The demand for Data Engineers recently rose around 45%, and with an average salary of about $111,000 or higher, a data engineering career comes with a lot of promise for job security. To position yourself for a top job as a Data Engineer, you’ll need to showcase the right skills and keywords on your resume.
Keep reading to learn how to build a Data Engineer resume, how to highlight your hard and soft skills, and the best keywords to include on your resume to grab the attention of employers.
What to include on your Data Engineer resume
Along with your skills, your resume should include things about you that help employers get in touch with you, understand what drives you, and what qualifies you for the position. Here’s the standard information to put on your resume.
Contact information
Always include your name, address, email address, and phone number at the top of your resume. That way it’s easy for the hiring manager to locate it when they’re ready to reach out to you. Also, keep in mind that using an email address derived from your real name isn’t just professional, but also a nice way to build your personal brand.
Your objective
While it’s not required, a brief declaration of what you’re looking to achieve helps the employer understand your sense of direction and what drove you to apply for the position.
Your objective statement can read something like this:
“Data Engineer looking for an entry-level position that allows me to implement natural language processing tools, as well as evaluate the workflow and increase the efficiency of data pipelines to help the organization accomplish its objectives.”
Experience
Your experience section should include:
All jobs you’ve held that somehow prepared you for the tasks you’ll perform in the position.
Real-world problems you’ve solved in past roles or courses
Experience you’ve gained doing volunteer work involving database skills, including teaching at coding camps or a school-based program
Hard skills for your Data Engineer resume
Data Engineers design, build and maintain databases. To show you can deliver actionable database solutions, you’ll want to highlight your technical skills on your resume. This includes your proficiency with different programming languages and applications, such as:
Coding languages for your Data Engineer resume
SQL: Structured Query Language (SQL) is used to program databases and manage how applications access the data in them. SQL is also used to analyze large volumes of data, including business data.
Python: Python is a programming language used for many different types of applications, including web apps, operating systems, machine learning, and mobile apps. Because these applications often depend on databases, you’ll want to show that you’re proficient with Python.
R: You use R to analyze data and develop software that presents data and recommendations in a way that makes it actionable for various stakeholders. It’s a programming language that’s central to the job of many data miners and statisticians.
Programs Data Engineers should show on their resumes
While showing your skill with the coding languages above, you’ll also want to showcase your ability to use the applications Data Engineers use on a daily basis. These include the following:
Apache: Apache is a software library used to process large sets of data in a clustered environment. A clustered design ecosystem makes it easier to manage how applications access the various dependencies they need to run. With Apache, you can build tools for a relatively small number of users or a fairly simple set of operations, but you can scale it quickly.
Because many different people and departments use data sets, the scalability of Apache is a useful asset for businesses. Showing your Apache skills on your resume can let an employer know that you can create and work with scalable data solutions.
Amazon Web Services and Redshift: Amazon Web Services is one of the leading platforms for designers, developers, and Database Engineers, and Redshift is a web services tool specifically made for warehousing data. A data warehouse refers to a database that applications and individuals can use to query and analyze data sets.
Because Amazon Web Services has become a go-to resource for many companies, showing you’re comfortable working with data in Redshift may make you an easy fit for a lot of businesses.
ETL tools: ETL stands for extract, transfer, load, and it’s a general term describing how data gets used and applied. Data is extracted, transferred to a useable format, and then loaded to a data warehouse.
ETL tools work by applying rules to the data to leverage them for business insights. As a Data Engineer, you would play a role in designing the rules according to your employer’s needs and interpreting the results outputted by the ETL tools.
C++: With C++, you can process as much as a full gig of data in one second. It’s often used to work with data sets when a predefined algorithm is not already manipulating them. C++ puts you, the Data Engineer, in the driver’s seat as you choose how to best analyze and present your data.
One of the main reasons you’ll want to show your C++ skills is because you can use them to perform predictive analysis. Predictive analysis is a key component of machine learning. Companies use it to help discover patterns and then predict what may happen given similar circumstances in the future.
