With the significant growth across the tech industry globally and in Nigeria, there’s been an influx of professionals starting a career in tech. Some are considering choosing a tech career but not sure which path to take. While others are already working in tech but are considering changing roles. Regardless of which category you fall, according to the United States Bureau of Labour Statistics and leading tech wiz, Andrei Neagoie, we believe choosing any of these top 5 in-demand tech careers paths in 2023 will set you up for a great tech career.
NOTE: These top picks were determined by the following criteria:
- a career path with a high-in-demand skill that offers a high salary and liberal choice of company to work for when you have the needed skills;
- a tech career path growing faster than the number of skilled professionals to prevent saturation;
- a globally needed career path for many years after now;
- must not come with a high learning cost ($1000 and more).
Now, shall we?🤗
5 In-Demand Tech Careers in 2023
1. Cybersecurity; the Web Needs Protecting
When a fast-growing niche gets a further projected growth of 35% by 2031, you can only wonder how much potential lies in wait. The attention and growth around cybersecurity aren’t surprising. Considering the increasing amount of apps, sites, and online tools that we use. Clearly, the web needs protecting.
Also, with hacking becoming a big business, it has become a threat to individuals and companies, with losses running into billions of dollars a year. Hence, companies now have bigger cybersecurity budgets and are looking to hire more.
The perk for you is that a career in cybersecurity comes with different areas of specialization or roles to choose from. You can make your choice from any of the following:
- Consulting and analyzing security issues
- Setting up security frameworks for your company
- Penetration testing or red teaming where you get paid to try hacking into systems to discover vulnerabilities or weaknesses.
- Bug bounty hunting where you find bugs or errors in code for a one-time fee.
2. Data (Science, Engineering, or Analysis) is the New Tech Oil
The world of data is thriving and evolving so fast and every top tech firm is focused on getting the best out of their data. The question is why has data become so ‘hot’?
Simply put, the major distinction between companies that fail and those that turn out to be market leaders, is how well they track and understand their data, as well as the decisions made from this data. You need no soothsayer to tell you data is the new tech oil.
The opportunity here for you lies in the fact that the amount of data-related jobs exceeds those with the needed skills. This massive imbalance suggests there’s no better time to start a data career than now.
3. Machine Learning Engineering
Why is Machine Learning Engineering an In-Demand Tech Career Path?
The AI takeover is real. It took ChatGPT less than 2 months to reach over 100 Million users. Incredible! But what is more fascinating is that all of these A.I. technologies are built and function using Machine Learning. This is one of the reasons the Machine Learning market size was valued at $21.17 Billion in 2021 with an anticipated rise to $209.91 Billion by 2027. Such 1,000% growth isn’t regular.
There’s certainly a rising demand for professionals seeking a future in the Machine Learning space. The only con here is that ML is the toughest skill on the list for a complete newbie to begin with due to how technical it is. But never say never, right?
4. Blockchain Development
The best time to catch on the ever-evolving and promising blockchain buzz was a few years ago and the next best time is now! With a current value of $4.7 billion, the blockchain industry is forecasted to grow to $19.76 Billion by 2027. And while it’s still very early days in the blockchain world, the current level of adoption across various industries is impressive.
More importantly, this widespread adoption and the growth it brings presents you with a promising career path. It will only take a few years for you to establish yourself as a mainstay in the industry. This also means a likely salary growth in the same period as long as you keep doing a good job and manage to stay on top of your game and remain relevant.
5. Tech Educator
Preaching the Gospel of Tech as an Educator
There’s an increasingly high demand for niche educators and content curators in the tech industry. Tech education has grown quickly into one of the in-demand tech career paths in 2023. This is as more and more people seek specialized training in their field due to the depth and abundance of untapped information, the growth in quantity and pace of information, and the lessened quality of resources.
With this loop, your ability to explain complex concepts to someone with zero knowledge is of great value with massive rewards. Statistics show that the online education space is currently valued at $166 Billion in 2023 and a foreseeable growth to $238 Billion by 2027.
Closing Remark
There’s a market for each of these skills. But, note that any tip or guide provided in this article does not eliminate the need for hard work and determination as this is no magic bullet.
