#2 Unified Communications Engineer

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1 #1 System Architect / IT Manager While IT managers and system architects are often in demand, anyone with automation, process, or workflow skills particularly ITIL or CoBIT has become particularly sought after in today s economic climate. Here are a couple money quote from the latest Foote Partners survey: Nothing has been hotter that architecture jobs and skills in the last few years, notes David Foote, CEO and Chief Research Officer at Foote Partners. System, network, application, data, information, security, solutions, and, of course, enterprise architects. They will still be hot commodities long after the economy improves. But staffing and talent development in this area does not come easy or cheap, and most employers are well behind the curve. Help get your company ahead of the curve and improve your employment prospects by volunteering to ramp up on ITIL, CoBIT, or whatever architectural frameworks your firm uses. Salary: $79,000 Education: As with most mid-to-high-level IT jobs, a BS in an IT related field (Computer Science, Information Technology, Math, etc.) is strongly preferred. Master s degrees, such as an MBA, MIS, or Master s in CS can help set dedicated candidates apart. Experience: System architect or IT management positions typically require several years of management experience on different-sized IT teams.

2 #2 Unified Communications Engineer It s no surprise to find another another money- and time-saving technology at the top of our list. Unified communications setups use software to integrate phone, chat, , voic , and presence technologies into one addressable system. Users gain the ability to send and receive messages from one medium to another, and to reach critical team members more efficiently through the correct channel. Cisco, Microsoft, Avaya, Nortel, and many other players offer such systems. As more and more companies recognize the efficiencies provided by unified communications, demand for IT workers skilled in setting up, maintaining, and supporting such systems continues to grow. Foote Partners reports that pay differentials for unified communications workers have climbed 37.5% over the past year, bucking an overall downward trend in IT skills pay. Salary: $73,000 Education: As with most mid-level IT jobs, a BS in an IT related field (Computer Science, Information Technology, Math, etc.) is strongly preferred. Experience: Unified communications setups are typically vendor-specific, so experience with the specific package an employer uses is preferred.

3 #3 SAP Consultant Big IT shops turn to exactly one application to plot out how to deploy the resources in their enterprise: SAP. And in a time of scarce resources, what s more important than efficiently planning how to use the resources your organization has? According to the latest data from Foote Partners, not much. Pay differentials for IT workers skilled in SAP continue to climb even in this dark economic climate. But even successful IT shops are cutting budgets, and that usually means fewer staff workers and more consultants. If you ve got SAP experience and you re willing to try consulting, you ve hit a perfect storm for IT employment. And if you re in an organization that uses SAP, now is the time to volunteer to pick up some new skills. Putting in the work now could help you keep your current job and set you up for your next one. Salary: $94,000 Education: As with most mid-to-high-level IT jobs, a BS in an IT related field (Computer Science, Information Technology, Math, etc.) is strongly preferred. Experience: Consulting firms typically look for candidates with at least 2-3 years of experience in SAP and several more years in IT.

4 #4 Ruby/Rails Engineer History has shown pretty clearly that programmers who can pick up the latest hot language can make themselves indispensable. Today that hot language is Ruby and specifically Ruby on Rails. How hot? Check this trend graph from SimplyHired. After a a brief holiday- and recessionrelated dip, Ruby jobs are back up to their historical high, up 69% since July Just try and find a graph that looks that good in any career other than unemployment office case worker. Ruby on Rails got a boost in Octover 2007 when Apple began shipping the open-source Web application framework with OS X Leopard. Developed for 37 Signals s Basecamp app, Ruby has quickly gained a reputation as a fast, powerful, and programmer-friendly environment. Web companies large and small have begun to adopt it, and those that have are always looking for qualified Rails developers and engineers. Salary: $91,000 Education: Though experienced coders can secure jobs without getting a degree, a BS in Computer Science is a nice start on the road to a career in Rails development, as is any IT or math-related degree. Experience: As in any development-related career, employers will want to see some level of experience in the language you ll be coding as well as on different sized development teams. Fortunately, it s easy to pick up new languages like Ruby by working on personal or open-source projects.

5 #5 Network Security Specialist If you re looking for a recession-proof IT specialty, look no further than security. It s no secret that talented IT security specialists rarely need to look for a job, but check out this list of hot certifications: CompTIA Security+, GIAC Security Essentials Certification (GSEC), Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH). According to Foote Partners, all three have grown at least 40% in value over the last three months. In fact, those are three of the top five hottest certs on their list. Salary: $67,000 Education: A BS in an IT related field (Information Technology, Management of Information Services, etc.) is preferred. Certifications (see above) are also available and highly sought after. Experience: Security professionals typically start out as sys admins Candidates with a solid sys admin background and some work in security are well positioned to begin specializing on the job or to make the switch by working towards a key certification that validates their skills.

