Demand for big data professionals rises 78% ahead of GDPR deadline

According to a new UK report from Experis, the demand for big data skills and expertise has risen dramatically in the past 12 months, up 78% between Q1 2017 and Q1 2018, whilst contractor demand has grown 128% during the same time frame.

A large reason for this growth is not only the increasing skepticism surrounding cybercrime and the rising number of global attacks, but also the impending regulatory hurdles that will come with GDPR.

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“A number of regulatory hurdles this year – including the much talked about GDPR – coupled with the growing Internet of Things trend, are putting pressure on businesses to better manage, process, secure and leverage their data,” said Martin Ewings, Director of Specialist Markets, Experis UK & Ireland.

Experis reveals that the most in-demand roles include experience with AWS, Python, Hadoop, Spark, Cloudera, Java and a number of other data platforms.

Further, the report shows that big data professionals remain the most highly valued in terms of pay, ahead of those working within the cloud, IT security, mobile and web development specialisms.

“Candidates have seen the potential for high earnings in Big Data roles and are upskilling themselves with the qualifications they need to secure those lucrative positions,” said Ewings.

For more information, see the full Tech Cities Job Watch Q1 2018: Big data report from Experis.