CIO.com
10 tech skills that will earn you more money
By: Sarah K White
Tech skills that will earn you more money
It's a great time to be in tech. According to data from Dice, technology salaries in the U.S. rose to an average of $96,370 per year. That's a 7.7 percent increase and the biggest year-over-year jump in average tech salaries since Dice began tracking this data over 10 years ago.
In addition, Dice also reports a jump in salaried positions, contract rates and bonuses from 2014. In seven major-metro areas, tech salaries averaged in the six-figure range for the first time in the past decade. As of August, these are the top 10 highest paying and fastest growing IT skills, according to research and data from Dice.
Spark
Businesses are collecting more data than ever before, but with all that data comes a need for someone to manage it and maintain the systems used to store it all. Spark is one of the more commonly used tools to process petabytes of data, which is especially useful for companies that offer streaming services and need to manage heavy traffic.
If you have Spark skills on your resume, you'll be happy to hear that this skill is up 85 percent in market value year over year; the average salary for a tech worker with Spark skills is $113,214 as of August 2016.
Azure
Microsoft Azure is a cloud computing platform that helps businesses build, deploy and manage apps and software hosted on Microsoft's data centers. The software also comes with a suite of built-in tools that make it easier for businesses to manage everything from mobile devices to the internet of things.
As technology becomes more complex for nearly every business, workers with Azure skills are in high demand. According to Dice's data, the value of Azure skills has jumped 79 percent over the last year; workers with this skill report an average salary of $110,707 per year.
Cloud
Businesses are embracing the cloud, but that means they need more qualified workers to help manage those cloud services. Salaries for this generalized-skill are up 35 percent, slightly lower than other skills on this list, but it makes sense since it's been a hot skill for quite a few years now. Still, workers with cloud skills report an average yearly salary of $112,972, making it a valuable skill for tech employees to add to their resume.
JIRA
JIRA is a productivity tracking software for developers that helps track bugs, issues and manage projects through each phase of development. It's part of an agile teams toolbox, keeping projects on track and on time for delivery.
Since most businesses have adopted this agile-style of project management, Jira skills are highly coveted when hiring new tech workers. And the average salary for those with Jira skills certainly reflects that demand -- the market value for this skill rose 26 percent, with workers reporting an average salary of $111,103 per year.
Security Engineer
Security is on the mind of every IT leader, especially as high-profile data breaches have become the norm. Therefore, specialized skills in this area are becoming increasingly important to companies hiring tech workers. Of course, security skills can run the gamut, but having a background in enterprise security can go along way for businesses scrambling to protect their customer and corporate data.
If you have security engineering skills on your resume, you'll be happy to hear the market value for this skill has increased 24-percent, with an average reported salary of $107,479 per year.
Cassandra
Cassandra is an open-source database management system aimed at helping businesses manage the massive amounts of data stored across multiple servers. It's a product from Apache, but found it origins at Facebook, where it was built on Amazon's Dynamo and Google's BigTable -- both cloud database services.
As big data becomes more important to companies, Dice reports that Cassandra skills grew 23 percent in market value over the last year, and workers with this skill report an average yearly salary of $147,811.
Salesforce
Salesforce is commonplace in the corporate world, and it's grown to become a powerful CRM tool for sales, marketing, analytics, team collaboration, customer service and more. Since it's ubiquitous in the enterprise, workers with Salesforce expertise are certainly in-demand. With businesses relying on one piece of software for multiple departments, objectives and projects, business leaders are looking to get qualified tech workers in the door.
As a result, the market value of Salesforce skills increased 21 percent, and the average salary for those with Salesforce skills comes in at $107,810 per year.
Network Administrator
With desktops, tablets, smartphones and notebooks -- most likely all running on different platforms -- comes the need for complex networks in the enterprise. Network administrators are responsible for keeping networks running smoothly, secure and up to date with the latest software. And, as with all things tech, your networks are only as good as the people maintaining them, which makes it a profitable skill to have in your proverbial toolbox.
According to Dice, network administrator skills have increased 18 percent, with workers reporting an average salary of $87,897 per year.
Electrical Engineer
Electrical engineers are responsible for testing, developing, designing and supervising electronic equipment, whether it's the latest smartphone or GPS system. And it's become a vital role for any business trying to produce electronics, especially as the breadth of hardware grows. Most people no longer just have a desktop, they have notebooks, tablets, smartphones, mp3 players and smartwatches among other devices.
And at the heart of all those devices are electrical engineers, a skill that has increased 18 percent in market value, according to Dice. The data shows that the average yearly salary for those with electrical engineering on their resume earn an average salary of $109,507 per year.
Big Data
Data is king -- nearly every business either collects, tracks or manages some type of data, whether it's consumer or corporate. But collecting, housing and maintaining all the systems that go along with big data is no easy task.
So it's no wonder skills in this area have increased in market value -- going up 16 percent since last year. In fact, Dice reports that the average salary for workers with big data skills is a whopping $121,328 per year -- a 16 percent year over year increase.
