlike other skills, the demand for AI specialists kept growing despite the pandemic. Between 2019 and 2020, the hiring of AI specialists grew by about 32%, and it’s not expected to slow down anytime soon. Most companies are utilizing AI to deal with the increased demand or safeguard their business from future disturbances. According to Payscale, people with an AI skillset are earning an average salary of $125,107.

Tech Skill #2: Data Science and Analytics

In the information age, data is of utmost importance, and so is data science. Companies all around the world are utilizing data sciences to make smarter business decisions.

Data science combines programming with domain experience, mathematics, and statistics to gain insights from structured and unstructured data. Pandemic has made people realize the importance of data more than ever. Since 2019, hiring for data science roles has increased by 46%, and the average salary of Data scientists about  $115,874.

Tech Skill #3: Cloud Computing

Cloud computing is revolutionizing the world by eliminating the need for servers and data centers. In the wake of COVID-19, the demand for every segment of the cloud SaaS (Software as a Service), IaaS (Infrastructure as a Service), and PaaS (Platform as a Service), has increased.

The Cloud computing market is dominated by five tech giants, Amazon AWS, Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud, IBM Cloud, and Alibaba Cloud.

As businesses are relying more and more on the cloud, the demand for cloud computing experts is also increasing. The future of the cloud is also very promising as 78% of small businesses are predicted to fully adopt cloud computing in their operations by 2020. Cloud computing experts earn an average salary of $117,041 per year.

Tech Skill #4: Programming

Programming is the foundation of nearly every tech-related job out there. If you’re looking for a job in the tech sector, then experience with a programming language can open many doors for you. According to Glassdoor’s list of top jobs for 2021, coding skills were required by many employers. The demand for a full-stack engineer is seeing a growth of 35% each year since 2015.

Following is the list of the most popular programming, scripting, and markup languages in 2021:

• JavaScript
• HTML/CSS
• Python
• SQL
• Java
• C#
• C
• PHP
• TypeScript
• Go
• Ruby

Tech Skill #5: Cybersecurity (Network Security)

Whether you’re using a computer at home or in the workplace, network security is of utmost importance. Data breaches not only compromise the company’s integrity but also cost millions in damages.

In 2020, companies switched to remote work which increased the cost of an average data breach by $137,000. Data breach incidents have increased the demand for cybersecurity experts in the market, and it’s expected to keep growing over time. Cyber Security engineers have an average salary of $100,601.

Tech Skill #6: Blockchain

Blockchain is among the most recent paradigm-shifting technologies. Originally designed for Bitcoin, blockchain stores information in blocks that are linked together. Blockchain is designed in such a way that it’s impossible to change or hack the system.

Due to its immutable nature, Blockchain use cases include peer-to-peer payments, crowdfunding, digital voting, etc. As the field is gaining popularity, the demand for blockchain engineers is growing alongside. Tech giants such as Facebook, Microsoft, Amazon, and IBM are also working on developing blockchain solutions. The average salary of a blockchain developer is $154,550 per year.

Tech Skill #7: Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR)

Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality – collectively known as Xtreme Reality (XR) are the two buzzwords in the tech world. Many companies in marketing, advertisement, manufacturing, and healthcare are adopting XR. The 2020 State of Software Engineers report by Hired reported a surge of 1400% in the demand for AR and VR engineers. They are the most in-demand in London, New York, and the San Francisco Bay area, and their average salary starts from $100,00.