IT Career News

Data breaches are growing in number, size and criticality, the cybersecurity talent gap is widening, and the security unemployment rate is at zero. A recent survey of IT decision makers across the U.S., Europe and Asia shows most firms are aware and worried about vacant cyber security posts and feel vulnerable to attack.

All of these signs are indicative that cyber security and InfoSec skills are in remarkably high demand and are a good place to start for anyone looking to begin or advance a successful IT career path. Whether you're seeking to land an exciting - and well-paying - job or are looking to serve the greater good and make our online lives safer, here are 10 certifications that will provide you with the right credentials to kickstart a successful IT security career in 2017 and beyond.

Cyber security skills fall into different categories such as secure coding, vulnerability and penetration testing, breach detection, and attack mitigation, which you can choose based on your background, interests, and current skill set. Each of the following cyber security certifications covers the tools, techniques and best practices in one or more of these sought-after categories.

Senior Technical Writer and Software Trainer, Keith Johnson, explores the key requirements of becoming a technical writer, and the steps you can take now to practice and achieve them.

Technical writing is a great field. As a Technical Writer, you will be making contributions to companies, schools, and organizations in profound ways that most people cannot comprehend. It is this truth and experience that has motivated me throughout my twenty-five year career in technical writing.

What is the best way to prepare for or enter the technical writing field? Whether you choose to approach technical writing through a formal education, such as a college degree program with a technical writing or related major, or through a non-traditional path like technology books, online courses, internships, entrepreneurship, and/or self-publishing, here are the “tech writing cement blocks” you can use to establish your career foundation to both becoming a technical writer and enduring its daily challenges as you go into the office armed with your pen, notepad, and laptop.

Are you a new or established IT pro looking for work? Like me, do you wonder about the corporate culture and employee perks at Silicon Valley tech giants like Google, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn? What about hot startups like Eventbrite, Gaia and Tagged?

Silicon Valley's best and brightest believe that enhanced convenience and a better quality of life for employees has a significant positive impact on productivity, time spent at work, and the all mighty bottom-line. Perks include in-house spas & fitness centers, catered gourmet meals and happy hour, world-class pension and vacation packages, guest lectures from renowned experts and more.

View "Employee Perks in Silicon Valley" Infographic

Check out this infographic for a stunning visual representation of employee perks at some of the best and brightest tech organizations and up-and-coming social media startups in the Valley.

Infographic courtesy of ResumeBear.

In a tough job market, it pays to be strategic, and to look for positions in industries with the best opportunities for career growth and upward mobility. ITCareerFinder examined tech job growth rates from the leading unbiased employment sources, including the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, to identify the fastest growing IT careers for 2012 and beyond.

Here are the top five fastest growing IT career paths:

IT pros and executives break down the most sought-after technology skills for 2015.

As technology continues to become an increasingly vital part of how we do business, the race is on to secure top-notch talent in IT skill positions that will not only keep the organization running through 2015, but lay the groundwork for secure and successful expansion in the coming year and beyond.

In its annual IT Forecast report, Computerworld surveyed 194 technology executives about the technical job roles they’ll be looking to fill in 2015 – here we present their findings, identify the hottest IT skill sets in each domain, and explore some of the key trends driving workforce demand.

Here are the top 10 IT skills in demand for 2015:

It's hard to deny the fact that "big data" is a ubiquitous buzzword today, and every now and again someone suggests that it's just a passing fad. The fact of the matter is that, while this trend may be experiencing some hype now and will likely eventually plateau (in the distant future), it's going to be a major player from here on in no matter how you slice it. This is because the insight brought forth from analyses of vast quantities of relevant data eliminates assumption and guesswork from the business decision-making process. In large businesses especially, this directly equates to mitigated risk, colossal savings and accelerated growth.

Data from the staffing industry indicates that people aren't just talking about big data; medium and large businesses are spending a great deal on — and exhibiting a lot of interest in — the scouting and hiring of data scientists and developers in the big data space.

The demand speaks for itself: for every one developer looking for a job in big data there are 3.6 job postings available in the United States. Additionally, as of 2014, developers who work with big data languages are the highest paid in the space. R, the statistical analysis programming language tops the list with an average salary over $115,000. Other languages and frameworks designed for dealing with large data sets, such as NOSQL, Apache Hadoop and MapReduce, boast six-figure salaries as well.

Even small businesses reap benefits from big data: although they don't often have the need to substantiate hiring in-house big data developers, they gain an advantage through externally managed analytical dashboards that help them visualize data and spot trends that can influence smarter businesses decisions.

The bottom line is that big data isn't simply an over-hyped term in the tech space and business world. The infatuation with big data is supported with fiscal interest in this new field because of the marked difference it's already making for SMBs and enterprises, and the vast potential it has to impact the way do business going forward. Take a look this infographic to see some of these trends visualized:

Earlier this week, Global Knowledge and TechRepublic published their highly anticipated 2012 IT Salary and Skills Report. Over 9,500 IT professionals completed this year's salary survey and questionnaire. Explore this infographic for the 2012 salary report's key findings, including wage comparisons by IT certification, job function, education, industry and geographic region.

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

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: