Posted on 06/14/2023 5:55:14 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
Amidst the expansion of the world wide web, cloud computing, large dataset, software, mobile applications, social media, gaming… companies big and small are relying on highly-specialized IT experts.
Indeed, for businesses wanting to keep up, finding top tech talent is a priority—and can be an uphill struggle. Many are after high-demand technical skills, from software development to data-oriented knowhow, according to our 2023 Tech Hiring Survey.
We asked our panel of recruiters which positions they predict will be the most difficult to fill in 2023. Here’s their top 10:
Why are these positions essential to today’s tech ecosystem? Why are they in such high demand and why are they so hard to come by?
Read on to find out.
Full-stack web developers combine the work of front-end and back-end developers and are usually experts in all aspects of website development. They’re in high demand as companies shift from siloed front-end and back-end development teams to programmers who are skilled in all layers of the application stack.
Full-stack engineers are at the very top of recruiters’ list of hard-to-find developers. 30.4% of our recruiter panel predict that they’ll struggle to hire full-stack developers in 2023.
This indicates a potential shortage of full-stack candidates. The boom in demand for web developers does not face as much competition on the front end, for example.
One possible explanation is the widespread availability of online training courses for front-end development, whereas full-stack developers tend to take a more traditional academic path.
Indeed, according to our survey, 70% of full-stack developers have a university degree in Computer Science. This longer learning pattern creates a disconnect between market demand and supply, and recruiters feel it painfully.
Back-end developers work with front-end developers to build and maintain the code behind website and software user interface and design. The backend consists of the application, server and database.
Difficulty to find talented back-end developers is essentially linked to demand. Indeed, back-end developers are the most sought-after developers on the market (55% of companies say they have high demand for back-end engineers).
🔖 Related read: Top Python Interview Questions
The demand for DevOps is increasing and with good reason. According to Puppet’s State of DevOps report, businesses using DevOps practices are able to deploy code 30 times more frequently than their competitors with fewer deployment errors. This has a significant impact on downtimes and efficiency.
Therefore, many companies are hiring engineers with DevOps skills to manage scripting, coding, and process development. DevOps engineers usually handle IT infrastructure, supervise software testing and monitor performance after deployment.
But, there’s a hitch. Supply is relatively scarce. Why? DevOps engineers are multidisciplinary. Necessary skills range from development and operations to security, testing, and analytical abilities. As a result, DevOps engineers can hardly be mass-produced by the education system.
All in all, DevOps are tricky to find, expensive to employ and hard to keep.
🔖 Related read: Hiring a DevOps Engineer: Top Interview Questions
Solutions architects are also in high demand and relatively short supply.
Architecture involves defining the components of a system, their functions, and their mode of interaction. Solution architecture is a complex process that bridges the gap between business and technology solutions.
Simply put, the architect identifies a business’ needs and finds solutions to problems through the design and development of apps and information systems.
One such system is cloud computing. Computer systems are shifting from actual physical storage to cloud services. A cloud architect handles server administration, networking, deploying and running of applications on virtual and physical platforms.
As interest in cloud architecture has grown, so has the demand for architect developers.
“These positions (architect engineers) are hard to fill because they require expertise with legacy systems and expertise with new cutting-edge technologies […] They are increasingly in demand but are not a combination of skills that you can necessarily pick up with the same ease you would with some of the new coding languages like Python.” – Emma Liebmann, Head of Talent Acquisition at Collage.com, in an interview with TechRepublic
Application engineers, also known as software application developers, are responsible for creating new applications and improving existing software and hardware.
Application engineers often act as liaison between development teams and customers. They rely on customer feedback and input to improve software functioning and user experience. They pinpoint use cases and define customer needs. They imagine solutions and manage new releases. They also work on maintenance and testing.
It’s easy to get Application engineers and App developers mixed up. App developers create apps for computing devices and can specialize in mobile technology (Google’s Android, Apple’s iOS, Microsoft’s Windows). Application engineers, on the other hand, aim to improve software functioning and client satisfaction.
Why are Application engineers particularly difficult to find? Because they need to master a wide range of skills, from tech to communication.
“Application engineering combines EDA knowledge with sales, technical marketing, and certain psychological qualities that make filling the position especially challenging.”– Kateřina Smrckova, Senior Human Relations Specialist at Codasip
A front-end developer works on the aspects of websites that users interact with—from dropdown menus and sliders to colors and fonts—using a combination of CSS, HTML, and JavaScript.
Just as back-end developers are in demand to face the desperate need for functional websites, front-end developers are also sought after. Front-end developers strive to meet the growing expectations of today’s users, who want their web experience to be faster, easier, and more exciting than ever before.
