News
Hot IT Jobs Identified
Internet/intranet development has replaced networking as the job category most in demand by the nation's chief information officers (CIOs), according to the semiannual RHI Consulting Hot Jobs Report. Twenty-three percent of technology executives surveyed listed this skill as the leading growth area within their IT departments, up eight percentage points from August 1999. Networking was identified as the second most sought-after specialty, receiving 21 percent of the response. The eight specialty areas experiencing the strongest growth in U.S. corporate IT departments, as ranked by CIOs, are:
- Internet/intranet development 23%
- Networking 21%
- Help desk/end-user support 14%
- Applications development 9%
- Operations 8%
- Project management 6%
- Systems analysis 4%
- Other/don't know 15%
"As more companies Web-enable business systems, Internet specialists will remain in strong demand," predicts Greg Scileppi, Executive Director of RHI Consulting. "In addition, the growth of consumer and business-to-business electronic commerce is creating a need for experienced professionals with both solid technical skills and business acumen." The job titles most requested within this category include Webmaster, Web developer and
e-business strategist.
Scileppi noted that networking -- the number two ranked specialty -- will remain critical within most IT departments. "The expansion of network infrastructures is increasing the need for those skilled in configuring and maintaining corporate information systems. In particular, systems engineers and network architects who specialize in security and bandwidth issues are highly marketable."
The need for experienced help desk/end-user support professionals also remains strong. Companies nationwide are actively recruiting help desk support specialists who can assist with Windows NT migration, enterprise application upgrades and the maintenance of new e-commerce sites. Within the technical support category, CIOs report the greatest demand for help desk analysts and managers.
While Internet/intranet development ranked as the fastest-growing IT specialty in most areas of the United States, CIOs in the South Atlantic and East North Central states expressed the strongest need for these professionals. Twenty-nine percent of technology executives in these regions cited Internet development as the greatest area of IT job growth in their companies, six percentage points above the national average.
Three geographic areas in which networking was listed as the hottest area of specialization were the West North Central, East South Central, and Mid-Atlantic regions. Continued growth within these states is creating need for systems engineers and network managers. The professional services and construction sectors are seeing the greatest need for networking professionals: Twenty-seven percent and 25 percent of CIOs in these industries, respectively, said networking is leading job growth within their departments.
Scileppi noted that the need for help desk/end-user support professionals is strong in the West South Central region. Nineteen percent of respondents reported an increase in job opportunities within this specialty. They are also highly sought after in the East South Central states, where 17 percent of CIOs said help desk support is their fastest-growing job category, after networking.
Finance, insurance and real estate firms are experiencing strong demand for Internet professionals, according to 34 percent of CIOs surveyed in this industry sector, and project management professionals are in strong demand among construction firms, according to 22 percent of technology executives surveyed in this industry. Individuals skilled in operations will find abundant employment opportunities in the retail sector, with 22 percent of CIOs citing operations as their fastest-growing job category.
The Hot Jobs Report tracks job growth in information technology through a survey of more than 1,400 CIOs nationwide. The study was developed by RHI Consulting and conducted by an independent research firm, which polled CIOs from a stratified random sample of U.S. companies with 100 or more employees.
For more details, visit www.rhic.com.