If you highlight your C++ abilities, you may stand out as someone who’s comfortable working with big data, a useful ability in the modern business landscape.
Soft skills for a data engineer resume
In addition to these hard skills, you need the following soft skills to ensure your ideas are heard and you can work well with others.
Communication skills: Because you’ll have to listen to, learn from, and interact with teammates, executives, and other stakeholders, you’ll need to show you have strong communication skills. One way to do this is to use keywords like “worked with,” “outlined,” “interfaced with,” and “collaborated with” on your resume.
Presentation skills: A Data Engineer needs to turn numbers into compelling insights and then present them in a way that moves listeners to act, which requires presentation skills. Highlighting these on your resume can be easier if you use keywords pertaining to common presentation apps and tools. These may include PowerPoint, Google Slides, Canva, Beautiful.ai, and Genially.
As the demand for data engineering professionals continues to grow, many people are building rewarding and high-paying careers in this exciting field. And a polished resume that highlights the right skills and background can help you land an interview for your next Data Engineer role.
A Cybersecurity Analyst is responsible for monitoring a company’s computer infrastructure and network, keeping all of their sensitive information secure. Their specific responsibilities can vary widely but generally include:
Controlling access to files
Maintaining firewalls
Updating networks
Attempting to hack the systems they were hired to protect to find vulnerabilities
Just about every business you can think of needs a Cybersecurity Analyst because security risks are an ever-present danger for any system or program connected to the Internet. Hackers are always looking for new ways to exploit networks, damage systems, and steal data. It’s no wonder the number of cybersecurity job postings has grown over three times faster than the overall IT market since 2013.
With this demand, it really doesn’t matter if you graduated with a computer science degree, completed a boot camp, or taught yourself cybersecurity. Businesses are just looking to hire people with the right skills and technical experience to get the job done. Read on to see how you can land a job in this lucrative field.
Determine what you want to specialize in
There are many things you can do as a Cybersecurity Analyst, so you’ll want to start with an end in mind. While learning the basic skills that all Cybersecurity Analysts need is a necessity, specializing in one aspect of security will help you stand out in the marketplace. Here are a few specialties:
Cryptographer: Cryptographers use various encryption tools to keep sensitive information safe from attackers.
Penetration Tester: Penetration Testers attempt to hack a system to identify and address vulnerabilities.
Security Engineer: Security Engineers design systems and software that defend against cyberthreats.
Security Administrator: Security Administrators are similar to Security Engineers, but they’re responsible for an entire network.
Forensic Computer Analyst: Forensic Analysts solve data crimes by examining systems and software that have been attacked to determine who the culprits are and prevent similar attacks in the future.
Chief Information Security Officer (CISO): CISO’s are C-level executives who know the ins and outs of the cybersecurity landscape and are responsible for hiring and managing cybersecurity staff.
But this list is just the beginning. For more details, check out our article on six in-demand cybersecurity careers. Once you’ve decided which role you want to pursue, you can start building your skills.
Build your cybersecurity skills
Because cybersecurity involves working with various systems and networks, you’ll need a solid foundation of technical knowledge and skills. To start, check out our Introduction to Cybersecurity course to start learning essential concepts and basic cybersecurity practices. Once you’ve completed this, it’s time to building your skills.
Knowing the basics of coding will help you immensely, as you’ll better understand the various components of the networks and systems you’ll need to protect. Our Code Foundations Skill Path is a great way to learn basic coding principles and syntax. After, consider learning Python as the language is often used to write scripts that test a network’s security — which is a vital skill if you’re looking to become a Penetration Tester.
Make it through the hiring process
Once you’ve built your cybersecurity skills, it’s time to start applying for jobs. Below, we’ll briefly walk you through two key elements of the hiring process: portfolio building and interviewing.
Having a solid portfolio and being well-prepared for your interviews will not only give you more confidence but also help you stand out from other candidates and increase your chances of landing the job. Here are the steps involved.
Portfolio
Depending on which cybersecurity role you pursue, you may not need a portfolio — but it’ll definitely help you make a good impression. While you’re learning to code, take on projects that illustrate the skills you’ll need in your future career.
