Cyber-Security Top IT Skill for 2017

A new tech career survey reveals that 95 percent of IT professionals believe cyber-security expertise will be the most important IT skill in 2017, but they said soft skills and computer networking expertise are also very important. That's why many are planning to advance their cyber-security skills via certifications or training, as well as improve their networking and virtualization skills. But there could be trouble ahead for some employers. Key findings of the 2017 Tech Career Outlook survey, conducted by Spiceworks, indicate that businesses may want to evaluate their employee-retention strategies. The majority of the nearly 500 IT pros surveyed in North America and Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) see a favorable job market next year, and more than one-third of them plan to start searching for new jobs. The biggest reasons for the job switch are to advance their IT skills, earn a higher salary and work for a company that makes IT a priority. Peter Tsai, Spiceworks' IT analyst, said many IT pros believe they're underpaid and their departments are underfunded, which is leading many of them "to take advantage of the favorable job market." Here's a look at key survey findings.