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Colin (Cybersecurity – Penetration Tester)

• Cybersecurity is not in the top titles for the Burning Glass Data as of Mar. 2018. However, according to this article (WIRE, 2021) the Cybersecurity industry in Australia will growing significantly in coming years. Senior executives are starting to pay closer attention to Cybersecurity.
• If you look at the more specialized job of Penetration Tester according to (The Job Market For Penetration Testers in 2020 • Penetration Testing, 2021) The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) doesn’t put pen testers in their own unique job category, it falls under Systems Analyst section. This section is anticipated to grow significantly, by 32% from 2018 to 2028, a figure that is far larger than that of average job growth, in this time period. BLS also mentions that this category will remain in extremely high demand, aiding companies and protecting their networks from hackers.

Samuel Saad (Java back-end remote engineer)

• Java developers were in the list of top titles at number 7. Also, Java was number 3 in the skills in Greatest Demand.
• According to (What Java skills are in demand? - Collabera IT Jobs, Staffing & Recruitment, 2021) Java has been a leading programming language since it was introduced in 1995. Even today Java is a popular choice for Android apps. Cloud applications, machine-learning environments and IoT technology widely use Java.
• Java is among the most in demand programming languages on the job market. Java is a flexible and constantly adapting language, as it constantly releases new updates, with a new update approximately every 6 months, hence, Java developers who keep up with the constantly changing language, as well as enhance their skills with new technologies, get the best jobs.

Michail Christofis (C++ Software Engineer)

• In the top titles found in the Burning Glass data, number 11 was Software Engineer and number 16 was Senior Software Engineer. Also, in the top skills list, number 15 was software engineering
• According to (5 Reasons Why Software Engineers Are in High Demand – GeeksforGeeks, 2021) Software Engineer is one of the most demanding and rewarding jobs of current times. From various reports, the demand for software engineers is likely to grow by 20-25% over the coming years. Here are five reasons as to why this job is growing in demand:

1. Rapid Growth of Technological Advancements – The tech trends in the world today include Quantum Computing, Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning, 5G, Hyper-automation, Internet of Behaviors (IoB), etc. All of these have a commonality, which is there is software behind them. And thus, software engineers with the ability to design, develop and maintain this software will grow as well, alongside these technologies.
2. The World is Moving Online – With a massive shift of not just businesses but individuals as well, to digital platforms, we can consider this another reason as to why software engineers are in such high demand. Adding onto this the effect of the COVID-19 global pandemic, the online presence of businesses and individuals is no longer optional, hence it has become mandatory to maintain workflows and/or operations. Online platforms require software and as such the successful development and operation of these platforms requires skilled software engineers.
3. Code Requires Timely Upgrades/Changes – Once the code is completed and the product is successfully developed, the project isn’t over for the software developers, in a lot of cases the code becomes obsolete and the project needs new features and constant updates. A software engineer or a team of software engineers is often required even after a product’s successful deployment.
4. Software Engineers are concerned with Multiple Phases like Designing, Development, Testing etc. - This means software engineers are involved with almost every crucial phase of the product building process. This vast and impactful role in development is a major reason why software engineers have a place and demand in the tech industry.
5. Lesser Supply of Skilled Software Engineers – Supply and demand, since there aren’t enough skilled software engineers for what the industry requires, this leads to higher and higher demand.

Andrew Smith (Tech Support for start-up Tech Company)

• Jobs that are in the top titles that are similar include; Service Desk Analyst at number 5, Systems Administrator at number 8, Test Analyst at number 10.

In my job of IT Tech Support my role is to help people with all aspects of their IT issuses from computers, networking, mobile phones etc. This can be anything from simple issues about logins - user name recovery / password reset, to updating their systems and devices etc. I am also incharge of creating the tech support systems for the business i work for so it is simple to use and can be used to search for previous tech support issues that are simular and have the work arounds shown in a document for another tech support person to help the next client with.

Michele De Biasi (IT Support)

• IT Support is in the top 5 jobs in the Burning Glass Data as the number 5 Service Desk Analyst.

IT Support and Tech Support I’ll group these together and according to (What Does A Help Desk Technician Do?, 2021) these are in demand as with a lot of the IT jobs according to the Bureau of Labor, the number of available jobs is set to increase by 12% by 2024. Also, this type of role has many entry-level positions and as such, is often used to gain experience and boost a career in the IT field.

