With 100′s of Terabytes of data, companies want new hires who understand the the entire scope of big data processing. It is  a different mindset, and there is a struggle to identify the skills needed, but some have been tagged.

• Working with traditional SQL relational databases
• Distributing loads on servers
• Strong math and coding skills and business savvy
• Willingness to learn new skills (different database or OS)
• Higher level quantitative skill sets
• Research Scientist background

Because of the shortage, crossing from one industry to another is not a considerable barrier. Modis Kelly says, “Data is data. Industry vertical really isn’t going to be the key driver. Its going to be what did you do with the data, how large of an environment was it.” Hiring organizations will avoid backgrounds with small companies because of the small data experience being so radically different. Jim Yu says it involves finding candidates who, “understand the right questions to ask around this data and how to tease this into actions that result in business outcomes for our customers.”

Source: Computerworld, Big data worker shortage demands job candidates with diverse backgrounds by Fred O’Connor, October 10, 2012

So what is Big Data? Big Data as defined by Wikipedia, “is a collection of data sets so large and complex that it becomes difficult to process using on-hand database management tools. The trend to larger data sets is due to the additional information derivable from analysis of a single large set of related data, as compared to separate smaller sets with the same total amount of data, allowing correlations to be found to “spot business trends, determine quality of research, prevent diseases, link legal citations, combat crime, and determine real-time roadway traffic conditions.”

Hurwitz & Associates have identified 4 dimensions of data:

1. Volume – 20 years ago, a Gigabyte was huge! Now, we have Terabytes and even Petabytes (one quadrillion bytes), an enormous volume of data. And we’re analyzing all kinds of data: from posts on Facebook to weather pattern data.
2. Velocity – Much of the volume of data must move at very fast speeds such as banking transactions from vendors or stock trades from day traders.
3. Variety – No longer are we just processing text but also audio and video as well as varieties in between.
4. Veracity – It’s easy to trust your data when it’s a small quantity, but as the quantity grows, lack of trust grows exponentially with it.

Career opportunities abound in a this new area being called Data Science.  In this very young, and maturing field, there is a quickly growing need that is not being fully met. Consulting firm McKinsey and Company predicts that in just 6 years, there will be a shortage of 1.5 million workers with data science skills and another 140-190,000 workers with large data processing skills. While universities gear up with degrees in this area, today’s candidate that may be a good fit comes with strong backgrounds in computer science, algorithms and operating systems. “If they have a good foundation in that, then you pair that up with a training program that allows them to understand how to translate into this new architecture,” Jim Yu from BrightEdge says.

More ideas on what types of skills to come next week on IT CareerCast. Stay tuned!

Sources:

“Four Vendor Views on Big Data and Big Data Analytics: IBM”, Hurwitz & Associates, Fern Halper, January 2012

Computerworld, Big data worker shortage demands job candidates with diverse backgrounds by Fred O’Connor, October 10, 2012

The Oracle Certification blog ran a poll to find out what certifications people “intend to pursue in 2011” and the results held a few items of interest.

The results:

• 58% plan to pursue database certification.
• 35% plan to pursue Java certification.
• 29% plan to pursue PL/SQL.
• Almost 7% intend to pursue Solaris certification.

That Oracle DBA certifications were on top is no surprise as that has always been Oracle’s big deal.  While nobody expected Solaris to rank high it does seem to be somewhat lower.  Java certification certainly looks strong and shows a good addition to Oracle’s suite of professional IT certifications.  So the top three truly most sought-after certifications are for database, Java and PL/SQL (really a subset of the DBA certification list).

Learn more about training for Oracle database certifications.  GogoTraining also offers outstanding Java training courses along with a host of other technologies in the online IT training course catalog.

• Oracle Database Certification training
• Java training courses
• Oracle 11g PL/SQL Programming Part 1
• Oracle 11g PL/SQL Programming Part 2

High growth in demand and compensation for non-certified IT skill sets has occurred for four straight quarters and is projected to continue, outpacing certified skills which have been experiencing comparatively anemic activity in the same timeframe, according to a new report by Foote Partners.

Factors cited as responsible for the growth include a focus on skill-based acquisition (creating more contract and consulting positions), increasingly distributed IT responsibilities in organizations, and the evolution of “hybrid IT/business professionals.”

“Technology and business skills have in effect collapsed into each other, creating legions of what our firm refers to generically as hybrid IT/business professionals.  New hybrid jobs and job titles have been created throughout the enterprise,” said David Foote, co-founder and CEO of Foote Partners. “Globalization and competitive pressures have accelerated the popularity of hybrid IT/business professionals and in turn energized market demand and interest in paying cash premiums for hundreds of certified and non-certified IT skills.”

Foote said the economic recession had a hand to play in the skill-based approach and rise in hybrid positions yet the story of evolving the IT workforce started earlier. “The truth is that IT and business leaders have been struggling with transforming the IT workforce for years, trying to make it more agile, flexible, nimble, whatever you want to call it, said Foote. “What the recession did was help leaders get ‘unstuck.’  More focused and motivated.  The pressure to get on the other side of this transition is enormous.”  Foote mentions the “end game” is to find a way to “react quicker, execute faster and more predictably.”

Of the certifications showing continued growth in worth, VMware is at the top showing an average compensation premium of 8.5%.  As virtualization and other areas tied to Cloud Computing grow, relevant certifications will continue to rise in value commensurately.  Other certifications seeing rise in value include those from Red Hat and Oracle.

Non-certified skills which saw a sustained lift for four consecutive quarters include database, application development tools, SAP/ERP, Web/e-commerce and methodology and process management.

GogoTraining provides outstanding quality technology and management training at an affordable price.  IT and technical management professionals of all stages in experience and academic background are encouraged to meet the needs of today’s job market, ensure longevity and increase your chances for above-average compensation by identifying a training path and getting started with GogoTraining today.