In 2020, the World Economic Forum published a report about the skills that will be in demand by 2025.
Out of that ten skills, two skills stand out which are the ability to use technology, control and monitor it and the ability to design and program.
Increasingly in Africa today, the best jobs are in the tech industry.
Gone are the days when children are mandated to study law, medicine, accounting, architecture and the likes in order to become a successful person. Software engineering and technology are now credible viable careers for lots of people.
Now, a product designer or a Cloud engineer in Africa may likely out-earn lawyer or banker by order of 2 or more.
Below are the list of top tech skills that are in demand and pay well.
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Product Management
Tech startups are emerging everywhere, FinTechs, EduTechs, AutomobileTechs, HealthTechs and the list goes on.
As they try to develop products in making life easier for people, there is a need for the personnel that will be in the middle of the production of these tech products.
This is where the Product manager comes in.
The product manager will be the one in charge of developing the product alongside a team of engineers and developers.
The product manager ensures that product that is being developed comes out right and every startup regardless of industry hires at least two product managers.
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Product Design
These are professionals who are in charge of designing and putting interesting features in apps in order to make the user interface appealing and the experience awesome for the product users.
They are known as creative genius and also goes by the name of the UI/UX guys.
Without them, the product manager cannot work, because he/she needs them to develop the app by using their creativity and tools.
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Cloud Computing
There is a huge demand for Cloud engineers due to many companies building their own cloud server systems.
The demand for cloud engineers who build and manage these servers are on the high.
4. Data Science
With the rise of big data, companies are demanding for the skills of data scientist to analyze their data.
Interestingly, all sectors in the tech industry are demanding for the expertise of data scientist because data is important in the building of products.
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Artificial Intelligence
With the massive changes occurring as a result of AI, programmers are in high demand.
The demand for AI professionals has grown over the years due to its adoption by major tech companies.
According to Linkedin, they ranked AI as one of the most demanding jobs of 2021.
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Machine Learning
A tech field that is quite exciting, innovative and profitable is Machine Learning. It is quickly emerging as one of the top tech skills to have.
Machine Learning has been adopted by tech companies for a long time, we see them as Siri on our I-phones and the Chatbots we message on websites and the cars that drive themselves in Europe and the US.
Every industry can adopt Machine Learning, the possibilities of its adoption are just endless and it makes business easy to operate.
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Mobile Development
It is estimated that there are over 3 billion smartphone users globally.
And the clamour for smart phones will continue to grow. This means mobile development will continue to feature as one of the top tech skills to have for a successful tech career.
What this means is that companies will continue to demand for mobile and app developers because apps are the premise on which smart phones are built.
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Robotics
The demand for robotic engineers gained trajectory during the pandemic thereby becoming essential workers that helped in the health and other essential sectors.
As a robotic engineer, you can help in developing automated robots in the health, agricultural, leisure, educational sector.
You can also program robots to become virtual assistants.
Robot engineers are highly demanded as the pandemic is still ravaging and this is the best time to learn about these skills if you are interested.
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Cybersecurity
For companies that are involved in the collection of data and information, it is vital for them to have a network structure that is secure.
This is the work of a cyber security officer. It is dangerous for such companies to have its security architecture breached because it can prove costly.
With the increase in data breach, it is imperative to have a cyber security officer that the security of data.
The average salary of cybersecurity officer is ₦450,000.
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Virtual and Augment Reality
Although Virtual and augment reality is mostly used in the entertainment industry, the health care, educational and advertising sector are now demanding for the services of people skilled in this area.
Although still relatively new in Africa, it has been projected that the demand for VR/AR will skyrocket by 2025.
These top tech skills are in high demand and the most interesting part is that you can work remotely as a professional with these skills.
Also, there is a tendency to work with foreign companies and earn in dollars as a freelancer. You can learn these courses online for free and for some you pay.
You can check out Coursera, EdX, Future Learn and other MOOC.
There are techs schools such Andela, Utiva and more that has been established to teach people these skills.