IT Career Juice Blog


Jumpstart your career with the latest and greatest news on IT hiring trends, emerging technologies, and the skills and certifications that modern employers demand. Blog posts are written by subject matter experts, and continually updated with current figures and analyses.


Recent Posts

How to Practice Configuring Routers and Switches

For concert pianists and network administrators alike, practice makes perfect. Certified Cisco Instructor, Mark Sabo, explores the best ways to hone your routing & switching skills.

Ways to Configure Routers and Switches

One of the most common questions my students ask is, “What can I do to get more practice configuring routers and switches?” The best thing you can do is to go out and get some real equipment and build your own lab environment. Nothing beats having real equipment to touch, smell and practice with. You can find cheap routers and switches on the internet; eBay is the most popular place where people go to unload their old equipment for dirt cheap instead of trashing it. You don’t need new, expensive equipment for a home practice lab, and this presents the best opportunity. For those of us who don’t want to spend money on a practice lab, or want the flexibility of playing with routers wherever we are, there's GNS3.

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IT Salaries 2013: Top 10 Jobs Earning the Biggest Raises

The new IT Salary Guide from technical staffing leader Robert Half Technology indicates the IT professionals who will enjoy the biggest pay raises in 2013.

IT Salaries 2013

The information technology job market will experience a 5.3% uptick in starting IT salaries in 2013, dwarfing the 2.9% average raise for all American workers. A clear skills gap in high-demand positions is the driving factor in IT salary hikes; cutting-edge fields like mobile app development, wireless networking and big data analytics currently have more job openings than qualified professionals to fill them.

Android and iOS application developers will score the biggest raise from 2012 to 2013, with a 9% increase in starting salaries, followed closely by network engineers and data scientists.

Here are the 10 IT job roles getting the biggest pay hikes in 2013:

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Top 10 IT Skills In Demand for 2013

Tech executives identify the hottest IT skill sets for 2013 in a new Computerworld survey.

Hot IT Skills 2013

IT executives share their hiring plans for 2013 in Computerworld's annual IT Forecast. Over 33% of the 334 IT decision-makers surveyed plan to take on new talent in 2013 - up from 29% in last year's survey and 23% in 2010. 2013 heralds an exciting time in IT employment, as the skill sets in the greatest demand are those that focus on the development, integration and management of new technologies and innovations to grow the business.

Here are this year's most sought-after IT skill sets:

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Best Computer Jobs for the Future

best-computer-jobs-for-future

Trying to determine your ideal IT career path? Want to know which computer jobs will be in the greatest demand, offer the highest salaries, and best opportunities for advancement once you finish training? ITCareerFinder assembled this comparison of the decade’s hottest technology careers to serve as your guide. These 10 computer jobs will experience the fastest growth, pay salaries well above the national average, boast top employment rates, and offer a range of opportunities for promotion.

Best Computer Jobs

Compare the best computer jobs by employment projections, key growth factors, salary, and more, then click the links of your favorite IT career paths for deep-dive career profiles featuring skills and responsibilities, desirable certifications, wage analyses, education requirements, training & degree programs, local job openings, and tips from IT insiders.

The methodology used to discover this decade’s best computer jobs centered around a four-point weighted analysis of employment growth forecasts from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Occupational Outlook Handbook, IT salaries from Indeed.com, the ratio of job listings to qualified applicants on leading technology job boards, and potential for upward mobility based on interviews with technology and employment experts, as well as recent IT hiring trends.

Discover the 10 best computer jobs for the future:

  1. IT Security Specialist

    IT Security Specialist career growth

    IT Security Specialist Employment Projections | 2022 - 2032

    Key Growth Factors

    Security will remain a top concern for IT executives and hiring managers as the frequency, scope, and complexity of cyber attacks continue to escalate. Year after year, IT executives report actively seeking professionals with information security skills but finding it difficult to locate good talent. This indicates an incredible opportunity for technology professionals to advance their cybersecurity skills and certifications. Computer security skills in the greatest demand include IT operations security, secure web and mobile application development, risk management, information assurance, network security, and cloud security.

  2. Mobile Application Developer

    best mobile app developer jobs

    Mobile App Developer Employment Projections | 2022 - 2032

    Key Growth Factors

    Mobile application development is one of the world's fastest-growing occupations. As smartphones and tablets continue to change the way we communicate, do business, and access news & entertainment, the demand for new and innovative mobile apps is growing at an incredible speed. This increased demand translates to one of the largest IT skills gaps ever realized – there are simply more mobile application development job openings than skilled developers to fill them. Google's Android and Apple's iOS (iPhone, iPad & Apple Watch) platforms will continue to offer the most career opportunities for mobile developers, as these 2 platforms combine for over 99% of the mobile OS market share in the US.

  3. Software Engineer

    Best Software Engineer Jobs

    Software Engineer Employment Projections | 2022 - 2032

    Key Growth Factors

    Workforce demand for software engineers will rise along with technological advancement and the growing ubiquity of software. For example, the rapid adoption of cloud technologies is driving demand for applications software engineers who can build secure and scalable cloud programs. Likewise, as the proliferation of computer systems continues and software spreads into new industries and smart devices, the need to develop the computer systems that power these initiatives will create jobs for systems software engineers.

  4. Video Game Designer

    Best Video Game Designer Jobs

    Video Game Designer Employment Projections | 2022 - 2032

    Key Growth Factors

    The $140+ billion dollar gaming industry has more than tripled in size over the last decade. Beyond the booming market for PC and console games, the increased popularity, processing power, and graphics capabilities of mobile devices have unlocked a new world of job opportunities for video game designers, artists, and programmers. Game designers with mobile development expertise will be especially sought after as smartphones and tablets continue to change how video games are played. Game designer employment will also benefit from emerging technologies and rising demand for augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) applications.

