US TECH SECTOR HIRING REBOUNDS IN JANUARY, COMPTIA ANALYSIS FINDS - CompTIA Certifications

The U.S. technology sector added an estimated 11,200 new jobs in January, with hiring in information technology (IT) services, custom software development and computer system design leading the way, according to an analysis by CompTIA, the leading technology industry association.

The services and software category accounted for an estimated 7,000 new hires in the first month of 2019, CompTIA’s analysis of today’s Bureau of Labor Statistics “Employment Situation” report finds.

This continues a trend seen throughout much of 2018, where positions in services, software development and systems designed accounted for an estimated 77 percent of all tech jobs gain in the IT sector last year.

The continued demand for software and service skills is also reflective of a trend identified in CompTIA’s “IT Industry Outlook 2019” report – how cloud computing, edge computing and 5G wireless networks working in combination will change the way work is done.

“In the year ahead, organizations will have new opportunities to build upon their digital infrastructure,” said Tim Herbert, CompTIA’s senior vice president for research and market intelligence. “This will require the further shifting in mindset to IT as a strategic imperative. And, of course, the requisite skills in areas such as architecture, development, and data to make it happen.”

New hiring in January was also reported in the categories of data processing, hosting and related services (+ 3,100 jobs); computer and electronic product manufacturing (+ 2,700); and other information services, including search portals (+ 400). The telecommunications category shed an estimated 2,000 jobs last month.

Across the entire economy IT occupations declined by an estimated 45,000 positions last month. There tends to be a higher degree of variance with monthly Bureau of Labor Statistics data at the occupation level, so these figures should be viewed as directional. 

Unemployment rates edged up in January both nationally (to 4 percent) and for IT occupations (2.4 percent). The Bureau of Labor Statistics attributed the rise in unemployment to the federal government shutdown. Relative to January 2018, the January 2019 unemployment rate for IT occupations is nearly a half point lower (2.4 percent vs. 2.8 percent).

On the future hiring front, the number of employer job postings for core IT skills increased by an estimated 16,698 positions last month. Software and application developers were the most in-demand skill sought by employers, followed by computer user support specialists, computer systems engineers and architects, computer systems analysts and IT project managers.

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CREATING IT FUTURES DOUBLES ITS FREE IT TRAINING & CAREER PROGRAM FOR ADULTS FOR 2019

After seven years of perfecting its IT workforce training model, Creating IT Futures is doubling the reach of its free IT-Ready career program. With classes now available in seven cities, IT-Ready trains, certifies and places unemployed and under-employed adults in their first jobs in the information technology (IT) field.

With a shortage of qualified workers, the IT industry has more than a half-million jobs open in America. Thousands of these jobs are in helpdesk technician or software testing roles, making double the national wage. IT-Ready prepares adults for these roles in just eight weeks with full-time training. No previous experience is necessary and only a high school diploma or GED is required.

Students can apply to one of the 25 IT-Ready classes this year in Charlotte, NC; Chicago; Minneapolis – St. Paul; Phoenix; Portland, OR; San Antonio and San Diego at https://www.creatingitfutures.org/it-ready/apply-to-it-ready. The full-time classroom-based courses are underwritten by grants and financial donations, so that students can attend classes for free. 

“With financial support from major organizations such as Boeing, Cognizant U.S. Foundation, CompTIA and TEKsystems, and local partnerships with Goodwill Industries, Jewish Family & Children’s Service, Urban League, WorkSource and Wounded Warrior Project, among many others, we’re able to double our number of classes this year,” said Charles Eaton, CEO of Creating IT Futures. “The tech industry needs more workers, and more workers need more opportunities. America has the people to fill many of these tech jobs; they just need the right training. With IT-Ready, we’re putting hard-working adults back into the workforce where they can earn family-sustaining wages and drive the economic growth of this country.” 

Creating IT Futures also is helping to diversify the tech industry and open career doors to a wider demographic. Populations that traditionally have been under-represented in the IT workforce, such as women, people of color and veterans, are encouraged to apply. By working with dozens of local employer partners, Creating IT Futures places about 86% of its graduates into full-time employment in the tech industry.

Students work toward CompTIA A+ certification in the IT-Ready Technical Support class, and three software testing certifications in the IT-Ready QA class. IT-Ready students receive free tuition, books and learning materials, more than 240 hours of classroom and hands-on tech and soft skills training, and certification vouchers. Classes run from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. every weekday for eight weeks.