Set of skills – general (Group)

The general skills necessary for Penetration Testers according to (Delta Risk) are:

• Willingness to continually learn – Instead of reading write-ups from security firms on the latest exploits, you can use a virtual machine, build the vulnerable machine, obtain code and test yourself.
• Soft skills (Public Speaking, Report Writing, Team Player) – it’s important to be able to communicate complex ideas to people who are non-technical. You have to work in a team and everything operates more smoothly, when each member of the team has each other’s best interests at heart.
• Managerial side certifications – Since penetration testers are hired to help organizations, it’s helpful to have an understanding of managerial side of business (CISSP, CISA and CISM certifications).

The general skills for a Java back-end remote engineer according to (9 Skills You Need to Become a Back End Developer in 2021 – Columbia Engineering Boot Camps, 2021) include:

• Communication – well-honed communication skills will help collaboration with other back-end developers or front-end developers. Also helps when you work with other business professionals that don’t have an IT background.
• Teamwork – As mentioned in communication you’ll be working with many other developers, both front-end and back-end, and you’ll also need to be able to work with non-IT business people.

The general skills for a C++ Software Engineer according to (What Skills Do You Need to Be a Software Engineer? | BrainStation®, 2021) include:

• Communication Skills – what separates Software Engineers from similar roles like Software Developers is usually the amount of collaboration, leadership and team building required, in which case good communication skills are key.
• Team Player – As Software Engineers usually work as part of a team to succeed, they need to know how to compromise, how to motivate others and how to take and learn from criticism.
• Problem Solving – Completing software projects requires identifying and solving issues, you must be able to be curious and creative when solving problems, sometimes anticipating problems before they happen and changing to solve them.
• Attention to Detail – Must have high attention to detail with everything from coding to documenting projects.

The general skills for a Tech Support for start-up Tech Companies according to (5 skills you need to land a tech startup job - Monster.com.hk, 2021) include:

• Communication skills and teamwork – resources and capabilities usually limited in a start-up; every person counts no matter your position. You need to be a team player.
• Big Data Skills – big data offers great potential and business opportunities collecting, analyzing and monetizing big data. It is important to understand customers better, and make better decisions.
• Project Management – ensure you have the skills to constantly progress further and faster. Have the ability to adapt your project goals whenever the business direction changes.

The general skills for IT Support staff according to (Top 15 Information Technology/Support Technician Skills, 2021) include:

• Customer Service – answering questions, fixing issues and providing excellent service in a fast and professional manner.
• Communication Skills – To provide the best customer service, you need to be able to communicate politely and effectively to people of all IT levels.
• Team Work – People have to be able to work within a team and with other teams like QA development, to ensure seamless user experience across devices.

Demand for Set of Skills (general)

The team’s general skill set should include, willingness to continually learn, being a Team Player, having good Communication skills, the ability to Write Reports, know Managerial basics, have Problem Solving skills, pay Attention to Detail and be able to give good Customer Service.

Some of these skills rank highly including; Communication Skills at rank 1 far above anything else, Problem Solving at rank 2, Writing at rank 4, Teamwork at number 5, Attention to Detail at number 8

Highest Demand Skills outside of group set of skills (general)

Outside of teams, the set of skills which are the highest ranked include; Organizational Skills at number 3, Troubleshooting at number 6 and Planning at number 7. I believe all these skills would increase chances of success in any of the ideal jobs, that our team members have chosen to pursue.

• Organizational Skills – would help a person work as the head of a team. Moreover, great organizational skills, would help a person (and his team in general) meet strict deadlines, with ease.
• Troubleshooting – Is a skill which I put in the IT-specific section, under IT Support, and it would allow an individual to quickly analyze and fix problems in systems at work, whether he is working on-site or remotely.
• Planning – Like organizational skills, it would help a person when working in large teams, with strict deadlines.

Set of skills – IT-specific (Group)

Penetration Tester

The IT-specific skills necessary for Penetration Testers, according to (Delta Risk) are:

• Knowledge of Vulnerabilities and Exploits outside of tool suites – Generally when you get interviewed for a penetration tester position, the questions have one thing in common no matter the size of the company; almost always they try to determine whether you know more about vulnerabilities, than what the automated tools describe. If you can’t use a specific tool you don’t want to be helpless. Successful pen testers need to know how to modify existing exploits to fit specific networks.
• Understanding of secure web communications and technologies – The pen tester needs to know how applications are built, how to identify input fields, and how to gather information to lead to exploitation.
• Ability to script or write code – Penetration testers don’t need production quality code, however if you know code, it can save hours on an assessment. The main languages that needed to be maintained, at least with basic proficiency at the time of this article were; Python, Perl, PowerShell and Bash.
• Certifications – The most beneficial certifications are the Offensive Security certifications (OSCP/OSCE), whilst SANS certifications are good too.

