Top 50 IT Jobs in the World: 20-16

IT; just two simple letters which describe a monumental mass of technology related topics, but when the phrase ‘IT Jobs’ is mentioned, just how many IT jobs does this describe?

The precise amount of IT Jobs isn’t exactly known however, more are being created every day with the rapid growth of technology worldwide.

So what are the most popular IT Jobs to date? For every day during the week until Friday 5th of August, we will be posting 5 of the 50 top IT Jobs! Here are today’s list of jobs:

 

 20. Data Security Analyst

Average Annual Salary (UK): £33,000

Typical responsibilities / skills: determine security risks for an organization’s computer systems, databases and networks; monitor external activity; install and configure security-related software (firewalls, encryption); understand compliance issues related to security, especially for a publicly-traded organization; make recommendations to management for security policies and procedures; design and run penetration testing (simulation of attacks); keep abreast of new attack techniques and implement means of preventing these.

Academic Pathway:

You can get into IT security by completing qualifications at university, or by gaining skills on the job. If you take the university route, you’ll need to complete a degree or postgraduate award in a subject such as:

• network security
• computer science (with security options)
• forensic computing
• business information systems.

Courses like these would allow you to start on a company’s graduate training scheme.
Alternatively, if you are working in IT you could use your experience to move into cyber security work. For example, experience in areas like systems analysis, database management or network engineering can be useful.

Knowledge and experience of different security technologies and procedures, will also be needed, for instance:

• firewalls and anti-virus software
• security information and event management (SIEM)
• authentication (passwords, digital certificates and, more recently, biometrics)
• penetration testing and vulnerability scanning
• encryption techniques, like Public Key Infrastructure (PKI), Transport Layer
• Security (TLS) and Secure Socket Layer (SSL).

You should also be familiar with common security standards and regulations, including:

• information security standard ISO/IEC 27001
• the Data Protection and Freedom of Information Acts.

 

 

19. Application Developer

Average Annual Salary (UK): £31,000

Typical responsibilities / skills: focus might be on middleware applications; interact with business analysts to understand and incorporate customer and business requirements; understand the SDLC (System Development Life Cycle); follow design specs and programming standards for coding applications; develop and test application-specific software and modules; interact with quality assurance specialists. Possibly requires experience with multi-tier environments.

Academic Pathway:

Education
Application developers often have a bachelor’s degree in a relevant computer science major. Degrees of this type involve concentrations in areas such as data structuring, system design and programming. Learning computer languages is also important. Developers utilize these systems when building the application structure. Many bachelor’s degree programs in computer science combine these language classes as a part of the major, while others offer them as electives.

A few advanced positions require a master’s degree for a relevant computer science major. These jobs focus on specialists who have multiple years of experience. Master’s degree programs follow a more specific kind of application such as Internet program development.

Work Experience

Many companies and clients require some form of experience before employment. Students who wish to gain experience can take advantage of various internship opportunities. Some of the internships allow novice developers to gain real-world experience with programming languages and deadlines.

 

 

18. Technical Support

Average Annual Salary (UK): £25,000

The focus of a support tech’s work is interacting with non-IT users, whether internal to a company or external. One group of technicians may support internal users of 3rd-party software, while another group may support internal and external users of company software. Responsibilities include being familiar with the software, hardware or systems they support, including keeping up to date with both new and retired features; knowing where to find the answers to questions that come in to the help desk; possibly contribute to a repository of FAQs (frequently asked questions).

Academic Pathway:

If you have a good working knowledge of computer systems, you could be taken on by a company as a trainee technician and receive on the job training. If you are not already working in IT, you could study for qualifications to improve your career prospects. For example:

• ICT Systems Support – PC Maintenance Level 1
• Certificate or Diploma in ICT Systems Support Level 2
• Certificate in ICT Systems and Principles Level 2
• Diploma in ICT Professional Competence Level 2.

These courses are available full- or part-time through local colleges and private training centres. The courses contain optional units taken from CompTIA, Cisco and Microsoft certifications and cover PC installation and maintenance. See the Training and development section for more details about certifications.
You may be able to become a support technician through an apprenticeship scheme. You will need to check which schemes are available in your area.

 

 

17. User Experience Design Manager

Average Annual Salary (UK): £50,000

Typical responsibilities / skills: oversee the user experience for an application or portfolio of applications; interact with marketing/ business, technical and other departments to collect requirements and make recommendations; interact with product owner/ manager (sometimes UX owns the product); interact with technical managers, project manager, executive management; manage a team of UX Designers – hiring, management, resource planning, mentoring.

Academic Pathway:

Minimum qualifications:

• 8 years of experience in UX Design,
• 3 years of experience managing or leading design teams.
• Portfolio of UX-focused work samples for web and mobile applications.

Preferred qualifications:

• Effectiveness in working across organizational boundaries to define, manage, and prioritize work.
• Excellent communication, presentation, interpersonal, and analytical skills; the ability to communicate complex interaction concepts clearly and persuasively across different audiences and varying levels of the organization.
• Collaborative and innovative with a great sense of humor.

 

 

16. General Technical Manager

Average Annual Salary (UK): £34,000

his is a general technical manager role and in some organizations, this title can incorporate other managerial duties including overseeing networks, managing network engineers, databases, database analysts and developers and more. Typical responsibilities / skills: manage help desk/ technical support teams for both internal and external users; budget for support staff equipment and software; be involved in corporate plans for hardware and software upgrades; define service call procedures and policies and monitor employee behavior on calls; ensure the updating of relevant documentation.

Academic Pathway:

Technical Expertise:

• Understand complex database concepts and effectively employ different database design techniques.
• Possess demonstrated work experience with more than one relational database management system.
• Understand OO concepts and consistently applies them in client engagements.
• Understand the benefits of the various programming languages.
• Possess significant knowledge of client/server and internet systems architectures.
• Understand browser / client specific compatibility issues.
• Communication
• Facilitate team and client meetings effectively.
• Hold regular status meetings with development team.
• Keep development team well informed of changes within the organization and general corporate news.
• Deliver engaging, informative, well-organized presentations.
• Resolve and/or escalates issues in a timely fashion.
• Understand how to communicate difficult/sensitive information tactfully.

 

 

Sources:

 

Computersciencezone.org

Payscale.com

Glassdoor.com

Google.co.uk

Wikipedia.org

Nationalcareersservice.direct.gov.uk

Cwjobs.co.uk

Computersciencemajor.org

Study.com

Targetjobs.co.uk

Bayview.silkroad.com

Accenture.com

Work.chron.com

Jobs.bhf.org.uk

Snagajob.com

Kp.taleo.net

Uk.dice.com