A guest post by Rainier Fuclan of Kforce.
More than three years past the point when economists say the national recession ended, many Americans are still struggling to find jobs. Industries are slowly becoming more profitable, but most are not yet creating many new jobs. One industry, however, remains strong and growing: information technology. The unemployment rate in the tech field was only 3.5 percent in July 2012, less than half of the national unemployment rate.
With the growth of new technologies and the rise of cloud computing, high-wage jobs for IT professionals are available and growing. The number of qualified job applicants is low, and it might be a great time to change to a career in the IT field. If you’re an IT professional looking for a new job, here are some of the best jobs to consider.
Mobile Application Developers
The mobile app and mobile game development field has exploded over the last few years, and app developers remain one of the hottest commodities for IT companies. Software developers will always be in demand, but as companies scramble to offer new apps and optimize their websites for smartphones and tablets, mobile developers will remain in high demand.
User Experience (UX) Designers
User experience is a huge component of app development for both PCs and mobile devices. Since the majority of these apps are intended for customers and gamers, user experience designers offer incredible value to companies. An app will catch on onlyif it’s fun and easy to use, so UX has become a main focus for main developers.
Information Security
Cyber security is one of the quickest growing part of the industry. According to DICE.com, job ads for information and network security jobs increased more than 141 percent last year. Between the federal government looking to bolster its cyber security efforts and corporations looking to ward off malware and hacker attacks, information and network security professionals are in demand. If you’re interested in network security jobs, look to a staffing agency like Kforce that focuses on technology and has a continually updated job board.
Infrastructure Professional
Despite the rise of cloud computing, there is still high demand for IT infrastructure professionals. Cloud computing requires companies to secure their infrastructure to protect data. Many companies are still migrating to Windows 7, which needs a lot of infrastructure support as companies balance their cloud, virtual networks, and security. Even with the cloud offering some do-it-yourself information management, network engineers and infrastructure professionals will have job security for a long time to come.
Data Analysts
Businesses are producing mountains of data about their customers and competitors, and that data can provide valuable insights for a company. Data miners and analysts are responsible for obtaining, cleaning, searching and interpreting the huge volumes of information that a company creates. It sounds tedious, but it is an important and valuable function for companies. Data analysis helps support many of the other fields listed above, offering a look at customer behavior, industry trends and product performance.
Author Bio:
Rainier Fuclan is a blogger and freelance writer for Kforce, a professional staffing and solutions firm that has been matching job seekers and employers since 1962.