Surveys Reveal Top Trending Tech Jobs and Skills in 2024

Software Developers & Engineers in Strong Demand

According to tech job site Dice, the unemployment rate for IT occupations in the United States hit 2.4 percent in March, compared to 6 percent for all occupations. Tech job postings grew 28 percent from 2020’s fourth quarter and 2021’s first quarter; they surged another 12 percent between February and March of 2021. 

Research firm Burning Glass has released the data from its survey of current tech job demand in the United States. They found over 60,000 openings for software developers/engineers, with another 21,650 openings for senior software developers/engineers. For project and program managers (both general and IT specialists), they found nearly 60,000 more openings. These were just the uppermost categories: the survey identified almost 300,000 total slots in the top 30 most demanded tech job roles, including network architects, business analysts, and quality and test engineers.

As the COVID-19 pandemic winds down in the US, the economy is recovering, leading to the growth in demand for tech talent as companies plan to catch up on product development and new offerings. Digital transformation also remains a strong driver of tech talent demand as companies adapt to new business models they discovered during the pandemic lockdowns.

So far, we understood that software development is the most in-demand tech job in the market. Now, let’s have a look at the important skills required in the tech job.

Fastest-Growing Skills in Software and Project Management

In LinkedIn’s internal survey of its members, the professional social networking site has identified the five tech skills with the fastest growth from the LinkedIn 50 Top Companies.  LinkedIn looked at the profiles of employees at its Top Companies in the United States, Canada, UK, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, India, Singapore, Malaysia, Philippines, and Australia. The company noted which skills had the highest percentage growth based on the number of members who added those skills in 2020.

The three top-growing engineering skills are AWS cloud computing, Python language development, and machine learning.  Rounding out the top five are Agile project management skills in the Jira tool suite and Scrum.

2024 is an Ideal Time to Upskill for Tech Career Growth

Together, these two surveys paint a picture of a competitive landscape for tech professionals. Jobs in the US are plentiful, and ever more of these can be filled by remote workers from anywhere in the world. As COVID-19 comes under control worldwide, the demand for tech professionals in other countries will only grow.

At the same time, tech professionals are increasingly conscious of the need to upskill and become more competitive. They are adding advanced skills at high rates and putting pressure on their peers to do likewise or be left behind.

Online learning company Simplilearn supports this upskilling trend with online digital bootcamp programs that range from single courses to comprehensive, university-partnered post graduate programs. Simplilearn offers these courses and programs in data science, artificial intelligence and machine learning, software & full stack web development, project management, and a range of other digital economy skills. Simplilearn also offers free access to the self-learning portions of its courses through its SkillUp program.