Top 10 Recession-Proof IT Jobs to Survive in Tech industry

The COVID-19 pandemic’s aftereffects plus the ongoing conflict in Ukraine will cause a serious economic downturn in 2022. Common commodities are reaching record high prices, the economy is growing more slowly, and inflation is increasing.

As a result, many nations would find it difficult to avoid recession, according to World Bank President David Malpass

Recessions are marked drops in economic activity that can endure for several months or even years. When a country’s economy faces negative gross domestic product (GDP), growing unemployment, declining retail sales, and contraction income and manufacturing metrics over an extended period of time, experts proclaim a recession. Recessions are seen as an inevitable component of the economic cycle or the predictable rhythm of expansion and recession in a country’s economy.

How Recession impacting IT industry

As a significant portion of Indian IT’s revenue comes from the US, potential US and global recessions pose a threat to the country’s growth in IT industry. Between 40% and 75% of the income made by Indian IT, businesses comes from the US market. The top five companies, Tata Consultancy Services, Infosys, Wipro, HCL Technologies, and Tech Mahindra, have more than 50% exposure to it.

Historical data also indicates that IT expenditure appears to be recession-proof, with US employment in the computer industry declining just 0.3% between 2008 and 2009 and 0.8% between 2009 and 2010.

Example: From 2.03 million jobs in 1997 to 3.54 million jobs in 2007, 4.56 million jobs in 2017, and 5.07 million positions in May 2021, the number of jobs in computer-related occupations in the US has grown.

Over 37,000 employees have already been let go by over 150 US-based organizations in 2022. The majority of layoffs were noted in June, when 75 US-based IT businesses let go of their employees.

this layoff has affected almost every tech company from startups like Robinhood, Gemini, On deck, and Hopin to the ‘big names’ like Apple, Google, Microsoft and Amazon.

How do layoffs work?

An action that your employer may take to end your employment with the organization is a layoff. A post may be eliminated or an individual terminated from an organisation for a variety of reasons, most of which are not related to performance. A decision to terminate an employee’s employment may be made by the employer for a limited time or permanently.

Top Reasons Behind Layoffs

Several reasons may lead to a company laying off one or more employees. Some points to consider are as follows:

• Relocation of the company
• Closure of a business
• Measures to reduce costs
• Mergers
• Loss of funds
• Project cancellation
• Update to position requirements

How do recessions occur?

• Excessive debt
• Asset bubbles
• A sudden economic shock
• Deflation is too high
• Technological change
• A high level of inflation

Let’s discuss jobs that can withstand a recession! There is a sense of apprehension about job security whenever a recession is mentioned in the media, and for good reason.

In reality, more than 10% of Americans were unemployed during the 2008 crisis. A shocking 35 million jobs were lost in 2020. Additionally, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that in 2021, the unemployment rate increased to 14.7%.

No career is 100% recession-proof, but these IT positions have been shown to be essential during a crisis as businesses scurry to alter their strategy and achieve their objectives. Particularly in a recession, the competencies displayed by IT workers in these ten jobs may be the difference between a successful and unsuccessful organization.

Top 10 Recession-Proof IT Jobs

1. ADMINISTRATOR OF CLOUD

Making sure the cloud of their company is operational and up and running efficiently is of the highest significance to cloud administrators. Cloud administrators have a lot of responsibility and unpredictable days since they have so much infrastructure to manage. This is not a stance that can be set and forgotten. They must manage cloud services, subscriptions, resources, and storage, in addition, to providing technical support as needed.

Organizations will turn to the cloud to power their digital strategy during a recession. This will probably call for a greater focus on cloud vendor management and an improved comprehension of how the cloud may benefit clients. Internally, the emphasis on safe access to cloud services will expand as more people work remotely and travel less. Cloud administrators will be in charge of all of these duties.

2. INFORMATION SECURITY

There weren’t enough security specialists to keep firms secure before the epidemic and recession. Information security cannot be overlooked as budgets become more constrained. Sensitive data and information are easily stolen in the absence of qualified security specialists. Because of the recession, cybercriminals and hackers won’t put their computers away. Cyberattacks will keep getting worse and more frequent.

Due to the massive increase in remote access to sensitive data by IT experts, the cybersecurity issue has suddenly become more serious. All remote employees must have access to a secure VPN connection to guarantee that their data is secured and that their databases are safe from hackers.

3. DATA ANALYST

It is anticipated that during a recession, spending on storage, infrastructure, and cloud services won’t suffer significantly. And that brings with it a flood of fresh data.

IDC’s Customer Insights & Analysis division program vice president Stephen Minton asserts that “the amount of data that enterprises must retain and manage is not going anywhere.”

