杏吧原创

鈥淚 fell into programming at a relatively early age,鈥� says Joe Bott, an IT professional working for QuadGraphics, a printing company in Wisconsin. 鈥淏y the time college came around there was no question what degree I鈥檇 be going for.鈥�

But as the sector continues to grow, programmers like Bott are concerned that new trends will pull the carpet out from beneath professionals with pre-existing skill sets. 鈥淎t some level I鈥檇 love to work with scripting languages full time. They offer a great way to solve problems that may be more cumbersome with older technologies,鈥� Bott says. 鈥淎t the same time, I have a very strong background in [programming language] C++. It鈥檚 not new, it鈥檚 not the most fun to work with, but it gets the job done amazingly well. If I was to take a job that didn鈥檛 utilise my C++ skills, I worry that I鈥檇 lose them over time.鈥�

So if taking time off for new training is a calculated gamble, which languages, software and tools are worth the risk? And which topics should you brush up on in preparation for that job interview?

Melanie Pinola, an editor for cult-tech-cum-life management site , sees cloud technology 鈥� off-site, server-based data storage 鈥� as the biggest game-changer in IT. 鈥淎ll IT folk have to be more flexible these days, because of the incredible rate that new technologies are developed,鈥� she says. 鈥淐loud computing is already starting to change the way business is done, with less reliance on the in-house IT department in many cases.鈥�

Pinola believes IT staff shouldn鈥檛 panic at the cloud鈥檚 threat to in-house IT work. There are two things you can do to stay relevant, she says: 鈥淭ry to keep up with the new tech as best as possible 鈥� cloud security is a big deal, for example 鈥� and add skills in other areas, both business-related and technical.鈥�

Big data, big opportunities

In the world of analytics, big data remains a hot topic. This is the industry that has sprung up to store and manage the huge datasets produced in fields such as genomics research, astronomy and particle physics, including that from the Large Hadron Collider at CERN near Geneva, Switzerland. It also includes data produced in social networks, e-commerce transactions and medical records to name but a few.

The ability to tease out meaningful information from these behemoths without spending a fortune is an extremely valuable skill. Indeed, research carried out by the London-based Centre for Economic and Business Research predicts that big data could over the next five years.

鈥淎s the amount of data exponentially grows, the need for analytical and data-savvy talent becomes ever more important鈥� says Bill Simmons, co-founder of , a big data company based in Boston, Massachusetts. 鈥淲e digest and analyse petabytes of data coming through our platform, so the majority of our new hires have mathematical and engineering backgrounds. It鈥檚 essential that they not only know how to analyse data, but also know how to write code that runs on thousands of servers in a parallel way.鈥�

Another booming sector is in the development of apps, making those with knowledge of relevant development tools, from Apple鈥檚 Xcode to freeware like REBOL, highly valued by employers. HTML5 is the app development tool in greatest use and since December 2011, the salaries for positions requiring knowledge of it in the UK averaged out at 拢40,000.

In the first few months of 2012, vacancies for jobs involved in developing apps for Android, the iPhone and the iPad rose by 24 per cent in the UK found a report published by . The situation is similar in the US. During New York鈥檚 annual NYC Startup Job Fair, 40 per cent of the early stage startups exhibiting there advertised for positions in cross-platform app development.