🔖 Related read: How to Run Front-End Developer Interviews That Don’t Suck
Businesses, general consumers and developers are gaining interest in Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence (AI). In fact, in our Tech Hiring Survey, 35.2% of developers said they would like to learn more about these technologies in 2023.
This year, more companies will be searching for skilled professionals to handle the demands of AI-enabled products and services. There’s a high demand for candidates with knowledge of Data Science, Machine Learning, Big Data, Natural Language Processing, AI integration and AI application programming.
As workloads increase, there’s a recognized need to develop automation programs for time-consuming, menial, and sometimes redundant tasks. With AI, employees can focus on more productive tasks.
Machine Learning specialists are advanced programmers who create AI machines and systems that can learn and apply knowledge. They use sophisticated programming and work with complex data sets and algorithms to teach machines.
Companies need data experts to store, sort, and analyze data retrieved by the organization. Such data is usually highly sensitive, which makes it especially important to have skilled workers who can process valuable data without jeopardizing the company.
Cybersecurity engineers are generally in charge of designing, developing and implementing security systems and subsystems. They’re responsible for protecting organization networks against cyberattacks. They look out for and address any cyber vulnerabilities or threats.
Companies are struggling to find qualified cybersecurity candidates. One potential reason is the extensive and ever-changing list of required certifications and credentials.
“Demand for Cybersecurity engineers is much higher than supply: cyber training courses are still fairly limited and very recent, so there are few experienced professionals compared to the growing demand (ever increasing threat, regulatory framework that’s starting to develop). And companies don’t tend to shine much light on the role, so it doesn’t attract many people. Moreover it requires a very large range of skills: (very) good technical knowledge in various IT areas, risk management, methodology, legal grasp, communication & popularization skills, budget management etc.).”– Frédéric Thirard, Head of Cybersecurity at CoderPad
A “tester” tests software or related projects for errors, bugs, defects or any issues that the end-user might encounter. Simply put, the job of the tester is to evaluate products and create reports for the project team regarding any issues or necessary improvements. To accomplish this, they analyze the project and ascertain the types of tests required. They then create a plan to implement the tests.
As technology continues to gain speed, so does the need for testers. However, working as a tester requires specific and relatively rare skills – it’s not for everyone! Even the most talented programmers can’t (necessarily) substitute the specialized skills of a tester.
Indeed, it’s not easy to create the specific testing frameworks for a software, cause its failure, and then analyze its ability to recover fully. Testers need to brainstorm to test the logic behind every line of code that makes software work. A product will not be approved for use or sale unless it sails through all the tests performed.
As the number of mobile users increases, so does the revenue potential for businesses. Today, companies who want to maintain relevance do not only need websites but also mobile apps.
The mobile developer is a programmer that designs and codes applications and programs that run on smartphones and tablets. They allow companies to deploy every feature from their regular computer website to the mobile platform.
Mobile developers are in high demand this year, as companies look to create and update their space on mobile. What’s more, employment for app developers is projected to grow 31% by 2026, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics.
As companies in different sectors continue to adopt different technologies to increase revenue and streamline workflow, the rise in demand for skilled tech workers is inevitable—and the positions listed above are set to give recruiters a bit of a headache!
I never realized how valuable technical writers were until I worked on a project where we had a team of technical writers and how easier they made our job.
I was a contractor and the customer required Engineering Work Orders (EWOs) get created and filed for every part of the project, this generated literally hundreds of EWOs.
The way we did them was the use of MS Excel and Word, the Engineer would fill out the spreadsheet, open the appropriate Word document and run a Macro that would read the spreadsheet and populate the Word document, the word document was the body of the EWO and data from spreadsheet filled in the variables.
Without really good technical writers, the time to create the EWOs would have been enormous.
I remember years ago I was looking for a job. I worked on Nortel (copper) switches. Did the installation, programming and testing.
There was a new technology that came out (I forget what it was) where recruiters wanted 3-5 years experience with it.
In talking with other programmers who were looking for jobs, we laughed at that ad simply because the technology itself was only 6 months old (maybe) at the time. There was no way anyone could have 3-5 years experience.
So yes, I fully understand requirements, certifications and other credentials are required and constantly changing. However, anyone that had them all usually spent their work time keeping up with what was needed and got very little, if any, practical experience with utilizing the technology in an operation data center.
One of my daughters has a degree in software engineering. Her first job was at McKesson. Last year after a year of work, her whole division was laid off. McKesson was hiring contractors from India to do her job, and they asked the people who they were laying off to train their replacements.
My daughter then got a job in the IT division at her local school district. She got married a few weeks ago, and she thought a job at the school district would be more stable. She had co-workers who had been there over 10 years.
Well, 2 weeks before her wedding her whole department was laid off.