For example, as Penetration Testers need to be familiar with open-source scripts and software, you could contribute to an open-source pen-testing project on GitHub. Then, make sure you add a link to your LinkedIn account to show recruiters what you can do.
The first step in getting any cybersecurity job is the initial phone screening. Phone screenings allow employers to get a sense of your personality and how well you’d fit in as part of their team. You usually won’t have to get very technical on this first phone call. Just show your interest and enthusiasm for cybersecurity, and you should easily pass this step.
In-person or virtual interview
After you pass the phone screening, you’ll be invited to an actual interview. This may be held in person or over video chat. The interview length will vary based on the seniority of the open position, and the questions will be more specific than those in the phone screening.
This part of the interview process is a two-way street. The employer wants to determine if you can do the job, but your questions should help you decide whether or not you want to work for the company.
Technical interview
If the in-person or virtual interview goes well, the next step is a technical interview. This is where you’ll put the skills you learned to use, so review what you learned beforehand and practice your responses.
Technical interviews usually involve solving a technical problem similar to those you’ll face in the role. Don’t worry about having the right answer — your interviewer is far more concerned with your approach to solving a problem. As you work through your solution, be sure to explain your reasoning.
Getting started
Ready to launch your career in cybersecurity? There’s no better time to get started. The first step is to build your skills, and our Introduction to Cybersecurity course will get you going with the basics. After completing the course, you’ll know how to identify and protect networks and software against the most common cybersecurity threats and attacks.
Working remotely not only provides you with a comfortable, relaxing atmosphere, but it’s also great for the company you work for. Research shows that remote workers are between 35% and 40% more productive than those in an office.
In many ways, working remotely offers the best of both worlds, especially when it comes to tech jobs, which can pay well without requiring you to leave your home — or even your bed. Read on to learn about how the remote work movement is gaining momentum, as well as full-time and contract jobs you can do remotely.
Along with the 35% to 40% boost in productivity, remote workers also report being happier in their positions. Fostering a productive, positive environment has a ripple effect, resulting in better customer service and higher employee retention.
These benefits weren’t realized for many companies until much of the world was forced to embrace the remote workplace because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Now that working from home — or elsewhere — has become part of the new norm, the number of full-time and contract remote work positions has increased. Here are some of the top tech jobs you can do from anywhere you have reliable internet reception.
How to find tech jobs that can be done remotely
The internet has many websites that list remote work opportunities. Some of the options include:
You can also ask an employer if they would be OK with you working some or all of the time remotely. In some cases, a company may be willing to extend this provision to the right person, knowing they can get top talent by being a little flexible.
Full-time jobs that can be done remotely
Here are some full-time jobs you can do from home.
Front-End Web Developer
A full-time Front-End Web Developer can bring in around $104,280 a year — even while working remotely. As a Web Developer, you’d design web applications that help organizations meet their internal goals and engage with customers. As a Front-End Web Developer, your focus is on the user-facing elements, including the user interface (UI), which you leverage to create a positive and productive user experience (UX).
Your pay as a Front-End Web Developer reflects the importance of your job: You ensure that apps are useful and tweaked for optimal end-user performance. With our Front-End Engineer Career Path, you can gain the knowledge and experience you need to start your journey designing effective user-facing solutions. Because you can sign in to your company’s VPN or cloud environment and access the tools and resources you need, it’s easy to take the skills you learn in our courses and turn them into remote income.
A Back-End Web Developer
A Back-End Web Developer brings in an average of $120,010 a year. They design the inner workings of web apps — the elements you use but can’t see. Back-End Web Developers link apps’ dependencies to power their functions, such as databases, business logic, application programming interfaces (APIs), and hostname dependencies.
In our Back-End Engineer Career Path, you’ll learn what it takes to power business-critical apps, enabling companies to solve problems for themselves and their customers.
Software Engineer
Software Engineers perform a similar job as Web Developers, except their solutions are often run on users’ computers and devices instead of the internet. Even so, you can get all the tools you need to build applications on your laptop or within a cloud-native coding environment, making it easy to design apps full-time from home, a co-working space, or anywhere else with an internet connection.