Java back-end remote engineer

The IT-specific skills necessary for Java back-end remote engineers (9 Skills You Need to Become a Back End Developer in 2021 – Columbia Engineering Boot Camps, 2021) include:

• Java – Java is very different to JavaScript. In simple terms Java is a general-purpose programming language for application development. Java is typically written in an Integrated Development Environment (IDE) before compiled into bytecode, or low-level code that a software interpreter can read.
• Git – It is a widely used modern version control system. It’s actively maintained and open-sourced, each developer can access the full history of what changes have been made.
• Front End Trifecta (HTML, CSS and JavaScript) – Whilst these are front-end skills, there will be overlap. Companies like to hire engineers and developers who have multidisciplinary skills.

C++ Software Engineer

The IT-specific skills for a C++ Software Engineer (What Skills Do You Need to Be a Software Engineer? | BrainStation®, 2021) include:

• Coding and Computer Programming – Software Engineers may do less coding than other similar positions but it is still necessary to be familiar with programming languages including, Python, Java, C/C++ and Ruby.
• Software Testing – Even with AI programs performing some of these tasks, testing and debugging is a core technical skill for Software Engineers
• Object-Oriented Design (OOD) – It’s important for a Software Engineer to know how to apply object-orientated design guidelines to create flexible, modular and reusable software.
• Software Development – You are expected to steer a software development team as such, having the technical skills is important.

Tech Support for start-up Tech Company

Tech Support for a start-up seems to be a job where you need to be adept at various different fields. Some of these according to (5 Tech Skills That You Need for Your Startup, 2021) include:

• IT Architecture – this is important as enterprise software becomes more important. Current demand, in order of greatest to least is: Data Engineers, Front End Web Developers and Machine Learning.
• Cloud Security – Companies, which once outsourced IT security, are relying more on building in-house security teams, to protect their data.
• Programming – Enterprise apps are growing in demand, as startups and corporations are building more internal apps. Programmers with skills in more than one language, and iOS specialists are in high demand.
• Data Analytics – The future of successful startups is now determined by how well they use their users’ data, and what they learn from it, whilst still protecting user privacy.

IT Support

The IT-specific skills for IT Support staff according to (Top 15 Information Technology/Support Technician Skills, 2021) include:

• Troubleshoot – Detailed yet quick search in the system for issues and then solving them. IT support can provide server maintenance, as well as an interface with administrators and end users to accurately troubleshoot, and correct hardware and software.
• Hardware – Provide support, including installing, configuring and maintaining hardware. It also includes writing evaluations and recommendations for management review.
• Active Directory (AD) – The staff is meant to be able to administer desktop/server assets and users, on active directory domains, ensuring assets are conforming to patch management policies and procedures.
• Basic IT knowledge over various topics - Computer Systems, Laptops, End User, Setup, Technical Support, Desk Support and more.

Demand for Set of Skills (IT-specific)

The team’s IT-specific skill set should involve; understanding of secure web communication and technologies, coding skills in Python, Perl, PowerShell, Bash, Java, Git, HTML, CSS, JavaScript, Software Testing, Software Development, Cloud Security, Data Analytics, Broad IT knowledge, Troubleshooting and Hardware.

Some of these skills rank highly, including; JavaScript at number 2, Java at number 3, Microsoft Windows at number 4, Technical Support at number 11, Software Engineering at number 15, Git at number 21 and Python at number 22. The rest don’t make the Burning Glass Data skills list.

Highest Demand Skills outside of group set of skills (IT-specific)

Outside of the teams set of IT-specific skills the three highest ranked skills are SQL at number 1, Project Management at number 5 and SAP at number 6. Learning these skills on top of skills required for our ideal jobs, would probably be beneficial and help us stand out to potential future employees.

• SQL – used to communicate with a database. Standard language for database management systems. SQL statements are used to perform tasks like update data on a database, or retrieve data from a database (897. What is SQL and what's it got to do with Microsoft Access ?: Help : ITS : University of Sussex, 2021).
• Project Management – It is a good skill to have when you are in charge of a startup or new project, as it allows the person to plan and organize a team and to complete projects on time, with high standards.
• SAP – a Systems Application and Products in Data Processing. SAP is also the name of the Enterprise Resource Planning software and the name of the company. SAP Software develop software solutions for business operations. SAP is #1 in the Enterprise Resource Planning software market. Found at (What is SAP? Meaning & Definition of SAP ERP Software, 2021)

