Congratulations on pursuing a career in technology; you’re on your way to a thriving future! With an increase in the use of technology these days, there has also been a growth in the variety of technology jobs available. It's easy to mindlessly use your smartphone or social sharing app but did you know that with an increase in users and demand there's an increase in jobs available for technology professionals? Tech experts have been the envy of many industries because of their benefits and high paying salaries. You may not even be aware of some of the different tech careers available.

Here to help, the Touro GST educators have compiled 5 tech careers that you probably didn't know about and why you should:

1. Mainframe Programmer

Despite the stigma attached to this profession, mainframe programming is amongst our list of top 5 tech careers. Mainframe programming may be overlooked for various reasons, however having skills in this field is favorable to banks, government agencies and other large organizations. Since fewer tech graduates seek careers in mainframe programming and with 65% of current job holders expected to retire in the next 10 years, today's young skilled professionals will have advancement opportunities for what could be the rest of their working lifetime. Plus, the big organizations pay top dollar to fill the demand. Mathew Cousins, from IMB, highlighted that entry-level positions have a starting salary of $60-70K.

2. Corporate Trainer/ Instructional Designer

You’re in luck! In the past years, young professionals had been faced with the challenge of obtaining jobs that either have too many overqualified candidates or few available jobs. That’s why Corporate Training has made our list as it is one of the fastest growing tech careers. Those who are interested will learn the necessary skills to present company hardware and software solutions for the education environment. In addition, they will obtain specialized technology skills to improve company employee performance. Although working toward this occupation from the start of your education is preferred, those who want to transition into this field can do so as well. Jay Lefkowitz, Director of Special Projects and Chief of Staff at Touro College Graduate School of Technology, agrees that “the ideal candidates would possess experience, expertise, and credentials” however, in many instances, “strong interpersonal relationship skills are valued far above technology skills.”  Research reports that professionals in this field can earn an average of $80K.

3. Cyber Security and Forensics

This next tech career tip comes from Robert Grosberg, Director of Career Services at Touro College Graduate School fo Technology. Simply put, Robert points out that Cyber Security “is a rapidly growing field all about stopping and identifying virtual hackers with over 1 million jobs opening.” Amongst the many paths you can choose from, as identified by CyberDegrees.org, Robert discusses the role of a Forensics Expert. The role entails investigating complex cyber crimes by collecting and analyzing evidence from computers, networks and other forms of data storage devices to identify the hacker. One report states that you can expect to earn $55-120K annually.

4. Data Scientist

Due to the lack of knowledgeable education programs, the career of Data Scientist has made the list of tech careers you probably didn't know existed. In spite of this drawback, the demand for data scientists has grown. The job is multifaceted and entails the involvement of techniques to obtain valuable insights from an array of data. Although a broad title, the skills required in this role, such as data modeling or statistics, can lead to other subspecialty opportunities. Not only does this career choice offer a six-figure average annual salary, it also earned a 4.7 for job satisfaction!

5. Big Data Engineers

Above we discussed the job role of Data Scientists and their ability to gather insight from data collected. Well, this 5th tech career on our list is Big Data Engineers - experts who collect the right data to be researched. Without professionals in this field, Data Scientists would not have any data to work from. Big Data Engineers work with system designers to build, maintain, and test big data solutions. In addition, they produce large scale processing systems and are experts in understanding how data can be stored. If this doesn’t immediately stand out, how does a salary range from $130-180K sound?

It is easy to see how these top 5 tech careers can be overlooked leaving employers seeking eligible candidates for high pay. The above mentioned in-demand positions are staples in the technology industry and leave individuals in these fields with more advancement opportunities. Which path would you take? Let us know in the comment section!

If you're looking for more information about pursuing a career in one of the tech jobs above, contact the experts at Touro GST where they fulfill their mission of educating “tomorrow’s technology leaders today”!