The most in demand jobs and skills as a result of COVID-19

Technologists have become critical employees during the coronavirus pandemic, as businesses were forced to quickly shift to a remote workstyle, a Dice report found. Not only were techies needed to execute a successful remote framework, but they were also in demand for making sure that infrastructure was secure. 

SEE: IT job and salary guide: Highest tech salaries, top-paying cities, and compensation-boosting tips (TechRepublic Premium)

Dice’s Tech Job Report analyzed the job positions and skills that rose highest in demand between February and March 2020, when the coronavirus pandemic really began hitting hard. 

Starting in that time period, a clear shift occurred: Meetings became video calls, conferences turned into webinars, conversations changed to instant messages. While many companies already had some flexibility with remote work, COVID-19 undoubtedly expedited the widespread conversion.

One of the biggest obstacles organizations faced when transitioning to a remote workforce had to do with technology. Companies had to ensure employees had reliable connectivity and a secure infrastructure to be able to conduct work from outside the office. 

Because of these factors, tech professionals have become more important than ever. The report found that job postings for engineers and developers rose significantly with the onset of COVID-19, as companies frantically attempted to get employees set up to work remotely. 

Change in job postings from February to March 2020 

The report identified the following jobs as having the most uptick in postings earlier this year, including the specific percentage increase. 

1. Cybersecurity engineer (20%)
2. .NET developer (12%)
3. Systems engineer (11%)
4. Database administrator (9%)
5. Systems administrator (7%)  
6. DevOps engineer (6%)
7.  Application support engineer (6%)
8. Help desk technician (5%)
9. Software QA engineer (2%)
10. Technical support engineer (2%)

Unsurprisingly, cybersecurity engineers held the top spot. With dispersed networks and workforces becoming the norm, cybercriminals have taken advantage, oftentimes exploiting the coronavirus pandemic as a means to conduct phishing and cyberattacks, the report found.

The increased demand for systems engineers also made sense, as companies big and small navigate running a smooth remote business, according to the report.

Change in desired tech skills from February to March 2020 

The desired skills reflected some of the most in-demand job postings. The report identified the following tech skills as the most desired with the onset of the coronavirus pandemic. 

1. Systems engineering (13%)
2. DevOps (9%)
3. Scrum (8%)
4. C++ (7%)
5. ATlassian JIRA (7%)
6. Quality assurance and control (6%)
7. Linux (6%)
8. SQL Server (6%)
9. Oracle (5%)
10. Docker software (5%)

As expected, both systems engineering and DevOps skills came in at the top, confirming that organizations need technologists with the ability to help them create online infrastructure that is bug-free and smoothly executed, the report found. 

Programming languages also appeared to be important, with Python growing 4% month over month, indicating that employers want techies who can handle the large volume of legacy code in Python, but also have the ability to build new apps and services, according to the report. 

As stated in the report, “many employers who have neglected their tech stack in years past may decide to make the investment in order to meet changed needs; the hunger for technologists who can wrangle data infrastructure and manage teams will no doubt continue, and even rise.” 

For more, check out Top IT skills for post-pandemic success on TechRepublic.  

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