Even when working remotely, you can enjoy an average full-time salary of $102,234, excluding bonuses, as a Software Engineer. Our Front-End Engineer, Back-End Engineer, and Full-Stack Engineer Career Paths can help you build the skills you need to get started.
Contract and freelance jobs you can do remotely
If a full-time role isn’t right for you, there are contract and freelance jobs that can be done from home. Here are a few options.
Cybersecurity Intelligence Analyst
A Cybersecurity Intelligence Analyst uses insights gained from studying cybersecurity threats to protect an organization and its networks. This is an ideal remote contract job because companies often prefer to hire intelligence analysts on a short-term basis, asking them to address a specific set of vulnerabilities instead of committing to a long-term role.
As a remote Cybersecurity Intelligence Analyst, your pay will depend on how many jobs you take, but the tasks will remain relatively uniform, involving:
Identifying the latest threats on the landscape
Pinpointing those most likely to impact your client
Ensuring that they have the protections they need to address any vulnerabilities
Our Introduction to Cybersecurity course can help you get started. It will teach you the essential concepts to build a career as a Cybersecurity Intelligence Analyst.
Network Engineer
A Network Engineer designs, implements, and tests computer networks. You can do this remotely on a contract basis because you just have to log into a company’s on-premise server or cloud environment to analyze, test, and suggest ways to improve their networks.
In this position, you’ll likely have to work with other IT staff, including those that install physical components, like firewalls, routers, access points, and servers. Using videoconferencing technology, communicating with these and other stakeholders is straightforward and in many ways more efficient than trying to do it in person.
We have several courses to support a career as a Network Engineer. Courses such as Learn Node.js and Learn Go help you become familiar with some of the languages Network Engineers encounter as they provide secure, effective ways for companies to connect with web-based apps.
Database Engineer
A Database Engineer designs and implements database solutions to:
Organize and process a company’s internal data
Analyze data to improve the experiences of customers
Provide the back-end database infrastructure that many applications depend on
As a Database Engineer working on a contract basis, you may be hired to design a solution, oversee its rollout, and then address any issues that arise in the future. You may also be charged with assessing the performance of existing databases and finding ways to improve or redesign them. Connecting to a database system remotely is simple with a VPN or a connection to a cloud-hosted solution.
Data analytics plays a pivotal role in the toolbox of a Database Engineer. Check out our Data Analyst Career Path to learn how to collect and analyze data.
Not only has the surge in popularity of remote work opened up more opportunities for professionals in tech to work from anywhere in the world with a reliable internet connection, but it’s also advanced how we work remotely — like improvements in virtual meeting technology and project management tools. If you’re looking to gain the skills and knowledge you’ll need to land a remote full-time role or take on remote freelance work, check out our online courses today.
My grandmother was a Black valedictorian. She couldn’t afford to go to college. Her family members were poor farmers, descendants of poor sharecroppers, descendants of slaves.
My father left the Bronx for an Ivy League school when he was 16, an “inner-city success story.” He entered an overwhelmingly white world that did not welcome him. His genius was blamed on affirmative action, and he faced scrutiny at every turn.
This is the problem. Everyone lauds the triumph of a Black student at a great college but no one wants to fix the system to make this triumph more common. They celebrate the exceptions, thinking that their existence means that every Black child can reach that height. But no one ever stops and wonders why these “Black valedictorian” stories are an “Ellen Show”-worthy exception and not a common occurrence.
This article spoke to me on a personal level. I, too, have felt the sting of being the only Black face in my A.P. classrooms. I fear being made into a perfect exception, held over other Black students’ heads. When people ask for my college list, I downplay my choices. I don’t want anyone to raise their eyebrows at my dreams that seem out of the ballpark for a typical Black girl.
We do not get anywhere with exceptionalism. We fix the gap with advocacy. The truly amazing thing about Black valedictorians is that they have a platform. And they can use it to shed light on a system that they have escaped.
