The poor economic climate and disappointing employment history of the past three years has led to many doomsday predictions on the likelihood of an upturn. Thankfully, a more optimistic article on the employment outlook in IT sector was published on globalknowledge.com. In “Top IT Jobs for 2010 and Beyond”, a rosier forecast of our industry is given, citing the increased demand for what the author, Randy Muller, calls the ‘critical IT jobs’. Let’s take a look at the list of roles that will be in demand in the coming years and examine certain reasons that justify this hopeful position.

First, let me say that as a practice Cisco CCNA and field of study, project management exhibits a certain resiliency, even in tumultuous economic times. Why is that? Because it is the job of a project management expert to solve the problems that seem to rear their ugly heads during such climates: resource limitations, tight budgets, risk mitigation, and the list goes on. The very definition of this field means knowing how to get things done despite these limitations.

So, if you’re a project manager, a program manager, or a business analyst (or perhaps you play another pivotal role on a project) and you are facing difficult economic times, take heart! The way to market yourself to employers is as a money-saving, issue/risk controlling, project guru. Show the value that you will bring that will far outweigh the salary you demand. Easier said than done, yes, but it is possible – and companies are looking more and more to experts who can help them do just what you have been doing throughout your career

Just take a look at this list of the best information technology jobs that we introduced at the start (in alphabetical order):

 

  • Computer Forensics
  • Database Administrator
  • Information Systems Auditor
  • IT Security Manager
  • Network Administrator
  • Project Manager
  • Software Engineer
  • Virtualization Engineer
  • Voice Specialist

To hand-pick a few out of this list, think of the following: information system auditors save the company through compliance, IT security managers mitigate the risk of costly cyber-crime and downed systems in the workplace, virtualization engineers save costs by implementing a system of virtual machine environments that don’t require brick-and-mortar datacenters, and as you already know, project managers are responsible for being rock star money, time, and resource savers across the board!