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How Your Networking Experience Can Land You a Cybersecurity Job

What Is a Feeder Role?

Known as feeder roles, the jobs mentioned above often serve as stepping stones into a cybersecurity career because of the similarities in skill requirements and significant skill overlap with multiple core cybersecurity roles.

Choose Your Own Cybersecurity Career

There are many opportunities for IT pros to start and advance their careers within cybersecurity. CyberSeek’s interactive career pathway shows key jobs within cybersecurity, common transition opportunities between them and detailed information about the salaries, credentials and skillsets associated with each role.

These core cybersecurity roles are the most commonly requested job categories across the cybersecurity ecosystem. They are classified as entry level, mid-level or advanced level based upon the experience, education levels and credentials requested by employers.

The Skills Needed for Cybersecurity

Your experience in networking and IT infrastructure gives you certain transferable skills that match  those required for the cybersecurity job roles shown in the pathway below, including cybersecurity specialist, cybersecurity analyst, penetration tester and cybersecurity engineer.

If you have any of the following skills, highlighting them on your resume and during interviews can help position you as an excellent candidate for the more than 245,000 cybersecurity jobs in the United States that fall into the networking feeder role pathway.

• Information Security
• Information Systems
• Cryptography
• Information Assurance
• Security Operations
• Risk Assessment
• Python
• Risk Management
• JAVA

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Eight Ways to Do Professional Development Now - CompTIA Certifications

We all know that professional development is an important key to career success, but between deadlines and meetings at work, not to mention personal commitments, it can be hard to find time for learning. And if you haven’t cracked a book since college, you may have a different idea of what learning looks like. Thanks to technology, professional development no longer has to mean going to a class or a conference. Whether you’re preparing for an IT certification, earning continuing education units or simply bettering yourself, you can now learn from the comfort of your home or office, or even on the go. Here are eight ways you can make learning fit your lifestyle.

Understand What Works for You

To best retain what you learn, you need to know how and when you learn best. Do you prefer instructor-led training or self-study? For many people, a combination of these is key, but you may get better results from one versus the other. As for when to learn, think about your energy levels during the day. A night owl probably won’t learn as well before work, and an early riser might be tapped out before an evening class is over.

Leverage Technology

Apps, videos, eBooks, eLearning and personalized experiences abound in the professional development space. CompTIA now offers official study guides, as well as the CertMaster product line to help IT pros learn technical skills, prepare for certification exams and reinforce on-the-job skills. And CompTIA AITP members have access to a curated library of Lynda.com videos and playlists, where they can learn professional and technical skills from anywhere, at any time.

Learn on the Go

Whether you’re using technology or traditional textbooks, keep your materials with you – you never know when you might have 10 to 15 minutes to learn. Study flashcards, read a chapter, listen to a podcast or watch a video on your lunch break, during your commute or while you wait for the doctor.

Diversify Your Learning Medium

Who says all learning needs to be visual? Audio learning can be just as effective, especially if it’s reinforcing things you’ve already studied. Listen to podcasts, stream videos or even record yourself reading so you can listen in the car, out for walks or while doing chores.

Carve Out Small Pockets of Study Time

It may be hard to find hours of time each day, but you can probably find 30 to 60 minutes a few times a week. Just like making time to go to the gym, you may need to make time for professional development. Your end-goal will also determine how much time you need to carve out. If you’re preparing for a certification, you might need to block all or most of your lunch hours for a set period of time before your exam. For general professional development, maybe you wake up an hour early one day a month to watch an on-demand webinar or dive into a blog.

Focus on the Task at Hand

When you block out time to learn, make sure it’s distraction free. Compartmentalize your time and focus on what you’re doing, not on a project that you need to work on later or a family issue you’re dealing with. Turn off notifications on your phone and computer so you can make the most of your brief window for learning.

Freshen Up

Switch up where and how you learn by using different tools and studying in different places – at home, at the library, at coffee shops. At home, set up a dedicated workspace that’s free of distractions so that you instinctively know that place is meant for learning.

Bring Training to You

If your entire team needs a refresher, CompTIA’s Training Strategies Group can bring training to you. This instructor-led training is customizable, scalable and proven, with some of the world’s highest certification rates. Training Strategies Group offers IT certification training (CompTIA and otherwise), professional development training and train-the-trainer courses.

Success Secrets: How you can Pass CompTIA Certification Exams in first attempt