As firms primarily rely on trend analysis and predictive thinking to guide their activities, this data will be crucial.

IT decision-makers will become aware of the necessity to sort through and analyze data to cover a wide range of needs, from target advertising to security intelligence analysis if they haven’t already.

4. DEVELOPER / PROGRAMMER

Whether you’re skilled in HTML, JavaScript, or Python, knowing a computer language makes you more marketable right away. To design and construct cutting-edge websites and optimize for user experience, web developers need coding abilities.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, software developer positions are expected to rise by 21% by 2028, far faster than the typical occupation.

This growth will probably slow down during a recession, but it won’t stop. Both now and in the upcoming months and years, there will be a demand for programmers and developers. Additionally, if you are proficient in a programming language, companies may find you much more appealing.

5. CLOUD ARCHITECT

This year, the cloud is most likely to experience IT growth. Since businesses have already made significant investments in cloud services and platforms, a large portion of IT work is now completed on the cloud. Even during a recession, many people will be wanting to expand such investments and pay for current deployments.

Cloud architects are more concerned with the broad picture than cloud administrators are with the details. They need to plan for cloud adoption, create architecture, and make sure staff members adhere to best practices.

During the adoption of the cloud, cloud architects are also in charge of connecting with other departments. Their responsibilities are important, especially as companies seek greater returns on their cloud expenditures. Whether employees “buy in” to a cloud strategy is frequently up to the cloud architect.

6. RISK MANAGER

Organizations must make wise investments, particularly during a recession. An IT risk manager assesses technological strategy and investments. They foresee potential problems and develop strategies to reduce corporate risk. Some also control the risk of non-compliance, making sure businesses follow the law and adhere to industry standards.

To more effectively recognize, evaluate, and control hazards, a rigorous risk assessment must be carried out. This is especially important in times of crisis because many organizations cannot afford to suffer further financial setbacks.

During a recession, new investments must be carefully considered. Making better-informed judgments can benefit the company if it is aware of and understands the risks associated with such investments.

7. DESK SUPPORT / TECH SUPPORT

The use of technology does not stop during a recession. Professionals who work at help desks and tech assistance will thus always be in demand.

Although IT personnel may be tech experts, the rest of the firm may not benefit from their knowledge. Everyone at work knows someone who constantly needs assistance entering onto Zoom or changing their passwords. Internal help desk specialists can aid with that.

The demand for tech support specialists arises when anything fails. They install and configure gear and software as well as diagnose and repair network faults.

Business operations would be delayed by technological problems without a help desk and tech assistance. Therefore, even if a business is forced to shrink, these responsibilities remain vital.

8. ADMINISTRATOR OF DATABASE

It’s important to handle the growing volume of data stored in the cloud. That is what database administrators do.

Database administrators arrange the data and ensure its security while data analysts analyze the data. They must also make sure the data is backed up in case a recovery is necessary.

Database administrators can do their duties more effectively and with less effort, if they have particular abilities. For instance, mastering SQL will make it easier to create and maintain bigger databases. Employers will be looking for this kind of skill set in a database administrator.

9. DEVOPS ENGINEER

According to Glassdoor, a DevOps engineer is the sixth greatest job in America. The position calls for the administration of IT infrastructure and control of software code releases.

DevOps has been embraced by a growing number of enterprises to enhance communication between IT operations and software development. A survey by Puppet and DevOps Research and Assessment of over 25,000 IT experts found that high-performing companies that adhere to the DevOps concept deploy 200 times more frequently and with 2,555 times shorter lead times.

DevOps advantages are impossible to deny, which is why DevOps engineers have risen to the top of the list of sought-after IT positions. These experts will be in charge of automating software deployments with the least possible impact on the current infrastructure.

10. PORTFOLIO/PROJECT MANAGER

In the next months, costs will be a top priority. Based on changing corporate goals, more projects could be lowered in priority. The ongoing initiatives must thus be managed effectively and wisely. Project managers must maintain an open line of communication with decision-makers and ensure that goals are reasonable and realistic because resources and funding may be restricted. Overpromising and underdelivering are not appropriate at this time.

For portfolio managers, this involves deciding what is and isn’t significant as well as matching the components of a portfolio with more general aims. IDC advises dividing the portfolio management stages into “do now” and “longer-term” activities, with the longer-term activities having the potential for automation over time.

For helping layoffs affected people, Tech Jobs Fair has launched a reverse recruitment platform called Hire Tech Talent, where these people can create one time profile and after profile verification Tech professionals can receive job invitations from tech companies and Jobseekers can accept or reject company offers based on preferences and get hired quickly. Essentially, the idea is to have one profile that enables thousands of opportunities with the addition of joining multiple Tech Jobs Fair events in different countries.