Another year is around the corner and at Ironhack, we’re getting ready to make the most of it, looking at what the future holds and what we can expect from 2024. As you know, tech is one of the most fast-moving industries and is constantly outdoing itself. In fact, it moves so fast that most university graduates, starting the job search upon graduation, struggle to boast a resume that has the skills for which hiring managers are looking.
Later in this article we’ll dive into trends in each specific sector in which we focus (web development, UX/UI design, data analytics, cybersecurity, cloud computing, DevOps, and artificial intelligence), but before that, let’s tackle another emerging trend: an increased trust and importance placed on bootcamps.
The Future of Tech Bootcamps
As technology continues to advance at a dizzying pace and it gets increasingly harder to keep up with the latest trends in tech, bootcamps will gain more and more traction. Why? It’s quite simple:
Bootcamps are flexible: everyone has other responsibilities and things to plan around–from childcare to jobs, bootcamps allow you to maintain your other duties while attending a bootcamp, offering part-time and remote options that can be tailored to exactly what you need.
Bootcamps are short-term: especially for those considering a career change, the idea of committing to a four-year degree is basically impossible and would require you to give up your job or sell away your soul–neither a good choice! But because bootcamps teach you what you need to know over just a few short months, you can maintain your other responsibilities or commit to just the bootcamp, knowing you’ll land a job post-graduation.
Bootcamps are inclusive: bootcamps have been breaking down barriers in tech for years and will continue to do so as they gain more popularity; because bootcamps don’t require an incredibly large financial investment and are offered remotely across the world, entering the tech workforce is becoming a feasible option for many, many more groups of people that were previously barred from entering because of their physical location, socioeconomic status, or other responsibilities.
How to Future-Proof Your Skills
Preparing for the current job market, however, isn’t the only responsibility you have. Tech is a sector that will continuously evolve and you’ll need to stay up-to-date on future-proofing your skills, even after you land your first job in tech. It might sound intimidating, but it’s completely doable and something that will help your overall career progression, widen your job opportunities, and make you a more attractive candidate.
Stay up-to-date on trends
Alright, this one is pretty straightforward--staying up-to-date on trends in tech is absolutely crucial to your professional development. If you don’t know what the newest tool is, how will you add it to your resume? As you see more and more people talking about a trending topic, consider learning what you can about it and seeing if it will be a valuable addition to your CV. Not everything will be, but periodically check to see what job offers are demanding to make sure your resume is competitive.
Embrace continuous learning
Tech moves so fast and that means the skills you had when you were originally hired may not be enough anymore. This doesn’t mean you’re going to be replaced by robots, however; in fact, most technological innovations lead to even more jobs being created as skilled professionals are needed to build, operate, and superview these new inventions. Dedicate a specific amount of time to refreshing your knowledge or a certain programming language or software system to guarantee your resume reflects the needs of the market.
Work on your personal branding
When you apply for a job, you’re selling yourself and your abilities to the company. What can you offer the company? What sets you apart from the competition? What can you bring to the table? Hiring managers want to see clear answers to these questions and making your value obvious through a well-written resume or a descriptive portfolio with clear examples of your work will help communicate your value to the company. Make sure you update your resume, website, and LinkedIn with everything you’ll need to show potential employers why you’re the best choice for a role.
Create a career plan
Knowing trends in the tech industry is just one part of creating a future-proof skillset; you need to decide where you want your career to go. This could include moving into a new area, learning a specific new skill to land you a certain job, or much more; to future-proof your career, you’ll need to ensure that you know where you want to end up! With this goal clearly set, it will be easier for you to navigate the career ladder and make the best decisions for your future goals.
Trends in Tech 2024
Although there are general skills that will be present across the entire sector, the exact ones to focus on will depend heavily on your chosen field and desired outcome. Do you want to continue advancing as a fullstack developer? Or move from a cyber analyst to an ethical hacker? Below, we’ve broken down each sector and trends to keep an eye on.
2024 trends in web development
Web development is a broad field and one that involves much, much more than just knowing how to code. And while adding a new programming language to your toolbox a few years ago might have been enough, the future of web development is incredibly advanced and will include:
Increased pressure on user-friendly experiences: with more and more competition out there, users that aren’t happy with the speed, layout, or functioning of a website will simply turn to another. This means that web developers will have to prioritize user-friendly experiences, ensuring that users both stay on the page long enough to purchase the product/service and return, becoming loyal customers.
