Technologists are optimistic about salary increases over the next six months, according to a new survey.

Hired’s 2021 State of Tech Salaries report surveyed 1,200 tech professionals about their career plans, including salary expectations and their approach to benefits and flexible work. Based on the data, it’s clear that the vast majority expect their salaries to either stay the same or increase noticeably over the next six months: 

But salaries don’t just increase on their own—unless your organization is offering the entire workforce a pay bump, you’ll likely need to demonstrate that you have in-demand skills and experience in order to land a noticeably larger paycheck. And which skills do employers particularly want at the moment?

Research firm O’Reilly recently asked respondents to a wide-ranging survey about which areas of technology they thought would have the biggest impact on salary and promotions. As you might expect, some 63 percent said machine learning, a highly specialized skill that companies are intensely interested in; other tech on the list included programming languages, data tools, cloud/containers, and automation. 

Another study showed a variety of corporate use-cases for artificial intelligence and machine learning, including sales, CRM, chatbots, cybersecurity, and marketing automation—all things important to small and large organizations alike.And according to Burning Glass, which collects and analyzes millions of job postings from across the country, jobs that heavily involve machine learning are predicted to grow 76.3 percent over the next 10 years. 

In addition to mastering a specialized skill-set, it’s also important to negotiate effectively for any salary bump. When sitting down with your manager to discuss a raise, make sure to show your value, stay flexible about numbers, and remember that you can negotiate for more than money—many technologists these days are leveraging their work for added benefits such as flexible schedules.