Top Seven in-demand IT skills in 2013

Jan. 9, 2013 - PRLog -- 1.      -- Software developers/engineers

The two big development platforms, .NET (VB.NET or C#), Java are not going anywhere. Having deep understanding of at least one of these two is almost a prerequisite for developers, unless you are in some niche or upcoming segment. But knowing just Java (http://skillsign.com/search/keyWordSearch?keyword=java) or C++ is passé; you need to have a good knowledge of the overall platform, including libraries and framework.

2.       -- Mobile Application developers

Over the last five years, demand for mobile development skills has outstripped supply. There are different facets to mobile development – mobile-compatible web development, mobile applications, frameworks and Rich Internet Applications (RIAs). Mobile developers command a salary premium in India and almost anywhere else.

3.      --  Web development & Web services

If you are a developer, sooner or later you will create or use a web service. Just HTML and CSS are not enough, get to know web environment a little better with JavaScript, REST, JSON, SOAP,and XML.

4.      --  Quality Assurance    

Companies are increasing their investment in improving the first time and final code quality. Testers get to use latest testing frameworks and methodologies and generally have a wider exposure to project than individual developers. With the increasing emphasis on automation in testing (http://skillsign.com/search/keyWordSearch?keyword=testing), salary difference between developers and testers is largely gone now.

5.      --  Analytics

You don’t have to always work directly with software code. Big Data is the biggest buzz word these days. It has become increasingly easier to store and work with humongous amount of data. Think of the volume of data that Facebook, Google, Amazon or Twitter has about you and one billion other users. With increasing data, the need to analyze and find a meaning out of the seeming chaos has become critical. If you have the aptitude, education background and skills to work in analytics, you can expect top-tier salary in the coming years.

6.       -- Agile development methodologies

Agile methodologies have taken some time to become popular, but it proved its value with aggressive result oriented programming team by enabling rapid development. Agile environment makes progress more visible, captures bugs earlier and allows faster turnaround. Get to know Agile, if you are looking for the top-end coding jobs.

7.      --  Soft Skills

Days of a loner unsocial nerd sitting in a corner, wearing slippers and writing poetry in Fortranare over (well mostly). You now need to work with developers, testers and other stakeholders, if you want to create anything worthwhile. Improve your vocabulary, join Jam sessions and attend local Toastmasters club to effectively present your viewpoint and persuade others. If you are a real good developer, people will still put up with your debatable social, and hygiene habits, but soft skills including communication (http://skillsign.com/search/keyWordSearch?keyword=communi...), presentation skills are increasingly considered valuable for developers. More than 40% of new IT vacancies are explicitly mentioning soft skills as a pre-requisite.