The 8 Hottest IoT Job Categories and Skills
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The 8 Hottest IoT Job Categories and Skills
The rapid growth in the number of Internet-connected devices will create career opportunities for tech pros with the right skills. Check out the top skills here. -
Data Science and Analytics
Growth in global annual job posts: 1027%. Top IoT skills (with annual job post growth): Data mining: 230%, Machine Learning: 199%, MATLAB: 78% -
IT and Networking
Growth in global annual job posts: 120%. Top IoT skills (with annual job post growth): Computer networking: 91%, Network security: 46%, Linux system administration: 26% -
Engineering and Architecture
Growth in global annual job posts: 68%. Top IoT skills (with annual job post growth): Circuit design: 231%, AutoCAD: 217%, 3D design: 29% -
Wearables
Growth in global annual job posts: 68%. Top IoT skills (with annual job post growth): Electrical engineering: 159%, GPS development: 66%, 3D design: 29% -
Security
Growth in global annual job posts: 51%. Top IoT skills (with annual job post growth): Security infrastructure: 194%, Security engineering: 124%, Network security: 46% -
Connected Home
Growth in global annual job posts: 41%. Top IoT skills (with annual job post growth): Raspberry Pi: 17100%, Circuit design: 231%, Microcontroller programming: 225% -
Web, Mobile and Software Development
Growth in global annual job posts: 40%. Top IoT skills (with annual job post growth): Node.js: 86%, MongoDB: 63%, iPhone app development: 40% -
Big Data, Data Storage and Processing/Backend Programming
Growth in global annual job posts: 17%. Top IoT skills (with annual job post growth): Apache Spark: 1667%, Big data: 183%, MongoDB: 63%
Life is good for technology professionals who are involved with Internet of things (IoT) projects: By 2020, the number of Internet-connected "things" will soar to 50 billion—up from nearly 5 billion last year. Also by 2020, nine out of 10 cars will be connected to the Internet, compared with just one out of 10 in 2012. In fact, only .06 percent of machines and devices that could be connected to the Internet actually are now, which means these predictions may understate what reality will eventually bring. In terms of market value, GE forecasts that the "Industrial Internet" (the company's phrase for the IoT) will add as much as $15 trillion to the global gross domestic product within the next 20 years. Clearly, opportunity is knocking. So, to pinpoint the most promising career paths here, Upwork has come up with the following list of the eight hottest IoT job categories and skills niches. Available work for those with the top skills—including data mining, big data, machine learning, security engineering, Raspberry Pi and Apache Spark—has grown at astonishing triple-digit percentages over the past year. Demand for skills such as computer networking, network security, 3D design and Linux system administration is growing at an impressive clip as well. Upwork is a jobs site for freelancers, and the research was compiled through a review of the company's freelance postings over the past year. (Results that reflect at least four-digit percentage increases include newer skills that have grown in demand at an accelerated rate compared with other skills.)