1. Compensation Plateau

Undeniably, we are in the age of the most rapid technological developments and evolutions in history. With this rapid succession of technological advancements that are revolutionizing virtually every industry, I.T. professionals are consistently in very high demand. As a result, compensation has always been fiercely competitive. While the average pay for an Information Technology professional is still increasing, that rate is beginning to plateau in 2017. This slowdown in the pay growth for the industry will be interesting to track through the coming year.

2. Gig Economy

The gig-economy is a new and potent phenomenon sweeping the workforce. People are trading traditional, committed careers for short-term, flexible positions that allow them to flirt with different positions within their industry, or different industries altogether. Intuit predicts that by 2020, 40% of Americans will be independent contractors. At the forefront of this evolution? Information Technology professionals. The forerunners of the gig-economy, IT professionals began pursuing contract work that allows them to work with the newest technology. As the work force moves toward the gig-economy, this trend is even more potent in the information technology industry. Organizations and technology companies have innovative and exciting contract positions available for great I.T. positions.

3. Rapidly-Expanding Technology: Cybersecurity

Though the majority of I.T. jobs are facing growth and higher demand, cybersecurity is a sector of the I.T. industry that is growing with exceptionally notable speed. In fact, according to the Cybersecurity Market Report, it is projected that, worldwide, over $1 trillion will be spent on cybersecurity between 2017 and 2021. Cybersecurity Ventures is predicting that cybercrime will triple the number of cybersecurity job openings over the next 5 years. And this trend is not just increasing the number of jobs purely dedicated to cybersecurity- according to CSO, “Every IT position is also a cybersecurity position now. Every IT worker, every technology worker, needs to be involved with protecting and defending apps, data, devices, infrastructure and people.”