Global Knowledge, a leading provider of IT certification training, has just come out with its list of 10 Hot Skills for 2009. As the company puts it, "There are certain IT skills that will never go out of style." Here they are:
- Virtualization
- Web 2.0
- Networking/Windows Administration
- ITIL
- IT Architect/Project Management
- IT Security
- Wireless
- Telecommunications
- Programming Languages (C, C++, C#)
- Business Skills
It's that last one, Business Skills, that's the most interesting. I've been hearing this more and more, especially since the economic downturn began. IT folks need to know how the business operates. As Global Knowledge says:
Employment surveys have been telling us for a number of years that IT pros must possess business skills as well as technical expertise, and in a down economy IT folks who understand the business could be considered more valuable than those who don't. The IT pro who can understand how his employer's business works and can articulate how technology can be used to meet and exceed the company's goals is a true gem.
That's a powerful statement, and one well worth considering as you plot your career path. IT's role in the grand scheme of things is to spend money on technology, but what's the impact of that spending on the corporate bottom line? How can it spend less, or spend better? How can it truly improve the business process? Those are the questions you need to learn how to answer.
-- Don Willmott