In today's digital-centric economy, there is no doubt that the world's dependence on technology is highly increasing. The restrictions that the global pandemic made practically connected our everyday lives to technology - from using social media to communicate to people to doing grocery shopping via online apps - making tech-related jobs one of the most sought-after professions today. 

According to the Office of National Statistics Annual Population Survey, the tech industry is expanding 2.6 times faster than the rest of the UK economy.  In 2016, the digital tech sector was just worth £170 billion. In 2018, it turned to nearly £184 billion worth to the UK economy. The 8% scaleup in just two years has achieved record investments and is being translated into jobs.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics stated that the need for computer and information technology professionals is forecasted to grow by a whopping 12 percent from 2018 to 2028—considered the fastest growing profession to date.

So, if you are a student planning a career in technology, you can enjoy a positive employment outlook as there is a strong demand for tech specialists today worldwide. Below are the top five tech-career degrees that offer high salaries and promising employment growth. 

1. Computer programming

Computer programmers turn the ideas created by developers and software engineers into real-life programs by writing and testing codes. 

A computer system is only as great as the programming code that runs it, making coding an important skill that is highly valued today. An entry-level salary could earn you an average annual starting salary of £27,800+ in the UK and $48,000+ in the US.

As a programmer, you need to gain knowledge of the language of computers, like C++, Java, Python, and more. 

2. Web development

Today, everything is shifting online—from businesses moving to e-commerce to schools moving to online learning—everything now resides on the web. 

The web as a platform and its ever-growing market inspired many to shift online completely. And as expected, this has created a massive demand for web developers. 

A career as a developer is disreputable for pioneering new technologies and innovation, which means you will always have new tools to innovate and master. But as a web developer, your primary responsibility is to create and design websites. Apart from being responsible for the overall visual look of the site, the technical aspects such as the user interface and its general speed and performance are also yours to keep on track. To do this, you need to know programming languages such as HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and databases such as MySQL, SQL Server, Oracle, or IBM's DB2. 

As web technologies become more innovative and powerful, you will have more chances to expand your skill set and create better solutions to real-world problems. A mid-career professional in this field could earn more than £33,200+ in the UK and $77,000+ in the US annually. Needless to say, there's no perfect time to choose this career path than now. 

3. Data science

With businesses and organizations shifting online, more and more of them are collecting data every day—this is where experts skilled in data science comes in. Data scientists gather data, do an in-depth analysis, interpret, and integrate findings to create actionable plans. The data collected helps businesses and organizations with decision-making and implementing data-driven solutions. 

What sets data science apart is that it is a combination of hard and soft skills. You will need the hard skills of programming like Python and SQL to understand your data. At the same time, you need soft skills like communication and presentation skills because you'll be the one who business owners and organization leaders want to listen to when it comes to solution-finding. 

Learning data science is hard, but the median annual salary for this career is around £50,800+ in the UK and $100,000+ in the US, making it a pretty good long-term career path. 

4. Mobile application development

Just looking at your phone or tablet will make you understand why mobile application developers are pretty much in demand. 

Today's days are usually composed of swiping between apps that either keep us entertained or make our daily lives easier—from browsing through social media to learning a new foreign language to attending virtual career talks for work. It seems that these days, we are all glued and dependent on our smartphones. 

As a mobile app developer, you will need to learn the nooks and crannies of popular mobile platforms, such as iOS and Android. You will also need a creative mind and a combined knowledge of coding with mobile and web development languages. 

The salary ranges from £32,000 to up to £45,900 in the UK and $70,000 to up to $135,000 in the US annually, so if you already have a new app idea that you think will bring value to the market today, consider this career path since everyone is waiting for the next great app. 

5. Information security analysis

The restrictions caused by the pandemic caused many people to opt for teleshopping as their primary mode of buying today—this has made a lot of small to medium-sized businesses embrace technology and move online. However, this monumental shift in teleshopping has increasingly made these businesses the victims of cyberattacks. The reason behind this is because hackers have realized that businesses today apply little to no effort at all in securing their data—this is why we need security analysts. 

Security analysts protect essential data like credit card details, social security numbers, and other sensitive information safe from cyber threats. They design and implement security measures to protect networks and systems and ensure that an unauthorized person cannot access them. 

Security analysts must gain technical knowledge in systems and network security and must have comprehensive analytical and problem-solving skills—the median salary of this is around £31,600 to £43,500+ in the UK and $149,000 in the US annually. 

As technology careers continue to be on the rise, these are the tech jobs that will most likely be more in-demand in the years to come. It is not the easiest career path—it takes a lot of commitment and dedication, but the reward and possibility of making a difference today are endless. Who knows, you may be the next programmer to develop an app or software that will revolutionize everyone's way of living.

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