If you’re trying to break into tech, learning the top tech skills in demand will definitely help you push forward. Or, if you’re looking to change fields, you might want to maximize your marketability by pursuing these skills and secure a great job.
Between 2016 and 2019, U.S employers were only able to fill 6 out of every 10 tech positions. This is a clear sign of a huge technology talent deficit in the country.
Furthermore, over 50% of company learning and development leaders in a Udemy survey said that technical skills were a top priority for training in 2020.
Of course, tech is a very broad field with a lot of interesting directions you can go in. We’ve gathered information on a lot of surveys and wrote an article about how much demand for each skill is.
The current top 7 tech skills in demand in 2020 are:
- Machine learning
- Mobile development
- Robotics
- Data science
- UI/UX Design
- Blockchain
- Cybersecurity
Machine learning
Machine learning is one of the fastest-growing areas of research and investment. As the buzzword became more and more common, the adaption of this technology followed. At the current growth rate, Machine learning is on track to be worth around $9 billion globally in 3 years.
People are starting to notice the shifting tech landscape, and are interested to find out how this integration can benefit their business. In order to remain relevant and at the forefront of fast-paced and quickly changing industries, innovation is inevitable. As such, it’s important to keep track of new advances in science and technology.
The main Machine Learning trends of 2020 are:
- Data Lakes and SaaS for Business Analytics
- Machine Learning algorithm will become more accurate
- Rapid adoption will drive growth
Machine learning demands
Mobile development
In an era when the world is headed towards digitalization, mobile apps are gaining tremendous traction in all spheres of life. They’re becoming an indispensable part of the digital ecosystem – rapidly.
In the past few years, there has been a huge investment in mobile app development by some pretty big companies and tech giants. Small business are also following this trend and gradually realizing the importance of mobile apps. The incorporation of mobile apps into business has never been more necessary.
The mobile app development industry has obviously been impacted by the advent of technologies, such as:
- the Internet of Things
- Chatbots
- Artificial Intelligence
- Machine Learning
- BlockChain
- Augmented Reality
Robotics
From 2020 to 2022, approximately 2 million new units of industrial robots are expected to be installed in factories all around the world. New technology trends and market development allow companies to react and to change requirements.
“Smart robotics and automation are vital to deal with new consumer trends, demand for product variety or challenges from trade barriers”, says Dr. Susanne Bieller, General Secretary of the IFR. “New technological solutions pave the way for more flexibility in production.”
Simplification, Collaboration, and Digitalization are the key drivers that will benefit the robot implementation process.
The robotics top trends in 2020 are expected to be:
- Robots getting started
- Programming and installation to become easier
- Robots to start collaborating with workers
- Robots going digital
Data science
The exponential growth of data, partly generated by sensor-driven devices, is inevitably making Data Science market differentiators in global business-analytics solutions. And with the rising demand in Data Science in 2020, it’s no wonder it’s one of the highest tech skills in demand.
[I]f our digital universe or total data content were represented by tablets, then by 2020, they would stretch all the way to the moon over six times. That’s equal to 44 zettabytes of data, or 44 trillion gigabytes.” – IDC. This was a prediction back in 2014 that aged just like a fine wine
Also, Towards Data Science reports:
- Currently, the daily data output is more than 2.5 quintillion bytes.
- In the near future, “1.7 Mb of data will be created every second for every person on the planet.”
- A wide variety of Data Science roles will drive these massive data loads.
Proof that Data science is in high demand
UI/UX Design
The rapid growth of technology influences the design world every year too. Every year new trends emerge, and designers know this by heart. They know they need to be aware of the existing and upcoming design trends. They have to be at a constant stage of learning, improving, and expanding the design toolkit. And this all to be up-to-date on the current market. And creating a logo is also something that will never go out of business.
Based on uxdesign.cc, these are the top 8 UI/UX trends for 2020:
- Animated Illustrations
- Microinteractions
- 3D Graphic in Web/Mobile
- Virtual Reality
- Augmented Reality
- Neumorphism
- Asymmetrical Layouts
- Storytelling
Blockchain
We might be a few steps away from the Internet of Anything and Everything, but it sure is coming. Right now, the brightest minds of computer science, software development, entrepreneurship are hard at work designing the future of the Web 3.0. With no sign of slowing down!
And obviously, the blockchain is going to play a major role in the coming-together of the ideas that will eventually set the stage for this enormous digital transformation.
It’s clear that blockchain will revolutionize operations and processes in many major industries and government agencies if adopted. But, its adoption does take time and effort, though. In addition, blockchain technology will stimulate people to acquire new skills. Thus, the traditional business will have to completely reconsider their process to harvest the maximum benefits from using this very promising technology.
Blockchain job listing by year
Cybersecurity
The development in the cybersecurity area is alarming. With the number of smart devices in private household increases, so do the opportunities for cybercriminals to attack.
Uncontrolled access to personal data undermines confidence in digital society.
The logistics industry and private vehicles are increasingly being targeted by hackers. Experts view these key cybersecurity trends as critical to understanding in 2020.
“From our point of view, it is particularly serious that cybercrime is increasingly affecting our personal security and the stability of society as a whole,” explains Petr Láhner, Business Executive Vice President for the business stream Industry Service & Cybersecurity at TÜV Rheinland.
