Top IT Jobs for Beginners to be in Demand 2024

The last few years have been a watershed for technology development. Dozens of new directions in the industry have emerged, opening wide horizons for enthusiasts around the world. If you are looking for the best IT professions for beginners in demand in 2024, you are in the right place!

IT careers offer a lot of benefits that make them an attractive choice for aspiring professionals, such as:

• The flexibility to work remotely


• The opportunity to work in a variety of industries


• continuing education


• A stimulating work environment that promotes innovation and collaboration

In addition, IT professionals often find themselves at the forefront of technological advances, allowing them to contribute to solving complex problems and have a tangible impact on society.



IT professionals' revenue in 2024 is one of the leading industry development drivers. The average income of IT specialists in the USA is 111 thousand dollars, about twice as much as other professions.

In this article, you'll explore the most in-demand IT professions in 2024 to set the right direction for your development. With Merehead, you'll understand what professionals in this industry do, their benefits, and how much they earn.

Artificial Intelligence Engineer

Artificial intelligence engineers are people who use AI and machine learning techniques to develop applications and systems that can help organizations with processes such as:

• increasing efficiency


• reduce costs


• increase profits

Professionals in this field develop AI strategies and identify the problems that need to be solved with their help. They are responsible for building the infrastructure for AI development and production and then implementing them.

Here are some specific tasks and responsibilities of an AI engineer:

• Data collection and preparation. This includes cleaning and transforming data, processing missing values, designing features, and ensuring their quality.


• Model evaluation and validation. This includes validating the effectiveness of the models and identifying areas for improvement.


• Deployment and integration. Professionals are faced with ensuring scalability, robustness, and reliability.

Artificial intelligence engineering will be one of the top IT professions in 2024. Due to the high speed of AI development, specialists in this field will be in high demand among employers.



Because of this, AI engineers often earn competitive salaries and attractive bonuses. Organizations value the expertise and contributions of AI engineers, which is reflected in their compensation.

By starting your development in this field now, you'll have the opportunity to get a job at an AI development company and provide quality services to world-renowned brands.

The income of an AI engineer in 2024

An AI engineer's income is among the top earners for the highest IT salaries in 2024. This is due to the high demand and need for more personnel in this niche.

According to Glassdoor, the average salary of an AI engineer in the USA is 100 thousand dollars yearly. The final income level depends entirely on skills, experience, and the company that hires the specialist.

The Merehead team has prepared a checklist of what a junior IT specialist should know to become an AI engineer, namely:

• Programming languages such as Python, R, Java, and C++


• Probability, statistics, and linear algebra. These are needed to implement various AI and machine learning models.


• Algorithms and frameworks. You should understand machine learning algorithms such as linear regression and Naive Bayes and deep learning algorithms such as recurrent neural networks and generative adversarial networks.

As businesses continue incorporating AI into their operations, the artificial intelligence engineer is becoming one of the most in-demand IT professions in 2024. AI may be right for you if you want a new direction.

IoT Engineer

The Internet of Things, or IoT, is a network of physical devices that can transmit data to each other without human intervention. The main goal of the IoT is to create self-replicating devices that can communicate with each other and with users in real-time.

The IoT engineer leads the way among the most in-demand IT professions in 2024. Their responsibilities include managing and connecting devices, working with sensors, and updating software to keep technology up to date.



IoT developers work with many business intelligence, data science, and networking companies. They provide the best solutions to practical problems that arise from their work. In addition, they are experts in areas such as:

• User interface design and management


• Customer security and privacy


• Networking to ensure seamless communication between different devices

The average salary of an IoT developer in the USA is 90 thousand dollars yearly. Choosing an IT profession in 2024 in the direction of IoT can be the starting point for you to increase your income level.



To become a junior developer in this field, you must understand IoT and have experience running small projects. Fortunately, with the help of the Internet, you can learn all this on your own.

UI/UX Designer

UI and UX designers play a crucial role in the product development lifecycle.

UX designers focus their work on the experience the user gets from the product. Their goal is to make the product functional, accessible, and enjoyable.



While UX is often applied to digital products, it can also be used for non-digital products. Everyday tasks for a UX designer may include:

• Conducting user research to identify goals, needs, behaviors, and pain points associated with product interactions


• Creating user maps to analyze how the customer interacts with the product


• Building electronic schematics and prototypes to determine what the final product will look like


• Performing user testing to validate design decisions and identify issues

UI designers create the graphics portion of mobile apps, websites, and devices are the elements that the user directly interacts with. Unlike UX, which can be applied to almost any product or service, the term UI is used exclusively for digital products.

