Technologies are constantly developing, and so is the labor market. Here are some tech jobs born in the 21st century.

I vaguely remember a time when people in public transport read books, talked with each other, or simply looked at the scenery rolling past their windows. Now, we’re all occupied with our mobile phones. It’s no surprise, really—with smartphones, we can do almost everything: chatting, shopping, working, watching TV series, learning, and much more.

Naturally, this demand for mobile platforms and online apps has given birth to new professions of the 21st century. Let’s check them out!

Mobile App Developer

According to TNS research, the average millennial (aged 16–30) with internet access spends 3.2 hours a day on mobile devices. Generations X (31–45) spend 2,4 hours a day. Older consumer (baby boomers aged 46–65) still stick to their traditional media habits and spend 3,1 hour a day watching TV. But still, those online spend 1,5 hours a day on their mobile phones.

It makes sense that mobile app developers will be very busy for the next few decades. If you’re considering a career in this field, you should know basic principles of software design, mobile app development, and software development methodologies. You also need to learn at least two programming languages like SQL, JavaScript, or Python.

Programming skills are needed in yet another role. Introducing the…

Frontend Developer

A frontend developer implements visual and interactive elements on web applications. This is basically everything we can see and “touch” when we open a site from our browser: content, layout, and interactive elements. Frontend developers need to know HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. But this job may also require skills in visual design or database design, so languages like SQL, PHP, and Ruby are more than helpful.

Frontend developers primarily build websites. But to create user-friendly web experiences, it’s crucial to understand user preferences. What do users click on or want to look for? What’s the most intuitive way to explore and engage with web content? The answers to these questions come from another profession…

UX Designer

A user experience (UX) designer’s job is to make a roadmap for web content preparation. Their primary goal is to make the user experience as seamless as possible. For example, these professionals might test navigation on websites to ensure their ease of use. Also, when hiring UX designers, strong research skills, a keen eye for design, and technical proficiency in HTML and CSS are highly valued

UX designers also need to know specific design software like UXPin or Balsamiq. But UX designers need other skills, too. In particular, analytical and artistic skills can help UX designers make better website design decisions.

Instructional Designer

With the advent of online learning, we’re no longer tethered to a physical university campus. While UX designers work on user experience, instructional designers are responsible for developing effective online learning experiences. Often, this job is quite involved; it requires a wide range of competencies.

First off, online instructional designers need good computer skills. They need to know at least some authoring and design tools like Articulate Storyline or Adobe Captivate. They also need to have experience with multimedia tools like Photoshop, Camtasia, and Moviemaker and be able to work with learning management systems.

Of course, these are just the required technical skills, but instructional designers must also have a good grasp of learning methodologies and effective learning formats. As an instructional designer, you’ll need to analyze your target audience’s learning needs, work with subject matter experts, create learning timetables, design training processes, and evaluate projects.

Data Scientist

Ah, at last—the Renaissance man of the digital era. Data science deals with big data; data scientists gather and analyse big data by running experiments, searching for relationships among data, and creating new business solutions.

As a data scientist, you need to have programming skills in languages like R, Python, and SQL. It’s also very important to have a strong foundation in statistics, as well as algebra and multivariable calculus.

But data scientists also need lots of soft skills. Often, the audience of a data scientist is nontechnical and not very well versed in statistics or IT. Thus, data scientists must be able to present their ideas fluently to their coworkers; this requires a strong foundation in data visualization and communication.

Big Data Architect

A big data architect is responsible for showing how to deliver big data solutions using big data technology like Hadoop, MapReduce, Hive, Pig, and Kafka. They need to know programming languages like Java, Python, or C#. Generally speaking, big data architects are cross-functional experts who can fill many roles in data science.

Back to the present

The times they are a-changin’. Technology is a beautiful and ever-evolving thing that has brought with it many new employment opportunities for the 21st century.

And here’s the good news: The number of tech jobs is expected to increase by 12% by 2024. That’s a big deal—IT professionals are in exceptionally high demand.

If you fall under any of these new job titles, let us know in the comments below!

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