Tips for technologists: The Tech stack hot list for 2022

Where the work’s going to be for the next 12 months, and longer

If there’s one line that we’re not likely to hear the end of anytime soon it’s: “There’s a real skills shortage”. Of course, when a company says this, they’re actually saying: “It’s easier to hire us than to try and find the people you need”.

This is the reason why networks like Andela exist in the first place. To help talent like you to hook up with companies looking for the skills you have. But the tech industry never stands still, like the train in the movie/TV series Snowpiercer it’s continually moving, because if it stands still, it dies.

This means that people with technical skills have to constantly evolve, upgrading and transforming their skill sets to match what the market is looking for today, always with an eye on the horizon, preparing for the next shift.

So where is the demand for skills headed in the next year, and beyond? I’m not going to pretend that this is an exhaustive list but if you’re wondering where the demand’s going to be, read on.

Salesforce engineers

Some days it seems like there isn’t a large company on the planet not using Salesforce to manage the relationship between their sales teams and their customers. To be more accurate, Salesforce is the operating system for customer relationships in the modern era. And just like all other large and complex systems companies need a pool of skilled engineers to optimize and administer their systems.  Many large global organizations, from Spotify to Amazon Web Services and T-Mobile, are loyal Salesforce Customers – and will require the best engineers to run things for them. There’s constant demand for skills across the Salesforce spectrum, from administrators to developers and consultants. For developers, the Salesforce Apex programming language is very similar to Java so those with Java skills shouldn’t find it too hard to switch.

JavaScript and Node.js

JavaScript is celebrating its 25th year, and the continued popularity of the MEAN (MongoDB, Express.js, AngularJS, and Node.js) stack and its variations (MERN and MEVN) isn’t going to abate in 2022. The end-to-end JavaScript stack allows developers to use a single language across an entire application. Microsoft, Paypal and Netflix have relied on JavaScript’s capabilities for years – and are now also embracing Node.js, the open-source, cross-platform, back-end JavaScript runtime environment that executes JavaScript code outside a web browser. Part of the reason for the popularity of this environment is that its flexibility, scalability, and extensibility make it perfect for cloud environments. As this continues to grow it means that skills in this area are going to remain at a premium.

Go

Fast becoming one of the go-to (pun intended) languages for developers, Go (or Golang) is consistently rated one of the top languages developers want to learn. Supported by Google, it shines in cloud and network services, as well as web development, among many other areas. With many large companies adopting Go as their preferred development language, demand is unlikely to abate any time soon.

DevOps and all the other Ops as well

It should come as no surprise to anyone that demand for DevOps skills as well as the related security and cloud operations skills remain in high demand. Many organizations find themselves somewhere along the DevOps journey with the evolution of DevSecOps following a similar path. Companies that are more advanced in terms of the use of cloud and automation tend to have a more evolved DevOps environment.

Just because they’re ‘old’ doesn’t mean there isn’t demand

The tech industry loves the new and the shiny but many of the old tools are still in demand. There’s an old joke about a COBOL programmer putting himself in suspended animation because the stress was too much, only to be woken 1,000 years’ later by someone asking if they know COBOL.

Java may be 25 years old but the demand for skills in this area shows no sign of slowing down, and it’s finding renewed popularity in powering the Internet of Things and big data.

Likewise, the demand for Ruby on Rails may not be as intense as it was in its heyday as people refocus on other, trendier, platforms. However, with the release of Ruby 3.0 at the end of 2020, there’s been a resurgence in interest – and the language is enjoying a revival. In addition, it’s still an integral part of many companies’ infrastructure and remains popular with developers.

Of course, no discussion about what skills are in demand wouldn’t be complete without honourable mentions for project managers, program managers, product owners, UX designers and the myriad of other people who keep things running smoothly while the tech experts make the magic happen. Don’t expect any less demand for these people anytime in the future.

If you found this blog useful, check out our other blog posts for more essential insights!

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