A UI designer strives to make applications and websites visually appealing and easy to navigate. Typical tasks of a UI designer include:

• Organizing page layouts


• Selecting color palettes and fonts


• Designing interactive elements such as scrollers, buttons, toggles, drop-down menus, and text boxes


• Creating sketches and layouts with high fidelity to show what the final design will look like

UI and UX design are the best IT careers in 2024 for those who can combine technology with creativity. Also, you can find UX/UI designer jobs that require a broader skill stack.



The salaries of specialists in this field depend entirely on their skills and experience. It is also influenced by the company and the region in which they work.

The average salary for a UI/UX designer in the United States is $70,000. Junior specialists usually start at an income level of $60,000, and in a Senior position, you can earn from $90,000 to $110,000 a year.

AR/VR Developer

Social media apps such as Snapchat, Instagram, TikTok have become a milestone in the use of augmented reality in the consumer sector. Pokémon Go, one of the most famous augmented reality apps, has been downloaded over 600 million times and has reached the pinnacle of VR gaming.

By 2027, the number of users in the AR/VR market is expected to reach 2.5 billion. This creates a favorable ground for the development of professions such as AR/VR developer.

Responsibilities of a VR/AR developer:

• Writing code and scripts to create VR/AR applications using platforms such as Unity3D, Unreal Engine or proprietary engines


• Implementing 3D modeling, animation and physics


• Integrating sensors, cameras and tracking devices for user input


• Incorporating 360-degree videos, images, and other multimedia into the VR/AR environment

AR/VR developers work for a variety of companies including technology, gaming, education, design and creative agencies, and startups specializing in VR/AR.

Benefits of working as an AR/VR developer:

• Career advancement. Since the VR/AR technology market is nascent, you can get high positions among the first.


• Flexibility. AR/VR developers can work remotely or as freelancers.


• Monetary rewards. According to Glassdoor, the average salary for a VR/AR developer in the US is $103 thousand per year.

To become a VR/AR developer in 2024, use the Merehead team's tips:

• Start by understanding basic programming languages like C#, C++ or JavaScript. These are used for AR/VR solutions.


• Become familiar with 3D graphics concepts including modeling, texturing, lighting, and animation. Explore the functionality of programs such as Blender, Autodesk Maya or 3ds Max.


• Choose a development platform that matches your interests and goals. For example, Unity3D and Unreal Engine.

Once you have mastered the foundation necessary for a junior professional, move on to designing your own projects and building your resume. Find the best jobs in 2024 on sites like Indeed, Glassdoor and Job2Careers.

Data Scientist

Choosing an IT career in 2024 can be tricky due to many trends and new technologies. Nevertheless, the success of any company depends more on how it handles data. That's why Data Scientists will be one of the most in-demand IT professions in 2024.

The data scientist identifies the questions their team needs to ask and figures out how to answer them with data. They often develop predictive models for theorizing and forecasting.

A data scientist may perform the following tasks daily:

• Finding patterns and trends in data sets to uncover deep insights


• Creating algorithms and data models to predict outcomes


• Using machine learning techniques to improve the quality of data or product offerings


• Deploying data analysis tools such as Python, R, SAS, or SQL

According to Lightcast, the average salary of a data scientist in the United States is $108,000 a year. Depending on your skills and the company you work for, this value can fluctuate in either direction.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, demand for data scientists is high. Job openings are expected to grow 36 percent over the next ten years. The increased need is due to the development of big data and its growing importance to business.

What skills should Data Scientists have in 2024?

Data Scientist is a relatively new IT profession that emerged in 2010. As technology has grown, the amount of data being processed has increased tenfold. This has allowed the market to open up new opportunities for IT enthusiasts worldwide.

To prepare you for the best year of your career, the Merehead team has compiled a list of what skills a Data Scientist should have in 2024, as follows:

• Advanced statistical analysis. This includes knowledge of statistical concepts, hypothesis testing, regression analysis, and other advanced statistical techniques.


• Big Data Technologies. You need to know Hadoop, Spark, and distributed computing.


• Programming and software development. The interview will include proficiency in languages such as Python and R.

