Fortune’s list of the top IT skills 2009

UnixGuy

Where tech jobs are now, and the skills you need to get them - Jul. 21, 2009

Synthros

MCPD...really? That's kind of surprising. I hardly ever see any of the Microsoft developer certs being listed on the major job boards out there (at least in my area). I would have expected something like the MCSE to be on that list somewhere, but the MCPD? Interesting...

msteinhilber

It's actually Dice's list of skills, Fortune just used them as the source. Given that, the information Dice used to generate their list was probably exclusive to the job listings they queried from their database. I checked their website briefly to learn more about the data they used but I couldn't find it quick enough to keep my attention.

All of these sorts of "in demand" lists really do little for me as they are often based upon a national region. Unless you live in one of the IT hot spots that help skew the results to favor one technology over another the data is relatively meaningless unless you are willing to relocate. Instead, I ignore most of these and just rely on good old fashioned DIY job searches to see how the trends are in my area. I search the major job boards in my region all the time, even if I'm not actively looking for a job to gain insight to what is becoming popular in my area, as well as to see if there are any opportunities that I might decide I would be interested in.

Ashenwelt

While the article was a bit interesting, it really seems flawed to me. First off, IT is too broadly used. Next it is based of off Dice. Dice is just plain odd when it comes to skills. If you base everything off of Dice, you **** needed skills and mix all sort of odd things. I mean, go to a Dice job fair. You are going to find an IT fair has openings for FBI agents, welders and like one IT position. So, I would take anything they say with a fair heaping of salt. Comptia, I actually consider more reliable, but they also are dealling with things that are once again way too broad.

Just my oppinion of course

UnixGuy

I agree.

But there's some truth in the article, especially for Java & .NET developers. Good developers make lot of money, and it has nothing to do with certifications. You can find people who "know" Java and/or .NET but it's not easy to find those who are on the expert level.

UnixGuy

Same goes for SAP by the way, I know a LOT of companies who are desperately looking for SAP experts. All they've been finding are either Juniors or those with tons of years of experience but can only do the basics! SAP is in demand.

ipconfig.all

interesting.....

Ashenwelt

UnixGuy wrote: »

Same goes for SAP by the way, I know a LOT of companies who are desperately looking for SAP experts. All they've been finding are either Juniors or those with tons of years of experience but can only do the basics! SAP is in demand.

Actually darn near every ERP or CRM system is in massive demand. Which is interesting, because I don't see ads for the jobs. Instead, I hear from X company that they hired X IT staff for whatever ap. And for consultants.. it is a massive field.

Kinda wish it was easier to get some SAP training... for now I am working on MS CRM and going to touch on MS AX. But SAP is worth more.

aordal

This may be a little off topic. I just finished a long drawn out job search. But the big primary skills I was asked about and saw on job postings were:

Exchange 2007
SAN
Virtualization (More specifically ESX)
SMS/SCCM
MOSS (Big Time)
Clustering
IIS
Backups(Commvault)

Lots of other smaller support skills to go along with those, but those seemed to all be hot hot items for big companies.

Ashenwelt

I would add SQL 2005 to the list.