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by Thomas HoffmanWhile the U.S. economy continues to struggle, there are pockets of strength in the IT labor market. To find the hot spots, both by specialization and by industry, we spoke with the following experts: David Van De Voort, IT workforce specialist, Mercer, Chicago, IL; Dave Willmer, executive director, Robert Half Technology, Menlo Park, CA; Terry Erdle, senior vice president, skills certification, CompTIA, Oakbrook Terrace, IL; Umesh Ramakrishnan, vice chairman, CTPartners, Cleveland, OH.
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- Hot Skills: Data management, including business intelligence, data mining and data warehousing.
The IT discipline where demand and compensation have remained steadiest. - Hot Skills: Security.
Demand for network security skills has risen as organizations conduct more business online, fueling additional investments to prevent breaches and exposure. - Hot Skills: IT sourcing and vendor relationship management.
Still a specialized area, but, there's growing demand for people with a blend of procurement, billing, skills and IT services experience. - Hot Skills: Networking and wireless.
As wireless networks become more pervasive in both public and corporate settings, that's driving heightened demand for technicians with experience in network throughput and performance. - Hot Skills: Web development.
Demand continues to remain steady for .Net and J2ee development experience as organizations attempt to steer more sales—and lower-cost customer service—online. - Hot Skills: Quality management.
Organizations continue to drive quality programs but there's a relatively short supply of people with ITIL, CMM, Lean and Six Sigma skills in the market. - Hot Industries: Education.
Opportunities and pay are on the rise at U.S. colleges and universities as the economic downturn fuels an increase in enrollment and growing demand for IT support. - Hot Industries: Healthcare.
This recession-resistant sector is hiring more non-managerial IT staff, especially help desk professionals, as hospitals and clinics pump money into automation, e.g. electronic medical records systems. - Hot Industries: Energy.
IT hiring is steady across the board among oil and gas companies as revenues remain strong and companies invest in alternative energy programs. - Hot Industries: Federal government.
Stimulus spending and national programs such as Department of Defense initiatives has kept IT employment stable.
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