Thursday, January 03, 2008

2008 Job Forecast, Part 3

Beantown Web presents a series of Special Reports on the prospects for work for Web technology professionals in 2008.

  • Part 1 focuses on big-picture hiring trends for 2008
  • Part 2 focuses on non-entry level skills in demand in 2008
  • Part 3 focuses on information technology skills in demand for 2008
  • Part 4 focuses on non-technical skills in demand for 2008

Part 3

"There is a distinct shortage of certain IT [skills], and that shortage seems to be growing," according to Neill Hopkins of the The Computing Technology Industry Association Inc. (CompTIA).

" . . . demand is red-hot right now . . . " for people with Web 2.0 skills according to Katherine Spencer Lee, executive director at Robert Half Technology.

The skills that make this in-demand list include the following:

  • Ajax
  • .NET
  • XML
  • PHP

These are just two comments from industry leaders in the field of recruiting technology professionals. The above four skills highlight the continuing trend away from static Web page development toward dynamic Web development that involves scripting and data access.

In addition to "programming/application development" seven other technology trends for 2008 are listed below:

  1. Programming/application development
  2. Project management
  3. Help desk/technical support
  4. Security
  5. Data centers
  6. Business knowledge
  7. Networking
  8. Telecommunications

Forecast 2008

For details access The 8 Hottest Skills for 2008 as presented by Computerworld. This article is one of 18 featured in Forecast 2008: IT Trends & Predictions for the New Year.

Training 2008

While it can be a challenge finding quality, low-cost training opportunities to learn Web 2.0 skills, the best option is the following:

This FREE online course is available from the HP Learning Center and begins Thursday, January 10. Additional Web 2.0 courses that will begin later this year include the following: