IT jobs are on the rise ­– but not the ones you might think

While competition for jobs has doubled since COVID-19 kicked off, information technology gigs are back in demand.

Software and information technology (IT) grads seeking roles in the services sector are currently spoilt for choice, with LinkedIn’s most recent economic report revealing a serious growth in employment opportunities.

The survey compared the number of roles posted on the social platform between May and July 2020, and found that the amount of opportunities advertised in IT service-based industries – think: banking, retail, education, health and social work – had increased by a significant 16 per cent.

Alongside the spike was a decline in the amount of traditional tech sector-based hardware and networking vacancies, with advertised openings falling by 24 per cent.

But the coolest news for current and wannabe computers science students to come out of the report, has to be the fact that software and IT employees are among the most confident that they’re not going to lose their jobs RN.

Yep, the LinkedIn-led 4,000-employee strong survey, sits IT professionals up the top of the workforce confidence list – just behind the transport and logistics, finance, mining and energy industries – which is huge considering how unstable the last few months have been.

Keen to get skilled up in IT?

If you’re keen to look into IT – and not just for its COVID-climate perks – there are loads of study pathway and specialisation options.

RELATED: 5 minutes with a cybersecurity researcher

Tertiary studies in computer science offer up solid, transferable skills that can be used in a host of awesome future-focused IT careers – not just traditional snoozy administrator roles. Want proof?

• Edmund Buzby studied a Bachelor of Computer Science and Technology at The University of Sydney before bagging a digital forensics gig at CBA.
• TAFE grad Eliza Greenwood did a certificate IV in IT and now has a support role at cutting-edge tech company MOQ.
• Hannah Craighead did a Bachelor of Engineering (Hons) in software development at The University of Wellington and now works for Google London.

Want to know more about future-focused IT opportunities? Here’s a list of every tech career we can think of. 

Author: Cassie Steel

As Refraction’s digital editor, Cassie Steel spends her days researching robots and stalking famous scientists on Twitter.