7 Surprising Trends That Show What Tech Skills You Need to Succeed

Here's a good read for anyone job-hunting right now: 7 surprising trends that show what tech skills you need to succeed.

The findings are based on an analysis of data from Dice.com, a leading website for tech jobs.  So the conclusions can be taken with a grain of salt, since it's not based on an industry-wide survey.  There's a heavy tilt toward IT, over web design. 

I'm always amazed at the completely different attitudes of enterprise computing and web development.  Businesses not in tech seem to be conservative, usually sticking to expensive, proprietary systems.  Stability and reliability are prized above innovation.  Not a bad thing, especially when they're handling sensitive data like credit-card accounts.  In contrast, web developers are enthusiastic early adopters, and always eager to learn new, free, open-source technologies.

For me, the parts that got my attention were the two Top 5 lists of languages.  Like my Pacific New Media instructor Bill Morrison said, JavaScript is a good one to know.  Especially for front-end development.  My impression is that most web apps nowadays use JavaScript or one of its frameworks (like jQuery) to create user interfaces.  It will get even hotter if that new framework Node.js becomes popular.

Python is a programming language that keeps getting recommended to me from many sources and people.  When I was at an Apple mobile development presentation, the lead developer of an iPad app said you have to know Objective C.  However, he said it's actually better to study Python first, and you'd learn faster than jumping directly into Objective C.  Anybody else agree with that? 

Several major corporations are fans, e.g. "Python is the main scripting language used at Google." (link)  If it's good enough for them . . .

What do you guys think?  Any skills you felt were unrepresented?