We are now ready to face the new year with optimism and determination. We are riding high on the information age’s high crest, with IT a dominant force, making its way into every sphere of society.
The rapid rise of new technologies and the pandemic reality in 2020 have turned the tables on the job market and changed the rules. If you want to live in the high-tech and data-centric 2021 world, you must master technical skills. “But there’s so many skills,” you argue. “But there are so many skills,” you say.
Let’s look at the most essential technical skills for 2021. We will begin by explaining the importance of technical skills. Then, we will list the most desirable skills and show you how to increase your skill set.
What are technical skills?
Technical skills can also be called “hard skills”, knowledge acquired through education or training that is used to complete a task. Because of the nature of modern work environments, most professionals require some level of technical skill knowledge.
You’d be surprised at how many things such as email, social media, cloud-based apps like Microsoft Office and bank cards, barcode scanners, and wireless gadgets pop up in your daily life, at work or at home. It seems that no one can navigate today’s highly-tech workplace without at least basic tech skills.
You need to be able to do more than know the minimum. This will make you a technology skill-powerhouse sought after by recruiters around the world.
How important it is to learn technical skills
As we have said before, technology is omnipresent in our world. This allows us to improve every part of our lives. This means that professionals with technical skills are better prepared to work in this environment.
Any corporate recruiter will be more impressed if your technical skills are sharpened. Although there are many IT positions available, there are also many people who have the same skills as you and want to get that job. These people are your competition. If you want to stand out from the crowd, you have to be better prepared and demonstrate that you are the right choice.
Remember that although there are many IT job openings, the exact number of them will vary depending on where they are located. If IT workers are scarce in your area, that’s OK. But, it’s often where there is more competition. Instead of depending on luck, it’s better to hedge your bets and improve your technical skills.
Take a look at some technical skills examples
There are many skill sets that are in high demand, but here are the top ten most desired technical skills for 2021.
Connected technology. You are probably familiar with the Internet of Things and what this skill is. Connected technology refers to IoT skills that include the necessary physical tools and network infrastructures. The rising popularity and widespread use of IoT makes it easy to see why the connected technology skill is so in-demand.
DevOps. DevOps can be used to design apps and software. Forbes states that there are approximately 600,000 DevOps roles available in North America. DevOps skills and other disruptive skills will increase at least 17 percent over the next year.
Help desk/tech support. The need for tech support and help desk personnel will continue to grow as new technologies are introduced. The help desk staff should be familiar with call trackers, incident reporter, and other communication tools such as e mail and instant messaging apps.
IT automation. The number of jobs in information technology automation that require specialized skills is expected to increase by nearly 60% by 2025. IT automation involves creating software and systems, and replacing repetitive processes with systems. IT automation skills are a great fit for many careers, including DevOps, Java developers and software developers.
How do you improve technical skills?
Good tech professionals are constantly learning, and looking for new ways to enhance their skills. There are four proven ways to increase your technical abilities.
It’s possible to do it all yourself. You can find many tutorials on the internet and other resources that are suitable for self-motivated learners. Google searches can lead to enough resources for independent students to keep them busy and informed. You will need to be organized and have self-discipline.
Find a mentor. It’s not difficult to find a mentor. This is not always possible, especially if no one is available.
You can learn on the job. The best way to learn is by doing. The job training takes technical skill knowledge from the theoretical level to the practical. You can only go so far with book learning.