The field of data science is constantly evolving, with new algorithms, tools, and methods emerging. Professionals must constantly learn, keep up to date with the latest advances, and actively seek opportunities for professional development.

Cloud Engineer

Cloud engineers are in high demand due to the growing popularity of cloud computing. So if you're still choosing your IT career in 2024, this may be what you're looking for!

Cloud computing is the process of providing computing services such as:

• servers


• storage


• databases


• analytics over the Internet.

It gives users on-demand access without the need for local infrastructure or hardware.



A cloud engineer works with customers to understand their needs and then creates customized solutions to help improve their business operations. Cloud engineers must have strong technical skills, project management, and customer service experience.

There are many roles, responsibilities, and directions associated with this job, such as:

• It includes the cloud computing system's hardware, software, networking, and security components.


• It focuses on the technical aspects of building and maintaining the cloud infrastructure.


• This includes building the applications that run on the cloud platform.


• This includes adding and removing users, configuring permissions, and managing security practices.

In addition to the ease and demand for the job, it's also essential for job seekers to know the salary level of IT jobs in 2024. A cloud engineer earns an average of 90 thousand annually in the USA.

Junior specialists can earn up to $70 000 at the initial stage. However, experienced engineers can earn more than 120 thousand dollars monthly with new knowledge.

What skills should a cloud engineer have in 2024?

To become a successful IT professional, you must constantly increase your knowledge and gain experience.



To stay on top of industry developments and trends, Merehead has prepared a must-have list of what a cloud engineer should know in 2024, namely:

• Technical skills. This includes experience with cloud technologies such as Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud Platform.


• Infrastructure as code. They should be able to use IaC tools such as Terraform, CloudFormation, or Azure Resource Manager to automate the creation and management of cloud infrastructure.


• Data Management. Professionals should be able to work with cloud-based database services such as AWS RDS, Azure SQL Database, or Google Cloud Spanner.

Every year there are new requirements for a cloud engineer's skills. This trend is related to the development of the IT industry as a whole and is the norm. Keep this in mind during your training.

Cloud engineering is one of the best IT careers of 2024. By starting to develop in this field today, you can achieve excellent results in the future.

Cybersecurity Analyst

A cybersecurity analyst protects computer networks from cyberattacks and unauthorized access. To do this, they try to anticipate and defend against threats and respond to security breaches when they occur.

Now, cybersecurity analysis is considered one of the most in-demand IT professions in 2024, as companies increasingly face fraud and unanticipated hacks. In addition, these experts are required in the crypto industry when building dex using web3 integrations.

While the day-to-day tasks of a cybersecurity analyst vary from company to company, here are a few duties taken from actual job postings:

• Monitoring network traffic for security incidents and events


• Investigating incidents and responding to events in real-time


• Installing and operating firewalls, encryption software, and other security software


• Research and correction of vulnerabilities

According to CyberSeek, the average annual salary listed in job postings for cybersecurity analysts in the United States is $107,000. That's nearly double the $61,900 listed for all professions.

How to become a cybersecurity analyst in 2024?

Starting a career in cybersecurity or transitioning from another niche usually involves developing new skills needed for the job.



To make sure you get a job in this field as soon as possible, the Merehead team has prepared steps to help you figure out how to become a cybersecurity analyst in 2024, specifically:

• Cybersecurity Basics. Explore risk assessment, secure network architecture, data encryption, and authentication.


• Network Security. Knowledge of network protocols, firewalls, intrusion detection and prevention systems, and secure network architecture.


• Security information and event management. Learn how to use SIEM solutions to analyze security events, correlate logs, and detect anomalies or potential security incidents.


• Threat Analysis. Learn sources and methodologies for gathering information about threats, actors, and attack methods.


• Cybersecurity is a rapidly evolving area of IT. To succeed, you must constantly learn and keep up with emerging threats, new technologies, and industry trends. Keep this aspect in mind throughout your career.
  

  Video game developer

  
  

  In 2023, 3.2 billion people are playing games. About 50% of them use a console, 27% use a PC, and 26% use mobile devices. The video game market needs new professionals who can create and customize games based on the growing needs of users.

  
  

Video game developers are involved in the creation of several elements of a game, including visual effects, user interface, and logic. They rely on sketches, storyboards, and ideas from designers to bring the game to reality.

Responsibilities of a video game developer:

• Developing new ideas for game design


• Transforming visual ideas into code


• Prototyping, iterating, and polishing the gameplay experience