IT Career News

Tech executives identify the hottest IT skill sets for 2013 in a new Computerworld survey.

IT executives share their hiring plans for 2013 in Computerworld's annual IT Forecast. Over 33% of the 334 IT decision-makers surveyed plan to take on new talent in 2013 - up from 29% in last year's survey and 23% in 2010. 2013 heralds an exciting time in IT employment, as the skill sets in the greatest demand are those that focus on the development, integration and management of new technologies and innovations to grow the business.

Here are this year's most sought-after IT skill sets:

Cloud computing is often talked about as a technology that will make IT departments obsolete as companies seek to outsource computing needs. This analysis misses the complexity of what's actually happening in IT departments.

The actuality is that cloud technologies are running in conjunction with on-site systems, and many companies are choosing to operate and maintain their own servers - even if they have a few Cloud applications up and running. This adds a layer of complexity to effectively managing the IT needs of an organization. Rather than eliminating the role of in-house IT professionals, the cloud is merely changing the skill set and job functions of the IT department.

In my experience, here are the top 5 skills IT professionals will need to learn to work in cloud computing:

A survey of accomplished IT professionals indicates the passions and motivations that make for a successful career in the IT field.

As the CEO and founder of an IT training company, it’s my job to try and understand what makes IT professionals love their jobs enough to keep coming back for more. A question I am constantly asking people is, why IT?

My company recently surveyed over 2,000 IT professionals nationwide in an attempt to answer this very question. When asked why they stay in their careers, almost a majority (47 percent) said the most important factor was their love of technology. Interestingly, career advancement and ease of finding new opportunities in the field were at the bottom of the barrel, with 65 percent of respondents saying these ranked lowest in their book.

Rank why you continue to work in IT