![dr_fsgrSkills_2016_5.png Main image of article Dice Report: Fastest-Growing Tech Skills](/binaries/medium/content/gallery/dice/insights/2016/04/dr_fsgrSkills_2016_5.png)
In a marketplace where in-demand technology skills are ever-changing, it’s crucial for tech recruiters to familiarize themselves with the latest trends in order to stay competitive in the market. Tech professionals have told Dice that their big career concerns include finding an acceptable position to match their skillset and keeping that skillset up-to-date. Dice recently leveraged job postings and data from our annual tech salary survey to analyze the fastest-growing skills*, and found that the following are driving the most salary growth:
Spark
With job postings up 120% year-over-year on Dice, demand for this open-source cluster-computing framework is broad-based. Government contractors and financial-services firms are just a few of the groups eager to find candidates with this skillset. 2015 Average Salary: $113,214
Big Data and Cloud
As companies expand their tech infrastructures, they need cloud and Big Data services such as Azure (#2), Hive (#8) and Cassandra (#9) for data storage, analysis and security. Big Data and cloud-related skills dominated the Highest Paid Skills list on Dice’s salary survey for the second straight year. 2015 Average Salary: Big Data: $121,328 Azure: $110,207
Salesforce
This customer-service platform serves as the bedrock for many companies’ customer service departments. Demand for Salesforce professionals seems unlikely to decline anytime soon. Employers are even willing to offer telecommuting options to lure Salesforce talent. 2015 Average Salary: $107,810
JIRA
JIRA, a project-management platform that’s free for open-source projects and nonprofits, has enjoyed an increasing rate of adoption over the past few years. With software teams always on the lookout for professionals with project-management experience, counting JIRA among your core skills is a great way to stand out. 2015 Average Salary: $111,103 The message to tech recruiters is clear: tech professionals honing these skills are taking advantage of opportunities now. *Skill must have more than 1,000 postings to be included in this analysis.