If you spent most of 2020 watching the job market contract, the current state of tech hiring probably feels surreal. The freeze broke months ago, and the market has swung hard in the other direction. The data backs up what recruiters have been telling you: tech hiring is not just recovering, it’s moving fast.

CompTIA’s analysis of Bureau of Labor Statistics data shows the tech industry added nearly 18,000 jobs in a single month, with technology services and software development leading the charge. Job postings have rebounded sharply. According to recent reports, approximately 45% of technology firms report having unfilled roles, with no relief in sight. This matters to you because it means companies are desperate to fill positions, and they’re willing to be flexible about how and where they find people.

The talent shortage that hit tech hard even before the pandemic has only gotten worse. A global shortage of more than 40 million skilled tech workers is pushing employers to compete aggressively for available candidates. That’s the bargaining power you’ve been waiting for, and it’s here now.

Which Roles Are Hiring Hardest

Not all tech jobs are created equal right now. Some niches have moved from competitive to absolutely desperate for talent.

Cloud engineering is leading the charge. Nearly every organization accelerated cloud migration during the pandemic, and the demand for people who can architect, deploy, and manage cloud infrastructure has outpaced the supply dramatically. AWS and Azure certifications are more valuable than they’ve ever been, and companies are posting cloud roles at above-market salaries just to get candidates’ attention.

DevOps continues to be a perennial shortage. The infrastructure investment that came with the pandemic remote work shift meant that most organizations now had formal DevOps teams, or needed them urgently. If you have experience with CI/CD pipelines, containerization, or infrastructure-as-code, you’re looking at a strong market.

Security is the third pillar of the current market. The push to remote work created security problems that corporate teams couldn’t solve fast enough, and cybersecurity has become a C-suite priority. Cloud security is the fastest-growing specialization within that space, with projected growth of over 100% in five years. Security engineers and architects are being recruited aggressively across all industries, not just tech. The skills that matter most: Azure security, Google Cloud security, AWS security, and cloud security architecture.

Database administration and technical support engineering salaries have both jumped over 12% year-over-year, suggesting these roles are filling critical gaps. The shortage isn’t just in the sexy stuff.

Salary Movement

Technologist salaries rose an average of 6.9% between 2020 and 2021. That’s above inflation and above typical annual increases. Silicon Valley continues to lead with a median of $133,000, but the most aggressive growth came from secondary markets. Pittsburgh saw a 14% year-over-year increase, Atlanta rose 13.9%, and Chicago jumped 12.6%. If you’re not in a major tech hub, your local market is getting hotter.

The data also reveals something important: 48% of tech professionals who found pay increases in the past year did so by changing companies. Staying in place rarely gets you the raise you deserve. Moving gets results.

That said, 47.8% of tech workers still reported feeling underpaid, so the salary growth hasn’t solved the equity problem. You need to be strategic about how you position yourself for the roles that are actually moving the market.

Positioning Yourself in This Market

The shortage means companies have less ability to screen out candidates who don’t check every single box. They’re more willing to train on specifics if you have the fundamentals and the hunger. Use that to your advantage.

Start by building depth in one of the high-demand areas. If you’re early in your career, cloud certifications matter more right now than they have in years. A CompTIA Security+, AWS Solutions Architect Associate, or Azure Administrator certification will open doors that were tighter just twelve months ago. Certifications matter because they’re proof that you invested time to learn specific skills, which is exactly what companies need to see when they’re hiring fast.

If you’re already mid-career, add cloud or security to your existing skill set. If you’re a sysadmin, learn AWS. If you’re a developer, learn secure coding and container security. The cross-functional candidates are winning because the shortage is pushing people toward full-stack responsibility. The IT skills shortage is your biggest opportunity, and the current market proves that thesis.

A visible portfolio or GitHub presence has more weight now than it did a year ago. If you’re a developer, your code matters more than your resume. If you work in ops, documentation of infrastructure you’ve built, automation scripts, or lab setups demonstrate that you actually know how to do the work. Companies are hiring faster and have less time to run elaborate interview processes, so your track record needs to speak.

Networking is still table stakes, but remote work has changed how networking works. You can’t rely on the conference circuit or local meetups in the same way. Instead, focus on being active in Slack communities, Discord servers, and online forums specific to your specialization. If you’re into cloud security, participate in cloud security discussions. If you’re a DevOps person, contribute to infrastructure-focused communities. This isn’t about being fake or performative; it’s about being visible where the people who make hiring decisions actually spend time.

The budgets exist right now to fund your growth. IT budgets for 2021 are being written right now, and they’re fat with money for hiring and training. Companies are not just hiring aggressively; they’re also investing in professional development. If you can frame your request as solving a business problem, internal transfers or sponsorships for certifications are easier to get now than they will be in a slower market.

Remote work has fundamentally expanded who companies can hire. If your local market is thin, you can now apply to roles across the country without relocation. The geographic expansion of the talent pool works in your favor if you’re in a smaller city or region. A company in San Francisco or New York doesn’t have to hire only from their area anymore, which means you’re competing nationally instead of just locally. That’s good news if your local market is weak and brutal news if you’re competing against the entire country. The way to win is to be exceptional at something specific, not adequate at everything.

The Catch

The red-hot market comes with a catch worth naming. This is a seller’s market for employers right now, which sounds backward, but the abundance of open positions and shortage of candidates means they’re trying to fill roles quickly with minimal friction. That creates opportunity, but it also means the hiring bar gets lower while the role requirements stay the same. You might end up in a job where you’re expected to do three jobs at once because the hiring process moved too fast for anyone to realize they needed three people.

Go into this market with your eyes open. The shortage is real, the bargaining power is real, but you’ll want to ask hard questions about what you’re actually signing up for. A title bump and a 20% raise mean nothing if the job burns you out in six months.

The moment matters. The hiring freeze of 2020 was brutal, but it’s over. If you’ve been holding back on a job search, waiting for candidates to come back, holding out for perfect timing, this is the moment to move. Companies are hiring, budgets are open, and your skills are worth more than they were a year ago. Prepare yourself strategically, position yourself where the shortage is hottest, and push.

The market is on your side.