Top 10 Most Difficult Tech Jobs To Fill In 2018

It is normally a challenge for organizations to find the right persons to fill job openings. This is the reason why many try to retain their employees using promotions and occasional rewards. In IT, there is a unique struggle to fill some jobs due to the shortage of job seekers with the required skills. The candidates with these skills are hardly looking for other jobs and the organizations they work with will try as much as possible to retain them. This article will discuss 10 of the most difficult to fill jobs in IT.

1. UI/UX Designers

For a UI/UX job, employers are normally looking for applicants that have front-end coding knowledge as well as expertise in graphics and design. Apart from this, the suitable persons must have expertise in content creation. Recruitment agencies will tend to look at the programming languages the applicants are knowledgeable in, their expertise in graphics design tools and experience in content creation. The reason why it is hard to fill these jobs is that many applicants are either solely good in programming, graphics design or content creation. To help improve the situation, applicants should spread their talent pool by acquiring different skills in UI/UX development. UI/UX designers can earn a salary in the range of $70,000 to 135,000 depending on skill and experience.

2. System Analysts+

A system analyst goes through an entire system to find bugs, errors, vulnerabilities, usability issues, performance issues and security issues among other things. When employers advertise for this position, they often specify the range of technical skills that the applicants must have. A recruiter will consider the systems a potential hire will have to analyze and match them with an applicant’s skill set. The reason why this position is hard to fill is that there is a wide range of technical skills that an analyst must have. This is because the analyst’s skills should supersede those of developers to see the mistakes done by system developers. Many applicants lack this level of prowess and qualification. Employers can improve the situation in their organizations by promoting their system developers to analysts after several years of experience. The median salary for system analysts is $87,000.

3. SAP Manager

When employers advertise this opening, they are often looking for applicants that can manage all the ongoing SAP projects in an organization. The ideal candidate must have at least 3 years of experience in implementing SAP projects. Agencies will tend to look at a candidate’s education level, whereby a doctorate or at least a Master’s degree is considered, and long-term experience in SAP. Leadership experience is also considered since SAP managers are high-level employees and only report to top management. However, most applicants fail to meet the cut since experience outside of SAP is not considered. To improve the situation, employers should compromise and promote their IT personnel that have been handling IT project management and have some experience in SAP. A SAP manager takes home between $90,000 and $147,000 depending on market factors and individual qualifications.

4. Java Architect+

The employee here oversees integrating, upgrading and maintaining all organizational applications that run on Java. An employer will be looking at an applicant’s experience in Java acquired through the development of Java-based apps and applets. There will be limited applicants that have the experience of developing Java applications hence it is normally a challenge to find a suitable placement. To improve the situation, job applicants should strive to build their Java skills since there is no walk around from the requirements of this job. The salary range for a Java architect is between $82,000 and $113,000.

5. Database Architect+

Employers will be looking for someone that can design, create, deploy and manage databases. It is the responsibility of the data architect to ensure that data is safely stored but readily available when needed. Recruiters for this job look at an applicant’s expertise in numerous database systems and their experience in creating, deploying and managing databases. There are only a few candidates that have the required skill sets in designing, building and managing databases in multiple languages hence the challenge in filling this position. The only solution to this deficit is by job seekers enhancing their knowledge in heterogeneous database development. The average yearly earnings of database architects are at $112,000.

6. Cyber Security Consultant+

Cyber security consultants are the employees that analyze cyber threats and risks that an organization is exposed to and then come up with the appropriate mitigation measures. For this position, employers will be looking for applicants that have knowledge in a wide range of cyber threats, attack vectors and cyber security tools. They will also be looking for an applicant that can do penetration testing and develop cyber security strategies. However, there are only a few applicants that have knowledge in the full scope of cyber security that can be given this job. To deal with the deficit, employers can opt to use external consultants instead of looking for fresh hires. The salary for cyber security consultants averages at $77,000 but top professionals pocket $134,000.

7. Data Manager+

The ideal candidate for this position must not only have knowledge in data storage but also on data security and privacy. With the rise of data breaches, employers are looking for candidates that understand multiple ways of securing data without affecting its availability. The candidate must also be knowledgeable of legal compliance expectations in sorting some types of data. However, there are not many job seekers that have knowledge in data management, data security and privacy. To deal with the deficit, organizations can in-house train IT personnel to fill this job instead of searching for new hires. Data managers earn an average of $93,000 per year.

8. CRM Developer+

Employers seeking for Customer Relationship Management developers are often looking at experts that can create promotions, campaigns, newsletters, info graphics, customized emails, social media interactions and customer loyalty programs. Recruiters will be critical when examining the depth of knowledge that an applicant has in the wide scope of customer relationship management. There is a deficit in job seekers that have all-rounded knowledge in the whole scope of customer relationship management. To deal with the deficit, employers could bring on board a fresh hire and train them in-house. CRM Developers are paid a salary of $85,000, $109000 and $141000 respective of whether they are entry-level, mid-level or senior-level employees respectively.

9. Systems Integration Specialist+

Employers advertising this position will be looking for an applicant that is able to integrate the plethora of systems and applications used in the organization so that they can work in unison. The ideal candidate must have knowledge of system development and working with different APIs. There are very few job seekers that can pull off the incredibly challenging task of integrating different systems. To solve this deficit, job seekers should be encouraged to study extensively on system development and integration. System integration specialists can expect an average salary of $74,000.

10. Technical Manager+

Employers are normally looking for a candidate that can manage all the technical operations in an organization and manage all other technical personnel. They require an individual that possess leadership skills in addition to technical skills. However, this is a combination that is very hard to find in job seekers and this happens to be the position that takes the most amount of time to fill in organizations. A solution to the deficit by employers would be promoting technical personnel to this position and in-house training them on leadership skills. Technical managers earn an average of $105,000 per year.

According to HR managers and recruitment agencies, the most difficult jobs to fill are characterized by two things. First, they require technical skills. Most job seekers will have basic technical skills that are inadequate to fill these positions. The second characteristic of these jobs is that they require soft skills. While many job applicants have relevant technical skills, they fail miserably when it comes to soft skills. To solve the deficit, employers should mostly make a compromise when hiring and then in-house train their employees.