Opinions on our Ideal Jobs

Colin Bruce Stock

After looking over the information in Job Data, my opinion on my ideal job hasn’t changed. There are a variety of reasons for this, my main reason is I picked Penetration Tester because it would require me to analyse and effectively use different tools and concepts depending on the client. Also, staying informed and up to date on new technologies will keep my interest for long periods of time, I won’t have time to get bored. Also it may not be in the Burning Glass Data for 2018 however in other sources provided in the Job Data section it’s shown that Cybersecurity is one of the fastest growing IT jobs in 2020 and beyond. Getting payed to figure out ways to break into people’s stuff sounds really cool to me as well. And finally, I thought I wouldn’t like working with a team, however, being able to have regular meetings make progress and move together, through the assignment 2 work, whilst having it’s challenges has been quite fulfilling and fun, penetration testers do a lot of team work and as such, I believe I would enjoy working as a penetration tester the most. Money isn’t on top of my priorities however, $118, 000 as average salary is very satisfying to see.

Michail Christofis

After having thoroughly gone through the burning glass data, my perspective on my ideal job, remains unchanged. This, is due to a plethora of different factors, including the fact that software engineering ranks at position 11 on the Burning Glass data among top titles, a position which is extremely high up. Moreover, the demand for software engineers, is likely to grow by 20-25% over the coming years, something that will unquestionably affect software engineering, very positively. Furthermore, as the world moves online, the demand for software engineers, will only increase. In addition, by becoming a software engineer, I believe that I will continually be on the cutting edge of technology, whilst concurrently working in the domain that I love most, and that has always been rather appealing to me. Despite the fact that it is not as highly ranked as other jobs, there still exist job positions with great amenities in the vicinity, in central locations, that simultaneously offer exceptionally good salaries. In addition, I believe that by using software engineering as a means, I may get remarkably close to the world of Finance, as finance is also a subject that attracts me greatly, and one which I wish to be involved with, in my future professional endeavors, as I want to combine these two subjects in my career. Certainly, Software engineering is the sector of IT, which I wish to pursue.

Michele De Biasi

My ideal job opinion as an IT Support corporate has not changed as it is still ideal to my view in the case that it is processed well. It is also ideal in the factor that it can be a well stationed job towards its requirements and job data. With another exception IT Support brings the accumulating percentage on high as a most valued job for Basic and industrial standard, it is also a high-rise payable job. The service demand is increasing by time and by data shown, this job will receive many enlistments upon the standards that this job will meet, it is known that it will be a key principle that will benefit the areas of the Job in industry and with also provide the specifications that people don’t know about. It is a vast and growing Job that would be looked up upon the entry of the job’s basic standards, it conducts in a Bachelor of IT, furthermore by becoming an IT Support corporate, in my opinion I would be on the middle stage of the Jobs unit. Though there also are other specifications of other jobs and formality, but the outlook of certain jobs will be looked differently to other concepts of the jobs. In my opinion by the use of this principle I will get to be apart of the compliance into the Moderation platform.

Andrew Smith

My ideal job is what I have just recently started with a start-up IT Tech Company, I do the Tech Support for the company for the employee’s for their tech support questions. This includes problems with their computers, phones, internet issues and problems they have with other IT related devices. When the company builds their headquarters in Queensland and the tech support department is set up this is where I will be working from, I will be doing online chat support and phone support for customers all over the world and will be working with a team that have a high degree in IT tech support because of the company I am currently working for.

Samuel Saad

After having thoroughly examined the burning glass data, I remain convinced of the opportunities that lie in the world of Java back-end development. Despite the common misconception that this language is in the past and will no longer be of use, this statement could not be any further from the truth, “Uber, Airbnb, LinkedIn, eBay, Spotify, Square, Groupon, Pinterest, and Google still have a high percentage of their development in Java” (2021). The reason for it’s widespread use is due to the language being designed in order to accommodate large projects with great effectiveness. Moreover, Kotlin, a language that has recently been developed and is currently being used in circumstances that require further “security and compatibility” (2021), than that which Java has to offer, this language consists of a significantly similar syntax to Java. In fact some editors allow you to convert large amounts of Java source code directly to Kotlin. This will result in the future, Java developers being granted experience in more diverse and agile workforce as their scope and insight in this language (Kotlin) would surpass multiple programmers as their experience in Object Oriented Programming, has been expanded due to their experience in Java. However, Java requires large amounts of memory and may take longer to compile than most other languages. This has unquestionably affected the spread of the use of this language. Although this is, unfortunately, the case, quick and easy programs are not in most cases desirable in a significant number of large companies.

2021. [online] Available at: https://www.spaceotechnologies.com/kotlin-vs-java/ [Accessed 8 October 2021].

Codegym.cc. 2021. [online] Available at: https://codegym.cc/groups/posts/321-back-to-the-future-is-java-still-the-right-bet-for-new-coders-in-2020 [Accessed 8 October 2021].