Top Technology Skills To Learn For a Successful Career In 2021 Though India has tapped into the first wave of IT demand effectively but the rapid pace of technology change means that the industry will have to continuously work towards reskilling its workforces to counter the skill gap

Technology has become imperative for every aspect of life, whether it is communication, online learning, remote working or even daily requirements. All of these interactions when put together are a treasure trove for data for organizations to guide their business strategies by applying various innovative advanced tech applications. These technological capabilities and emergence of new industries has led to the shift in the demand for skilled human labor. Though India has tapped into the first wave of IT demand effectively but the rapid pace of technology change means that the industry will have to continuously work towards reskilling its workforces to counter the skill gap. Here is a list of the top 5 tech skills that fresh graduates and professionals can sharpen in order to carve a successful career today.

Artificial intelligence

The scope of artificial intelligence (AI) has grown leaps and bounds over the last few years and organizations across the sectors are looking to capitalize on AI applications. AI is transforming the functional, operational and strategic landscape of various businesses. The tremendous growth of AI companies and automation of jobs have fueled the need for an active and thriving AI talent ecosystem. According to NASSCOM, India will require around 800,000 AI professionals by 2021. However, at the current rate, we are expected to have just 570,000 professionals with the knowledge of these skills by 2021 leading to a massive skill gap. IBM India, Accenture, 24/7 Customer, Nvidia Corporation, Hewlett-Packard, EY, Genpact, Amazon, eClerx Services, and Capgemini emerged as the top 10 organizations that have contributed to the demand for AI professionals in the country offering a median salary of INR 14.7 lakh.

Data analytics

In the past decade, the exponential growth of data volumes and analytical complexity has led to the increasing adoption of in-database analytical tools. Organizations are not only consuming this data to gain consumer insights and build networking but are also driving their major business decisions by analysing the data. Despite the slump in the job market, the enthusiasm and optimism around data science and analytics functions in India continue to remain high. According to a recent report, 93,500 data science jobs were vacant in India at the end of August 2020 for the want of relevant talent. Sectors such as BFSI, e-commerce, edtech and logistics are still hiring fresh and top-rated tech talent for lucrative job roles like analytics specialist, data scientist, decision science manager, business analyst, analytics manager and operations analytics manager. Such positions are emphasized among the most promising jobs of the future and offer the highest median salaries ranging between INR 13-15 lakh globally.

Cloud computing

Cloud computing has been the most transformative technology and gained significant momentum since the 2010s. With a lot of organizations migrating to the cloud from their traditional application owing to the pandemic, jobs in this domain are growing massively. Recent reports suggest that India is expected to see more than 1 million cloud computing job roles by 2022 as more organizations shift their operations to the cloud infrastructure. There is a high demand for key roles including cloud application developer, cloud network engineer, cloud automation engineer and cloud security manager. The salary survey suggests that cloud professionals can earn anywhere from INR 4 lakh per annum to INR 35 lakh per annum based on their experience and skills.

Information security

From the time of the first virus attack in 1989 then to today, information security has emerged as a board room-level concern. Amidst the pandemic, there is an increased risk of data breaches, leaks, and cybercrimes leading to the dire need for skilled information security professionals with every passing day. The New York Times citing a Cybersecurity Ventures reserach has reported that the demand for cybersecurity jobs will increase manifold and result in 3.5 million unfilled positions by 2021. Global in-house centers (GICs) along with other leading organizations including Deloitte, KPMG, EY, PwC, Amazon, Walmart, Paytm, Accenture to name a few are hiring professionals for roles such as security engineers, pentesters and security analysts with an average salary hike of 15-20 per cent. Hence, it is safe to say that this domain is likely to witness a steady demand and skilling here will lead to fruitful results with regards to job opportunities.