10 Tech Careers With The Most Job Security in 2023

According to the author and futurist Peter Diamandis, the proliferation of technological innovations means we will see more progress in the next decade than we did in the past 100 years combined. Nowhere is this more evident than in the world of technology.

Artificial intelligence (AI), IoT, quantum computing, 5G, digital labour, and augmented and virtual reality will affect tech professions across the board, and while some jobs may fade in significance, others will grow in demand. Luckily, tech specialists in one field may only need to add a few new skills to become fluent in another.

To help you understand the future of the job market – and your career – we’ve put together a list of the tech jobs that are most needed now and in the years to come.

Job security: Data generated by media, the cloud, businesses, governments, IoT, and billions of transactions are fuelling the explosion of big data. In turn, this is increasing the demand for people who can combine programming and analytics with expert visualisation skills to deliver business insights and ‘predict the future’.

Data analysis is one of the fastest-growing tech jobs and also one of the most secure. Jobs for data scientists are estimated to grow by 36% between 2021 and 2031 and for data analysts by 23%.

Impact of AI: AI will accelerate and enhance data analysis because of its ability to identify complex patterns and correlations in data (in real-time) that may not be apparent to humans. Yet, data scientists remain essential for understanding complex problems and making strategic decisions (e.g., which algorithms to use), and translating business needs into technical solutions.

Pathways: Data analysis would be a starting point, followed by data science, data engineering and data architecture. Senior positions include business intelligence, machine learning (ML) and a career in quantum data science.

Industries: Data plays a part in almost every business, so career growth isn’t limited to a single industry. Turning your interest in data into a competitive, high-growth analyst role needs training and practise, and the LSE Data Analytics Career Accelerator is a good place to start. It’s an intensive six-month programme that’ll give you the data skills most desired by employers.

Job security: According to Gartner, the rising demand for scalability, processing power, and agile and cost-effective computing will result in some 85% of organisations globally embracing a cloud-first principle by 2025.

LinkedIn reports cloud computing-related jobs to grow by an average of 30% year-on-year, tied to the increase in cloud-native startups and the rise in cloud providers.

Impact of AI: AI will revolutionise cloud engineering by automating routine tasks, enhancing performance, optimising costs, improving security, and making cloud infrastructure more adaptive and intelligent. This frees up time for engineers to use their strategic thinking skills to design cloud solutions tailored to the unique business needs of an organisation.

Pathways: You’ll need a qualification in computer science or IT. Domain skills and knowledge of industries with complex technical requirements (such as defence or telecommunications) will be useful. Specialised roles within cloud engineering include cloud administrator, developer or security specialist.

Industries: The retail industry is one of the more prevalent industries for cloud engineers. Here, cloud computing will be used to manage inventory, in omnichannel retailing and digital marketing, as well as to enable customer personalisation. In the insurance industry, cloud computing will enable secure data storage and backup and make API integration, marketing campaigns and enterprise resource planning faster and easier.

Job security: Globally, the demand for software developers is driven by the increased complexity of projects and the need for innovative software. But in the UK in particular, software development is an industry focus – helping the country to become a leader in AI, ML and cloud computing.

ITjobswatch shows software engineering accounted for a staggering 10% of all jobs advertised in the UK over the six months leading up to August 2023, with a predicted 25% growth by 2031 (from 2021).

Impact of AI: AI will impact software developers’ jobs in that it can generate, test and optimise code and fix bugs, leaving humans free to focus on higher-level tasks and innovation. In terms of security, this job is set to remain in-demand, but ‘what’, exactly, software developers will focus on may change.

Pathways: There are multiple paths to becoming a software developer, from a bachelor's degree in computer science or software engineering to certificate courses and bootcamps. The skills are used in various IT and web-based careers, from applications developer to web designer and IT consultant. New job roles in AI – including ML engineer, AI software developer and Natural Language Processing (NLP) engineer – all require software development skills.

Industries: In the future, software developers will become more integrated with research and development, where they’ll create and test new technologies, products, services and systems. They also have future opportunities in developing IoT-oriented software for smart cities, medical services, aviation and the automobile industry.

Job security: More and more, vehicles, homes and devices run on software. Certain industries are also becoming heavily dependent on software applications, like manufacturing, healthcare and defence. QA engineers will increasingly be needed to detect and solve technical issues in the software source code and assess overall usability, performance and security.

Within the QA scope, software development testing is a career with a bright outlook and is predicted to grow by 25% between 2021 and 2031.

Impact of AI: There’s great potential here to use AI as your partner in work:

software QAs can leverage AI’s capabilities to optimise testing efforts, enhance collaboration and gain valuable insights from test data, leading to better decision-making.

Pathways: Although it sounds technical, this role typically does not require coding experience or a specific degree. You can become a software tester with a foundation degree or diploma, and upskill while you work.

Industries: Software QA will play a big role in the automotive industry, where safety and reliability are paramount. In the defence industry, QA will be used to validate software used in military applications.

Job security: It’s clear that businesses across industries are embracing AI technologies to improve their products, services and operations.

If we put data to the demand: the number of UK job postings requesting AI skills has more than tripled in the last ten years, putting the nation just behind the US and Sweden in countries with the highest demand for AI skills. WeForum 2023 Future of Jobs report has AI and ML specialists at the top of the list of fast-growing jobs between 2023 and 2027.

