As companies invest more and more in big data, an employee possessing ‘Data Skills’ is going to be someone to watch. Many employment opportunities are directly involved with big data: big data developer, Hadoop developer, big data engineer, data analytics engineer. Professionals with big data expertise are becoming more and more in demand, so brushing up on your data skills might be worthwhile when building your CV.
Machines can now have access to vast pools of data, and machine algorithms are replacing human decision making, and big data is predicted to become the base of businesses in the future. A career in the data domain is, on average, 40% higher paid than other IT skills, and by the end of 2018 there will be a shortage of 190,000 big data professionals in the US alone.
There has been an unbelievable rise in demand for big data skills, with an increase of 3977% since 2011. 2018 is clearly the best time to heighten your changes with the most sought-after big data skills. These are the 5 must-have big data skills needed to land any jobs I big data in 2018:
1) Data Visualisation
In the last 5 years, demand for data visualisation skills has grown by 2574% in the last 5 years. Data Visualisation sets the business context for what the data tells you, makes it easier for non-analysts and stakeholders to understand the data, and make decisions based on it. Employees with Data Visualisation skills tell the business about the shape of data, and what insights the data reveals through tools such as Tableau and Qlikview, and the demand for these skills is increasing consistently.
2) Apache Hadoop
This technology is equivalent to big data, and is a decade old, but the demand for professionals with experience with Hadoop is not going to decrease any time soon. Hadoop is a powerful big data platform that can cause real problems if not handled skilfully, and a knowledge of how to tweak the core components within the Hadoop technology is necessary for employees looking for work in this area. What’s more, Hadoop has been huge throughout 2017 and is going to get even more popular in 2018, and demand for the skills required to successfully implement Hadoop environment will only continue to be in demand in 2018.
3) Apache Spark
Within the big data industry, Apache spark has gained broad familiarity and popularity owing to the speed of its analysis and processing. This is one of the fastest growing big data skills for job seekers with job postings for employees with spark skillset increasing 120% year-over-year. The major barrier to its adoption into businesses is the issues integrating it without employees with the skills required. Demand for expertise in this area, therefore, will only rise.
4) NoSQL Database
If Apache Hadoop skills are one side of big Data analysis, NoSQL database skills are the other. 90% of the data generated over this decade is likely to be unstructured, and managing this unstructured big data requires professionals with skills in NoSQL database. Professionals with expertise in this area are in such high demand, with the average salary for a Senior Software Engineer with NoSQL skill topping £83,000 a year.
5) Data Science and Analytics
Data science technologies are hugely impacting the economy, with the technology and finance sectors quickly embracing these skills. The demand for data science and analytic skills is predicted to grow by 15% in the next 5 years. Data scientists and advanced analysts are the fastest growing demand for job roles and are anticipated to see demand increase by 28% in 2018.
The demand for these skills is not only rising, but here now, as employers struggle to find candidates to meet their big data needs. Whether you are beginning your career, or looking for better opportunities, it’s important you are aware of the in-demand skills in big data work. Once you master the skills listed in this post, opportunities in this industry are everywhere, and they are the highest paying technology career opportunities. If you’re considering this area as a career path, 2018 is the year to do it.