Randstad USA, a provider of HR services and staffing, has singled out full-stack developer, big data engineer, security engineer, IoT architect, and VR/AR engineer as in-demand IT careers for 2017.
In many of those cases, Randstad has tracked exploding demand — anywhere from 45 to 117 percent more job listings year-over-year — and listed skills and specializations that might not seem obvious at first glance. But some of these jobs are staple positions that would be tops in most any year, and Randstad’s list is as notable for what’s missing as what is present.
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“Big data engineer” seems like an obvious on-fire specialty for the year, and other companies have reached the same conclusion. Staffing and recruiting firm Robert Half saw starting salaries for such positions range from $135,000 to $196,000. Randstad’s estimates are more conservative — $121,950 to $159,800 — but the number of such jobs tracked by Randstad nearly doubled over the course of 2016.
Randstad also considers big data to be highly synonymous with sensitive data, as the certifications listed for that job type include secret and top secret clearances. Given that big data security is widely perceived to be a mess, it might be a good idea to start addressing that problem from the human side rather than the technology side.
Security engineer, a position for “develop[ing] systems to prevent data breaches and keep confidential information safe,” has many of the same stipulations as well. While Randstad doesn’t see salaries there as high ($145,750 tops for starters) and hasn’t tracked anywhere near the amount of growth (only 15 percent over the last year), it did see slightly more jobs for that position and in more markets.