Impact of AI: Professionals in this field will need to hone their skills in NLP, cybernetics, neural networks, reinforcement learning or robotics. In future, their roles will shift from building models to focusing on deployment, ethics and collaboration with business stakeholders.

Pathways: To become an AI specialist you need technical skills like coding, programming and analytics combined with hands-on experience. Jobs in AI include AI researcher, ML/NLP engineer or architect, AI ethics specialist, AI product manager, and computer vision engineer.

Industries: AI’s impact will be extensive, but particularly within communication through natural language processing, chatbots, predictive text, emotion recognition and sentiment analysis. In manufacturing, industry 4.0 initiatives will rely heavily on AI for process optimisation, predictive maintenance, robotics and supply chain management.

Job security: Growth in information security (infosec) and cybersecurity jobs is driven by the sheer quantity of personal data created and the need to protect that data.

Worldwide, there is a critical shortage of specialist network, cloud and software development security analysts and risk managers. The security of the profession in the UK is bolstered by the government’s National Cyber Strategy, which will see massive investment (both public and private), ensuring plenty of work opportunities in the future.

Impact of AI: Though AI will augment various aspects of threat detection, prevention and response, security professionals need to continually evolve their skills to defend against AI-driven cyber risks.

Pathways: You don’t necessarily need a degree. Experience as a network, computer systems or database administrator and having core IT skills will give you an in. Career opportunities include security engineering and architecture or even becoming an ethical hacker.

Industries: Cybersecurity is essential in the healthcare industry to protect medical systems and patient data and comply with regulations. Securing customers’ assets as more people go cashless will be a huge priority in the banking industry, too.

Job security: It’s estimated that the demand for web developers will grow by 23% between 2021 and 2030, which far exceeds the average of 5% for all jobs within the same timeframe.

Impact of AI: AI-powered code editors will help developers write more efficient code, and natural language interfaces will enable interaction with development environments using conservational commands.

Pathways: At the entry-level, basic programming skills and a willingness to learn can get you a foot in the door, but there’s still a ways to go to develop job security as a web developer. You can specialise in the user interface (front-end), the underlying code for running website operations (back-end), or manage all aspects of a website (full stack). For an extra edge in the job market, web developers can acquire the basic AI skills needed to build intelligent websites and apps.

Industries: This career is truly diverse in its industry options, making it a secure choice as you’ll always be needed in whatever sector and business you choose.  

Job security: Computer research scientists are theorists, designers, problem-solvers and inventors responsible for pushing the boundaries of technological innovation and turning ideas into technology.

Although there aren’t many openings for this high-paying job, demand for these specialists is projected to grow by 21% between 2021 and 2031, making it an excellent career for those interested.

Impact of AI: AI will revolutionise the way research is conducted, accelerate discoveries and open up new computer frontiers. Research scientists will need to adapt just as AI does if they want a sustainable career.

Pathways: You’d typically require a Master's degree in IT, computer science or a related field. You could specialise in anything from robotics to ethical AI or NLP.

Industries: Computer research science is used extensively in finance for algorithmic trading, fraud detection and risk management. If you’re looking for a more creative field, the computer gaming industry will need people who can combine creativity and science with solid technical skills.

Job security: The interconnected nature of technology requires robust infrastructure and a multi-faceted support network, leading to the growth in demand for IT support specialists.

Job growth for this profession is projected to increase by 10% by 2028, making IT support one of the most secure careers in tech.

Impact of AI: AI will enable automated ticketing and triage, self-service solutions, predictive support and real-time monitoring. This frees IT support specialists to focus on more challenging and strategic issues requiring critical thinking and internal business knowledge.

Pathways: This is a great launching pad for a variety of IT careers. Knowledge of IT systems, networking, server administration and information security can be gained through on-the-job learning and taking online courses and certifications. IT support is typically organised around tiers based on experience, understanding of technical issues and access to company information.

Industries: The tech industry will remain one of the biggest employers where you’ll execute tasks such as hardware and software support, troubleshooting, maintenance and user training. 

Job security: As companies become more reliant on technology for their everyday business operations, the demand for tech-savvy problem solvers who can act as a bridge between a company’s business and IT operations is on the rise.

Although growth is slower than in other professions listed here, it’s steady and still above average at 9% between 2021 and 2031.

Impact of AI: Despite the increased automation and assistance provided by AI, computer systems analysts will remain essential in understanding complex business needs, translating them into technical requirements, and making critical decisions in designing and implementing IT solutions.

Pathways: A bachelor’s degree in computer science, IT or a related field is often required, though some employers may still hire candidates with a background in business, project management or engineering.

Industries: The healthcare industry will require analysts who understand healthcare workflows and can manage different types of data. In banking, advanced tech solutions are needed to streamline banking processes, enhance customer experiences and ensure data security and compliance.

For a job in tech to stand the test of time, professionals will need to have more than just hard skills. The ‘soft’ human skills are key to navigating complex technologies; creativity, problem-solving and understanding the user experience have large roles to play.

Though we will continue to automate and innovate with technology, human professionals seem to always be present on the other side of the machine. For the future, we’ll need to evolve and adapt with technology if you want a seat at the server.