In 2020, the fastest-growing jobs were centered around the importance of data literacy — new roles specializing in cloud security and an increase in hiring for people with technical skills in artificial intelligence (AI) were top of mind for employers.
Now that we’re a few months into the new year, some new hiring trends for 2021 have emerged. What’s more, these new developments could shape the workforce for years to come.
Here’s our take on the latest hiring trends, including the skills and roles that companies are looking for right now.
Hiring Trends: The Hottest Jobs Today
If you’re considering a career change or up-leveling your current capabilities, having the in-demand skills to break into the new job market is a must.
When looking towards the future, here are five jobs topping the list of hiring trends for 2021 based on trends and data gathered from across the industry.
Digital Marketing Professionals
Digital marketing has been around since the dawn of the internet. As new technology and platforms become available, companies need skilled professionals to create marketing strategies and run campaigns designed for the digital world. With 33% year over year growth in these roles, there’s no question that finding skilled professionals can be a challenge for employers.
With more people shopping online than ever before, digital marketing professionals will continue to be in high demand. Plus, SEO professionals are also needed as they help businesses improve their rankings in search engines which helps with discoverability.
Digital marketers often specialize in specific areas including analytics, branding, content, monetization, search engine optimization and more.
Specialized Engineers
When it comes to being an engineer in the tech field, there is no shortage of options for where someone can specialize. Everything from machine learning and sensor fusion to hybrid cloud and cybersecurity requires highly skilled engineers to play an integral role on the project team.
While there is a slight variation in demand, no matter which specific stream of engineering someone specializes in, their skills are in demand. For example, full stack engineers have seen 35% growth every year since 2015.
Specific roles and responsibilities will vary based on the stream of engineering. Some of the most coveted engineering jobs include robotics software engineer, self driving car engineer, cloud dev ops engineer and more.
Artificial Intelligence Specialists
There’s no question that when looking at hiring trends for 2021, artificial intelligence (AI) is extremely hot. Worldwide spending on artificial intelligence is expected to rise to more than $110 billion by 2024 and it’s estimated that over the past four years, roles in artificial intelligence have grown by 74%.
To keep up with the changing landscape and increasing demands brought about by the pandemic in 2020, companies are looking to leverage more AI to meet new demands and become more efficient.
Mobile phones, streaming services, video games, chatbots and GPS navigation systems are just a few of the places that AI touches our lives on a daily basis. Plus, AI is used for more advanced technology like self-driving cars and autonomous flight engineering. All of these technologies mean more AI specialists will be needed for everything from design to development to testing.
UX Professionals
At the time of this article being written, there were nearly 5,900 UX designer jobs posted on Indeed. With a rate of job growth of approximately 25% from 2019 to 2020, it’s no surprise UX roles continue to be hot in 2021.
With attention spans being shorter than ever and consumers having endless options for products and services at their fingertips, UX is a key area of focus for many companies. UX takes concepts from idea to development right through to testing,
The field of UX encompasses many roles including UX designers, UX researchers, product designers, information architects, as well as specialists in lean UX.
Data Science Specialists
Having topped LinkedIn’s Emerging Job Report for the past three years in a row, it’s no surprise that data scientists continue to be in high demand, with hiring for these roles growing by 46% since 2019. The field of data has grown exponentially over the past decade, thanks to more data than ever being collected by companies.
Organizations need skilled people who can not only gather that data, but also segment and interpret it. Plus, they need skilled talent who can create business cases based on the data.
Data analysts, data engineers, data product managers, and data visualization specialists are just a few of the roles available to those looking to pursue a career in the field.
Get the Most In-demand Skills Online
When looking at workplace trends for 2021, one thing is clear — the demand for new and emerging skills is higher than ever.
To best position yourself for a tech career, employers are looking for candidates who are highly skilled in these areas:
- AI and machine learning
- IT automation
- Cloud native architecture
- Cybersecurity
- Natural language processing
Uplevel Your Education to Get the Skills You Need
By choosing to upskill and increase your education in a field relating to one or more of the hiring trends we’ve shared, you’ll be best positioned to secure employment in a field that is not only thriving, but can also offer new and exciting challenges to grow your own portfolio.
Are you ready to take your next step towards a new or uplevel career?
Check out the Udacity Course Catalog to find a program that can help you meet your career goals.
