In demand like never before: 8 exciting jobs in the IT industry that are becoming increasingly important now!

In recent years, the IT sector has proven to be one of the sure growth markets. Analyses by the German Association for Information Technology, Telecommunications and New Media (Bitkom) show that around 45,000 new IT jobs are created in this sector every year. In Germany, the number of employees rose from 766,000 to 990,000 between 2014 and 2019 - and the trend is upward.

Taking a close look at IT jobs, two points become clear relatively quickly. IT professionals with experience as well as specialization are in demand. Accordingly, a high level of education is a prerequisite, especially when it comes to the most sought-after IT jobs. Who are employers looking for particularly urgently? Which field or specialization offers the best job opportunities? In this article, we take a closer look at eight of the most in-demand IT jobs.

Note: For better readability, the masculine form is used below for personal names and personal nouns. In the interest of equal treatment, the corresponding terms apply to all genders. The abbreviated form of language is for editorial reasons only and does not imply any valuation.

Training or study - the path to an IT career

For many IT jobs, there are courses of study or specific vocational training. These include classic subjects such as business informatics or training as an IT specialist. At the same time, more and more new IT degree programs are being created. These are often specialized and thus adapted to the upcoming requirements of the IT industry. These include courses such as IT forensics, artificial intelligence or mobile computing.

On the other hand, the dynamic situation on the IT job market is also opening up opportunities for career changers. In addition to qualifications, flexibility, initiative and practical experience are also advantageous when looking for IT jobs. Those who have already gained experience in corresponding areas of responsibility, for example in the IT security industry, have clear advantages on the job market. Such specialists have a wide choice when it comes to job postings for IT security jobs and similar job offers in the industry. There are significantly more open positions than suitable candidates. This opens up the prospect of interesting jobs in responsible positions with corresponding earning potential.

Hot IT jobs - these 8 have a secure future!

Some IT professions are currently in particularly high demand. In addition to good earning potential, these also offer a long-term future as well as interesting and diverse job positions. Analysts and experts in the IT industry list these eight IT jobs, among others, as having a particularly secure future:

1) Chief Digital Officer (CDO)

The IT job of Chief Digital Officer is still comparatively new. It is suspended at the manager level in the company. The CDO is responsible for the strategic planning of the company's digitization. In this role, he or she develops a digital strategy that aims to achieve networked, digital working at all levels of the company, taking into account the existing corporate processes: Which areas should be optimized and are suitable for digitization?

For the job of Chief Digital Officer, it is important to have a broad knowledge base in the field of IT. This includes the IT security industry, hardware developments, and technical news in IT in general. Based on this knowledge, the CDO develops his concept for digitization. Part of a digital strategy may include, for example, the development of a unified platform for customer data and customer services. The Chief Digital Officer coordinates and organizes the digitization measures in the various departments. He is responsible for the budget and reports to the management.

Large corporations in particular have been relying on the Chief Digital Officer as a strategic planner for digitization for some time. However, with the increasing amount of digital solutions in companies, even middle-class companies are recognizing the need for a CDO. For this reason, the CDO will be one of the IT jobs in high demand in the future.

2) IT Security Specialist

The IT security specialist deals primarily with cyber threats and their defense. He or she is responsible for the creation and implementation of IT security concepts. The IT security specialist also ensures that security regulations are adhered to at all levels of the company. In addition, he investigates security-related incidents and responds to them with appropriate measures. In this task, the IT security specialist searches for and eliminates vulnerabilities in networks and systems in particular.

There are numerous possible positions for IT Security Specialists in the IT Security industry. Many companies create IT Security jobs within their own organization. For example, the company's own Security Operations Center (SOC) with experienced employees from the IT security industry then provides security. Such a SOC has an enormous staffing requirement, so there are usually several IT security jobs in an organization. However, service providers from the IT security industry are also constantly looking for reinforcements in order to provide specialized services related to the defense against cyber threats. Thus, these IT Security jobs are very focused on modern state of the art technologies of cyber defense.

3) Data Protection Officer

The job of a data protection officer is not a pure IT job. Here, areas of legal advice are mixed with the knowledge of a computer scientist. On the one hand, the data protection officer is responsible for providing strategic advice to companies. This involves the general handling of digital data: The storage and processing of information, especially personal data, is subject to strict legal regulations. However, the data protection officer also performs tasks in the area of IT security. This relates, for example, to compliance with data protection regulations. When employees handle critical information, negligence quickly leads to IT security breaches. The data protection officer is therefore also responsible for ensuring that employees are trained in handling personal information and thus ensures that cyber threats are contained.

Since the introduction of the General Data Protection Regulation in the European Union in 2018, the need for data protection officers has increased significantly. Companies are under an obligation to comply with the legal framework. In addition, the EU GDPR mandates a designation process. The contact details of the data protection officer must be submitted to the authority and published. Accordingly, the position of data protection officer is now one of the mandatory tasks within organizations. For this reason, the supply of these IT jobs will remain high in the near future.

4) AI specialist

Artificial intelligence (AI) is one of the upcoming boom areas in IT. Practical applications have been around for some time and new opportunities are being added every day. With machine learning and similar technologies, IT systems are conquering new areas. Automatic processing of images, categorization of data or translation of texts are just some of the tasks in which Artificial Intelligence plays to its strengths.

The AI specialist has the task of implementing practical applications with this technology. This includes the development of applications as well as the creation of concepts. For this reason, the AI specialist needs both programming skills and experience with strategic IT planning. The range of training available for this career field is not yet particularly broad; there is no specific vocational training or focused degree program yet. And job offers for AI specialists are also still limited. However, analysts at HR consultancy Ratbacher believe that the AI specialist will become one of the most important IT professions in the coming years.

5) IT Security Consultant

The IT security consultant is another profession from the IT security industry that is increasingly needed. The IT Security Consultant is responsible for creating concepts and strategies to ensure the IT and information security of companies. He deals with cyber threats of all kinds, from simple viruses to targeted ransomware attacks. For his work, the IT security consultant needs deep knowledge of attack patterns of cyberattacks. He is familiar with IT security solutions as well as encryption techniques, networks and firewalls. For companies, the IT security consultant creates complete security strategies that include concrete solutions for the protection of sensitive company data. The IT security consultant is also responsible for implementing and monitoring the security solutions. In the event of a cyberattack, he or she provides practical assistance to the customer and advises on IT security measures to be taken to contain the cyberattack.

Even small and medium-sized companies are increasingly opting for their own IT security consultant. As digitalization continues to advance and cyberattacks will also continue to increase, IT Security Consultant is one of the IT Security jobs that will guarantee job security in the near future.

6) DevOps Engineer and Software Engineer

Almost a classic among IT jobs is the programmer. However, this career field has evolved and diversified tremendously. There are now numerous directions in which programmers specialize during their training. One of these, for example, is the career field of DevOps Engineer. DevOps Engineers are responsible for administrative and software-based activities within the company. The term DevOps is made up of the two terms Development and IT Operations.

The high demand for specialists such as DevOps Engineers is also due to the growing possibilities for individual application development. The trend is moving away from rigid standard platforms to flexible, individual applications. In addition, there are now more and more systems on which individually developed applications can run. Mobile devices such as smartphones, which companies are increasingly using as a platform for applications, are particularly worthy of mention here. The emergence of IoT applications is also creating an increasing demand for software engineers. This trend will thus intensify in the coming years.

7) IT Auditor

The career field of IT auditor now often falls under the IT security jobs. The main task of an IT auditor is risk and vulnerability analysis. This job description includes auditing and working with network protocols, testing procedures, firewalls, encryption and cryptography. Incident response management, or responding to successful cyberattacks, is also included.

For very specialized tasks, there are also divergent job titles, such as IT forensic scientist or IT auditor. Accordingly, the profession wanders between the IT security industry and strategic IT planning. The increasing number of cyber threats and cyber attacks ensure that the supply of IT security jobs such as IT forensic scientist will remain high in the long run.

8) IT Consultant

While computers and digital systems were once used primarily in the office, most employees now work with digital systems. Decisions for specific platforms, computer systems and applications have become increasingly difficult as a result. It requires a long-term strategy and also consideration of interfaces between the various systems. Wrong decisions threaten investments and prevent an efficient working environment.

This is where the IT consultant comes in. His job is to advise companies on digitization. He analyzes the situation on site, creates strategies and makes recommendations for the acquisition of specific systems. In addition, the IT consultant evaluates the security of solutions as well as the entire network. According to PC-Welt magazine, the consultant is currently one of the most sought-after IT professions. This is due to the increasing need for consulting among companies. The year 2020 in particular, due to the Corona pandemic, ensured that companies had to quickly adapt their IT to the new circumstances. This required quick decisions, which has caused the need for IT consultants in companies to rise so quickly.