My other daughter has a master’s in data analytics. Most jobs are remote, and she just lost her job. She is struggling with remote work.
It has been enlightening to learn to live a completely different lifestyle and completely new mindset. Really underscores the true cost of a career in corporate America.
I’m been on the education side of IT for 25 years. All the Ph.D.’s in “education” are some of the most clueless users ever. Teachers are a little better, but not much. You would think that the younger ones, who I know have had access to computers for years would know stuff....NOPE
With the current business fad of “equity hiring” there should be no problem with filling any positions as long as quotas are met.
As to the USA, except for elite software engineers, many highly qualified Americans avoid the software business, because the pay scale has stagnated since 2000, and because millions of immigrant Asian code writers are chasing Green Cards.
Python came out 32 years ago (1991).
What is happening is that there has been a big resurgence in popularity for Python lately because it is the language of choice for AI programming (e.g., ChatGPT).
You not only need to know Python, but you also need to be adept with PyTorch/TensorFlow. The latter requires a pretty deep math background.
I still do what I call embedded software development. Different from IT. An example is software inside a phone. We’d all probably agree that programming was more fun in the old days because back then the mountain of existing software you were supposed to crack into wasn’t as large.
I had a similar experience to you. I was laid off just a few months before Covid hit.
Good luck finding a job in IT when you’re in your early 60’s. Fortunately I was financially prepared to retire.
I don’t miss it at all. It was a great career for the most part but I’m glad my kids choose other fields and would not recommend it to other young people.
Amen, Brother!
As someone who spent 38 years in IT, I’ve been in the same boat many times.
The last 18 years of my career I ditched the full corporate, government agency job for jobs as an IT contractor.
That would be my advice, it’s hard for young people to grasp, they are an asset that can be disposed of at any moment. You have to look out for yourself and can’t depend on any company or organization that offers temporary stability often times at lower pay.
Contracting work is not for everyone, for me it was much more profitable when I became an hourly employee with overtime and allowed me to pick and choose the jobs I was interested in, I went out and purchased my own insurance, never signed up for company benefits except for any 401K program that was being offered, it was a much more rewarding environment.
“CMM level 1”
Sadly, most people have never heard of CMMI. It is why I do not accept college degrees within the past 20 years that is not a doctorate. Only until that level do students even study such things as CMMI.
I’ll take a guy that started his career decades ago and is self taught over any college degree today. Most of the best software engineers came from that era. Byte magazine and Steve Ciarcia’s Circuit Cellar were their references.
A guy like that would sail through today’s college programs. Students, today, don’t even study assembly language or know how a computer works at the electronics level. Logic gates and transistors are foreign to them. Even the system clock is nothing but a relative number to compare to other systems. The purpose of the system clock is unknown to them.
AI is nothing but averaging using very large datasets. There is no intelligence. It cannot think and create. It can produce nothing but what it is programmed to do and what is in the data it ingests. Using a simple math concept, that means it excludes and continues to exclude data until it, too, races to the bottom just like we humans are doing. AI is not the adding of information but the exclusion of it.
I call such things and people Knowledge Parasites. They take very little information to perform a function, add nothing to the body of knowledge, then proclaim themselves experts, while knowledge becomes lost.
As you said, liberalism is killing science and technology.
“None of us is as dumb as all of us.”
For many of my most successful projects, a technical writer was recruited as part of the core team from day 1. A good tech writer provides valuable feedback. I wasn't real thrilled with the "process" oriented approach e.g. ISO9001 that my customer required on another project, but we delivered product and earned the certification.
I call bullshit. After decades in various areas of IT, and looking for work during the past 14 months I’ve been invited to an initial interview exactly zero times. If these companies are hurting, I don’t see their pain. Programmer (including embedded), diagnostic programming, system quality assurance, product testing, and a strong technical writing background with a publicly accessible portfolio, I should be able to fill any number of requisitions. Consulting? Don’t make me laugh. The only feeler I’ve seen has been for RPG maintenance programming.
My daughter with the computer science degree is thinking that way. She just got on her new husband’s insurance. They can survive on his income. She’s already got people wanting help from her. She’s very independent.
My other daughter in data analytics needs medical and disability insurance. I also think she wants to work in an office.
Its going to be so weird at first not to have the daily frustration and chaos.
If you can I urge anyone who can take advantage of IT contract work, I had one contract for about 3 years, guaranteed 40 hour work week @ $40/hour plus time and a half for overtime including travel time.
In the work I was doing required a decent amount of travel all around the country.
Routinely I would earn 20-30 hours per week at $60/hour.
The $2800 to $4000 per week makes that the job financially rewarding
The most I got paid per hour was $75 for a 9 day contract and $5400 in addition to the other job was really good
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