Modern programmer: current skills
There’s nowhere without this: let’s decide on the skills
The main trend in the IT sector in 2024 is security. The number of scammers is growing every day. Due to the political situation not only in our country, but throughout the world, the number of unfriendly attacks on IT companies has increased sharply. Conducting payment transactions, operating information systems – everything has become less reliable.
We notice this both with third-party companies and with ourselves. Last year, white hat hackers contacted us three times. They talked about the loopholes on our website that they managed to find, and offered their help in eliminating them. In 2024, we expect twice as many hacking attempts to be blocked by the monitoring system.
In addition, many foreign brands have left the Russian market. This caused the growth and accelerated development of domestic IT systems. Hundreds of startups have appeared across the country, which will not be difficult for experienced hackers to break due to the lack of immunity to attacks.
A well-built security system in this case is a must-have. As well as employees who will be able to introduce it into the company and work with it. The need for such specialists has been growing since 2022. Not only large market players, but also newcomers who are willing to pay for the reputation and image of the company treat security with trepidation.
In addition to the ability to work with a security system, a modern IT specialist will need skills in working with Linux. This is relevant not only for technical specialists, but also for managers. Microsoft is leaving the Russian market, this has been proven by experience. We looked for a licensed office, but never found one. We have to resort to import substitution.
Promotion is a mechanism without which no business will bring profit. Due to the departure of many traditional advertising platforms, companies will have to turn their attention to website SEO optimization. IT specialists with such skills will definitely not be left without work. Just like directors in the field of digital marketing.
We have already touched on the topic of startups. In addition to security specialists, new companies are in dire need of DevOps specialists. There have always been not enough good candidates for this position, but in 2024 the topic of personnel shortage is especially relevant.
Another relevant skill for an IT specialist is knowledge of cloud technologies. To launch a web project, you can rent a full-fledged server. However, our company has personally encountered hosting companies that suspend registration of new users due to a shortage of servers. There is access for current clients, but they cannot provide it to new ones. This is where the ever-growing IT market will need cloud technologies and people who know how to work with them.
The shortage of personnel will not go away in 2024: it is difficult to find competent specialists, so HR skills will be especially relevant for people already working in companies.
External factors and new competencies
The development and general course of the market directly affects the requirements for its employees. For example, the development of Chat-GPT services. Analogues of AI tools appear every day. Their creators change, and sometimes even improve, models of certain data.
Every year, artificial intelligence is increasingly taking its place in business, including in the IT sector. However, these technologies must be used through a person. Each network has its own characteristics that you need to be familiar with when working with it. From this external factor comes a new competency and profession – AI operators.
Any department resists new technologies and their introduction into the usual work flow. The AI operator in this case acts as an intermediary between automation and employees.
The trend towards process optimization in general is gaining momentum. The idea of replacing manual labor with a machine is not new, but it has found new incarnations in recent years. Recognition of documents, text, voice, even primitive coding. All this accelerates the work and growth of the company under one important condition – control remains with a knowledgeable person. He will reduce errors by understanding the documents or code that the machine has generated. More and more companies are taking into account the shortage of personnel and are thinking about optimizing work with the help of AI and its operator. All that remains is to dive in and learn a new competency.
Specialist of the future: what is he like?
The future is extremely difficult to predict, but assumptions can always be made. We will predict the trend towards programming through components. Since most IT cases are already programmed, specialists often reinvent the wheel.
In this regard, designers will be developed for the correct connection of already programmed and ready-made components with each other. There have been website builders with visuals for landing pages on the market for a long time. However, not so long ago, designers of full-fledged IT systems began to appear. For now, they are designed for people with knowledge in the IT field. But in the future, with their help, even a manager will be able to create an application with a mouse click.
I drew it with a neural network, by the way
If this trend continues to develop, the view of an IT specialist will change greatly. There will be employees who are engaged in assembling such construction modules. An engineer at a factory designs airplanes from blueprints, and an IT specialist of the future will become an information systems engineer to build applications.
