In 1970, 450,000 people were employed in the IT field worldwide. Today Information Technology employs an estimated 3.6 billion.
The tech industry is emerging from a tumultuous time. The last 5 years have seen the lowest growth rates this industry has ever seen, but there is good news. Tech is maturing. We are back on a growth model with employers beginning to focus on quality recruitment over the mass hiring efforts common during the pandemic. The end of 2024 saw a 12% growth for software engineers.
The history of this cluster of careers is written in tiers of advancement calculated in minutes, instead of years. Last week’s innovation can be superseded in a moment, and with it the careers of thousands will branch and evolve. From Alan Turing’s enigma machine to the latest iPhone, from the first desktops in the mid 80’s, to Microsoft’s announcement THIS week of a quantum processor, we are set to see a distinctive rise in the job market. Most of that rise will revolve around job descriptions that are still being written.
Ten years ago, there was no such thing as an AI engineer, Driverless Car programmer, Cloud Architect, or User Experience Designer (UX). Innovation breeds employment, and we are not short of innovation.
Today’s most in demand jobs include data analysts, scientists, block chain engineers, machine learning specialists, AI programmers, and Cybersecurity experts. Each of these categories brings with them the need for subordinate techs, research and development specialists and testers.
The Computer Technology Industry Associations (COMPTIA) “State of the Tech Workforce Report” projects US tech jobs will grow from 6 million in 2024 to 7.1 million by 2034. The Bureau of Labor Statistics expects 356,700 jobs added annually for the next 10 years.