  5. Computer Systems Analyst

    Computer Systems Analyst career growth

    Computer Systems Analyst Employment Projections | 2022 - 2032

    Key Growth Factors

    As organizations continue to increase their reliance on technology, computer systems analysts will be needed to increase the efficiency of existing technologies and architect new systems. Health care is a key industry for systems analyst job growth, as aggressive government mandates and funding initiatives continue to drive increases in electronic medical record (EMR) adoption, electronic prescription services, and other health-centric software projects. The U.S. Department of Labor also predicts a 43% increase in systems analyst hiring at IT consulting firms, which translates to a huge amount of freelance and contract employment opportunities in this job role.

  6. Web Developer

    Best Web Developer Jobs

    Web Developer Employment Projections | 2022 - 2032

    Key Growth Factors

    Each year, a record number of businesses bring their offerings to the Internet. As the number of products and services online continues to grow, web developers and designers will enjoy increased job opportunities. The proliferation of social networks will boost demand for web developers as businesses look to engage a new generation of customers and spur a competitive advantage in this rapidly growing space. Responsive web design, user interface (UI), and user experience (UX) skills are a hot commodity in this position as displays must increasingly adapt to varying device sizes and types, e.g., smartwatches.

  7. Health Information Technician

    Best Health Information Technician Jobs

    Health Information Technician Employment Proj. | 2022 - 2032

    Key Growth Factors

    Health care will produce more new computer jobs through 2025 than any other single industry. Aggressive government mandates and funding incentives for medical practices to adopt centralized electronic health records are driving unprecedented hiring of health information technicians trained and certified in these new technologies. Health information technicians may earn the lowest starting salary on this list, but the required education is the quickest (typically a 2-year degree program in Health IT). Candidates learning now will be well-positioned for lucrative management positions as the health IT job market continues to mature.

  8. Technology Manager

    Best IT Manager Jobs

    Technology Manager Employment Projections | 2022 - 2032

    Key Growth Factors

    Job growth for information technology managers is directly tied to the growth rates of the IT workers they supervise. Record-breaking growth in a variety of technical jobs – including software development, project management, data analytics, and cloud computing – will continue through 2025 and beyond, in turn fueling strong demand for talented IT managers. Additional growth will be driven by an increased focus on information security and the hiring of additional cybersecurity personnel.

  9. Database Administrator

    best DBA jobs

    Database Administrator Employment Projections | 2022 - 2032

    • 10-Year Growth Pct: 7% (faster than average)†
    • 10-Year Growth Volume: 6,000 new jobs
    • Average Salary: $112,000
    • DBA Career Path ››
    Key Growth Factors

    Businesses are racking up impressive amounts of digital information, spurring the need for trained and certified DBAs to store, organize, analyze, and secure this data. In addition, as more databases are connected to the Internet and cloud, data security will become increasingly vital and complex; database administrators and developers - especially those with information security skills - will be hired to protect corporate data from hackers and other cyber threat vectors.

  10. Network Administrator

    Network Administrator Job Growth

    Network Administrator Employment Projections | 2022 - 2032

    Key Growth Factors

    Demand for network administrators will rise as organizations invest in new computer systems and network technologies to increase productivity and gain a competitive advantage. The rapid adoption of mobile and smart devices and cloud computing means more organizations will use the Internet to conduct business online, translating to increased job opportunities for network professionals who can help businesses securely wield these emerging technologies.

Helpful Links for Blog Readers:

The average ten-year growth rate for all occupations is 3% (bls.gov)

Source: US Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Outlook Handbook

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Top Five Skills to Secure a Job in Cloud Computing

Hot cloud computing skills

Cloud computing is often talked about as a technology that will make IT departments obsolete as companies seek to outsource computing needs. This analysis misses the complexity of what's actually happening in IT departments.

The actuality is that cloud technologies are running in conjunction with on-site systems, and many companies are choosing to operate and maintain their own servers - even if they have a few Cloud applications up and running. This adds a layer of complexity to effectively managing the IT needs of an organization. Rather than eliminating the role of in-house IT professionals, the cloud is merely changing the skill set and job functions of the IT department.

In my experience, here are the top 5 skills IT professionals will need to learn to work in cloud computing:

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Best IT Certifications to Get a Job in 2012

A new report from Dice.com indicates the best IT certifications to help you get a job.

Top IT Certifications to Get a Job 2012

In its 2012 Salary Survey, IT job board Dice.com asked "Which IT certification has helped you earn a new position?" Over 18,000 employed IT professionals and technology executives responded - below are the top eight IT certifications that helped them stand out from the crowd and get hired. Also included are average salaries, experience level and noteworthy hiring trends for each credential.

Here are the top 8 IT certifications most likely to land you a new job in 2012:

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Top 6 Reasons to Earn A Computer Science Degree

Do you like money? Do you thrive on intellectual challenge? Are you fascinated by technology? A computer science degree can lead you to a fulfilling IT career on all three counts. Read on for the top benefits of earning a computer science degree...

Computer Science Degree Benefits

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5 Weeks of Free Education with the Kaplan Commitment Program

Kaplan University believes you have the right to make an informed decision about your education. To back up this belief, Kaplan introduced The Kaplan Commitment. The Kaplan Commitment program lets prospective online or campus students attend the first 5 weeks of a degree program at no cost while they decide whether or not to stay and pursue their studies. After five weeks, students can either continue in class, or withdraw without any financial obligation beyond the $45 application fee.

kaplan commitment program free trial computer degrees

Read on for Kaplan Commitment rules, degree programs and more:

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