One of the most important factors in searching for jobs is ensuring that you've got the right skills on your resume. But what's just as crucial is making sure the skills you do have are in demand.
IT recruiting firm Mondo combed through its database to track down the most valuable skills and positions in tech. There are a few noteworthy changes from last year's data, Mondo says, such as a greater interest in designers for augmented reality platforms.
Salaries across the IT industry have also risen by about 10 percent on average, according to Mondo's Regional Director of Recruiting Tom Cirri. At the same time, Cirri notes that hires are expected to offer more skills. For example, a database developer might have earned less in 2013, but is now expected to have experience with more types of database providers.
Here's a breakdown of the most valuable skills in the industry broken down by average annual salary, from lowest to highest.
20. Interactive Designer ($90-$110K)
19. Middleware Engineer ($90-$110K)
(Middleware engineers with Java-specific application servers including JBoss, Websphere or Weblogic are specifically in demand.)
18. Quality Assurance Engineer ($100-$120K)
(The most requested testing tool experience has been either Selenium, QuickTest Pro or Cucumber.)
17. C#/.Net Developer ($90-$125)
(Developers with WCF or WPF experience are sometimes valued even higher in the $130-$150K range).
16. PHP Developer ($90-$125)
15. Systems Engineer ($100-$125K)
(Mondo notes that those with stronger scripting and coding experience are "towards the higher end of the range.")
14. Network or Systems Security Engineer ($110-125K)
13. Augmented Reality Developers ($115-$125K)
(According to Mondo the most popular tools in augmented reality are ARToolKit, Unity3D, Vuforia and Metaio.)
12. Drupal Developer ($100-$130K)
11. UX/UI Developers ($110-$130K)
(Those with mobile device experience are at the higher end of the range)
10. Data Scientist ($125-$140K)
(Specifically, data scientists with "big data" platform and/or Machine Learning experience.)
9. Big Data Engineer ($125-$145)
(Hadoop, Netezza, and Cloudera are the most requested platforms, according to Mondo)
8. Data Architect ($110-$150K)
7. Project Manager ($110-$150K)
6. iOS Developer ($120-150K)
5. Front-End Developers With Javascript Libraries ($140-$150K)
(This includes developers with AngularJS, EXT-JS or Node.JS experience.)
4. Android Developer ($135-$165K)
3. DevOps ($135-$170K)
2. Security Architect ($150-$175K)
1. Salesforce Architect ($180-$200K)