6 #6 VoIP Support Specialist Another money-saving technology drives the next job on our list. Small-to-medium businesses and other companies looking to save on communications costs are turning to VoIP to cut down on corporate phone bills. And all those new VoIP deployments are creating plenty of work in setup and support roles. VoIP jobs cut across many levels, from entry level installation and support personnel at providers like Comcast, to high-end workers certified to architect and support enterprise-level VoIP installations. VoIP specialists have a number of certification options, such as the Cisco IP Telephony Design Specialist certification, the value of which has risen 25% over the last three months, according to Foote Partners. Salary: $61,000 Education: A BS in an IT related field (Information Technology, Management of Information Services, etc.) is preferred. Certifications (see above) are also available. Experience: VoIP installation and support jobs at providers like Vonage and Comcast can be entry or low-level positions. More enterprise-level jobs will require some prior experience in IT.

7 #7 Mac or Linux Support It s still a Windows world, but the days of Windows-only office environments are numbered. As more and more shops begin to incorporate Macs and Linux machines, technicians and sysadmins with alternative OS skills are finding themselves in more and more demand. Want some evidence? Check out Foote Partners survey of IT skills and pay differentials, where OSX / Tiger / Leopard skills have consistently placed in the top five fastest rising over the past six months. Then look at the declining value list, where Windows Vista/XP is down 25% over the same period. Of course, this doesn t mean you can get by without solid Windows skills most employers still consider that a baseline but if you re looking to differentiate yourself, picking up some more OSX experience is a great way to start. Salary: $52,000 Education: A BS in an IT related field (Information Technology, Management of Information Services, etc.) is preferred. Experience: Most support roles are available as entry-level positions.

8 #8 Wireless Network Manager When s the last time you walked into an office without a wireless network? It s been a while, hasn t it? And I bet you were upset when you looked around for access points and couldn t find one. Wi-Fi has become an assumed part of any real office network, and its unique benefits and security concerns have created a nice niche for specialized IT workers. While pay growth has slowed for wireless network managers in recent months, the differential is still up some 30% over the last year. Even better, wireless networking is one of the easier skills to pick up while you re working at an IT shop: Most organizations use wireless networking, and those that do are likely to want an on-staff expert in the technology. Volunteering to become that expert can enhance your job security and set you up for future positions. Salary: $72,000 Education: A BS in an IT related field (Information Technology, Management of Information Services, etc.) is strongly preferred. Several wireless networking certifications are also available to enhance your qualifications, such as Planet3 s Certified Wireless Network Administrator (CWNA) and Certified Wireless Security Professional (CWSP). Experience: Successful candidates will have several years of experience in network management with at least a couple years working specifically on wireless networks.

9 #9 PHP Developer As the backbone for many of today s high-profile web applications and the fourth leg in the critical LAMP architecture, PHP remains one of the most important skills for a good Web engineer. Companies continue to make more and more of their data accessible on the Web, and those efforts have increased demand for PHP developers and engineers. According to the most recent Foote Partners data, pay premiums for skilled PHP developers have risen 40% over the last year, indicating that companies are going the extra mile to recruit and retain good PHP engineers. Salary: $76,000 Education: Though experienced coders can secure jobs without getting a degree, a BS in Computer Science is a nice start on the road to a career in PHP development, as is any IT or math-related degree. Experience: As in any development-related career, employers will want to see some level of experience in the language you ll be coding as well as on different sized development teams. Fortunately, it s easy to pick up new languages like PHP by working on personal or open-source projects.

10 #10 Database Administrator DBAs in general continue to have strong career prospects, as more and more of the information businesses use comes to reside in databases. SimplyHired s latest employment trend graph shows demand for DBAs actually picking up over the last year. And the latest Foote Partners study cites database skills as one of three skill categories that continue to grow in value despite overall pay declines in IT. Database management, Oracle Developer Suite, and Microsoft SQL Server all appear on Foote s list of fastest rising IT skills for the past three months. Salary: $79,000* Education: As with most mid-to-high-level IT jobs, a BS in an IT related field (Computer Science, Information Technology, Math, etc.) is strongly preferred. Experience: Most employers will want to see at least a couple years of experience with the database you ll be using. Many DBAs gain that experience in sysadmin jobs, which often incorporate enough database work to begin building the skills required for a DBA position.