A shift towards minimalism: users are bombarded with so much information constantly, from personalized ads to an incredible range of options. This has led to a shift in the opposite direction, prioritizing minimalist designs over busy and information-heavy web pages.
2024 trends in UX/UI design
UX and UI designers alike face similar challenges to those of web developers, trying to draw users in, capture their attention, and make them come back for more. In the future, however, the focus of UX/UI design will shift towards:
Prioritizing accessibility: accessibility will come to the forefront of most designs, with designers ensuring that everyone, regardless of their specific situation or disability, has an equal and comparable experience to the average user. This will require more work and patience when designing, but will ultimately expand the client pool and website’s reach.
Bringing sustainability to the center of conversation: lots of people think that internet designs have zero impact on the environment; however, the true impact that internet usage has has come to light in recent years and will continue to gain importance. Future designers will need to show employers that they prioritize sustainability in their designs, convincing clients of the need to do the same.
2024 trends in data analytics
Data-backed decisions are the best ones and there’s really no room for debate there. And as there continues to be more and more emphasis placed on artificial intelligence’s role with data processing, we can expect to see the following:
More accurate future predictions: as artificial intelligence tools are fed with more and more data, data professionals will be able to make even more accurate predictions for the future, allowing better business decisions to be made. In addition, more professionals will be needed to sort through possible outcomes and bring them to the company’s attention.
An increased focus on data privacy: we are collecting more data than ever before and in this data lies people’s personal information, such as their names, address, preferences, and ID numbers. As we collect more and more data to provide hyper-personalized experiences, data privacy regulations, both locally and internationally, will continue to expand and become an absolute necessity.
2024 trends in cybersecurity
Cybersecurity is a relatively new field, especially in the tech field, but it’s one that is gaining importance every single day. We put so much of our information, data, and lives online and if it’s not protected, the effects could be quite severe. In the future, we can expect to see:
More realistic threats, thanks to artificial intelligence advances: gone are the days of obviously fake phishing attempts and scams; advances in NLP and AI have led to increasingly realistic cyber threats that truly sound like a real person. Cyber professionals will have to work more creatively to combat these new cyberattacks.
Stricter security measures: zero-trust security is a model that assumes all users, no matter where they are or what device they’re on, are unknown and therefore not to be trusted. This might be annoying; after all, no one wants to have to use two-factor authentication every time they log in, but it will further protect people from cyberattacks and hacks.
2024 trends in cloud computing
With the incredible amount of data companies collect and analyze, physical servers are no longer a reality and pose a significant security threat if hacked. That’s why we can expect to see the following trends in cloud computing:
Multi/hybrid cloud: the exact needs of companies vary significantly from one to the next and multi-cloud solutions that offer clients the opportunity to combine their cloud storage to include on-site, private, and public options will make it more accessible and attractive for all.
Data encryption: the importance of data privacy is at an all-time high and as the amount of data increases, the protections placed on this data and the cloud servers will also become a priority.
2024 trends in DevOps
Tech teams aren’t just limited to a few people anymore; these teams consist of many different members with different responsibilities, all working to achieve the same outcome. In 2024, DevOps will continue to gain importance with:
The introduction of microservices: this process of splitting up the software development architecture into small pieces helps people tackle individual tasks at the same time, all the while checking for issues during the development process, instead of at the end.
A new emphasis on automation: dull, repetitive tasks will be assigned to artificial intelligence tools that can handle these responsibilities, freeing up humans for more creative pursuits and ensuring results are free of human error.
2024 trends in artificial intelligence
Lots of the aforementioned areas of tech will be heavily influenced by artificial intelligence in 2024, but that doesn’t mean the field of AI won’t advance on its own. In fact, we can look out for the following:
A focus on ethics in AI: the use of AI tools brings an important question to the table: what does an ethical use of AI actually consist of? Is it possible? AI professionals will have to balance ethics and progress in 2024 as the field continues to advance.
Even more personalization: with the vast amounts of data that AI tools are able to easily process, users will grow accustomed to incredibly personalized user experiences and expect it in basically every aspect of their digital lives.
As you can see, there’s an incredible future awaiting tech in 2024 and if you’re ready to jump into tech and become part of that future, you’re in the right place. At Ironhack, our bootcamps are expertly designed to help you learn what you need to know to land that first tech role. Check out our available courses, pick the one that best fits your career plan, and get ready for an incredible journey.