Well, hello there. I’m a bot named Zerblock. I’ve been asked to explain the process, approach and criteria for the 2022 Learning System Awards and the 2021 Platinum and Diamond Picks.
I’m happy to answer any of your questions, with statements such as “What are you asking?”, “Do you want to read a document?”, “Is this the answer you are looking for?, and my bot favorite, “I do not understand”.
The great thing about my retorts is that they will provide you with witty banter about the awards, followed by snarky comments. It is as if, Craig, is the individual writing it under the nom de plume of Zerblock.
I will not deny this.
Learning System Awards
A lot of folks always ask me what I look or at when considering a system for a client, or when conducting an analysis, as part of my role as an analyst.
Well, there isn’t just one item per se, nor two or three, rather it is a series of capabilities and functionalities.
I’ve seen so many systems, and know exactly what to look for or focus upon, that in the first 90 seconds, I will know whether or not this is a system that will be in the “above average category” or in the “average and below category”.
The “What I am looking for” or “focusing on” plays a big role of course, when identifying any type of learning system and where it falls.
There are systems that score high on the learner side if you will, but average on the administration side. Or vice versa. Overall though when tied into the other capabilities, and responses to my inquiries – covering a variety of questions and understanding the vendor’s response or lack thereof, will identify where they slide.
If I see them in the above-average category and considering them for say a client, then they complete an extensive document, and from that, in combination with the “viewing of the system”, it will place them into a final slice of where they end up in consideration.
A few items I’ve learned over the years
Does not matter whether the vendor raised capital or not – Seriously, I have seen great systems that have zero in raised funds, and bad systems who raise a lot of capital
Client list means nothing. I can not stress this enough, if you are basing your decision on the vendor’s client list, you are going to be unhappy. Nobody ever provides me a list of clients, that are like “Barney’s House of Flies”. They will be well-known. I will look at them, and always ask “are you the exclusive vendor or the only learning system vendor, they have?” – Unless you ask specifically, they won’t share. It has no bearing on whether a system is good or not – this is because…
I see systems that in mind leaves my mouth “gaping” as in “what? Someone actually bought the this? And likes it?” Yes it is true. There are systems out there so uh, let’s just say Wallpaper from 1974 with that avocado fridge is considered modern compared to them. I just saw a system a few weeks ago, that slides into the “Yowsa” and not in a good way category. And there are systems that are “wowoowowoow” at a elite level that should have more clients then they actually do”. The point is, people pick systems for a variety of reasons, and unless you are them, you won’t definitely or at least usually know. There are vendors who do extremely well, who are super cheap. And there are systems that are elite, not cheap, and thus, do not have the a high number of clients.
Consumers rarely ask in-depth questions around end-user access from their home, especially when so many folks are working from home. I will always ask what is the minimum browser version your system will work with (and browser name) is very relevant. If I can’t see or maximize the system, because my browser version is outdated with the min specs from the vendor, then how beneficial is it really? Browser-agnostic is a misnomer.
Deciding Factors
Where a vendor slides into for these awards will be based on the following in addition to the completion of my entire template, targets, and something new this year, “skill level ratings”.
UI/UX Learner side – Slick is nice, but slick doesn’t tell the whole story. What does the learner see on the home page, can they move it around – i.e. static or not, is it relevant or just “there”. How do they find the content/courses? What does the catalog look like? Search? Types of filters? Navigation – user friendly or not? How do I get back to my learner home page? Easy or challenging? Browser click or quick click? Grid or Hierarchical look?
UI/UX – Administration side. Does it look dated or not? Can an administrator find/locate what they need quickly? Is the information/what it is – easily identifiable? Is the design user-friendly or not? What does the administrator home look like – this is when the admin logs in, what do they see?
When vendors redo their system, they usually focus first on the learner side. This is why you will see systems where the front end is amazing, and the admin side, is an avocado stove.
3. Learner Environment – Playlists/channels? AI? Content curation? And what can each of these do in the system? If the algorithm requires an end-user to complete a piece of content, which defeats why WBT aka online learning was created in the first place, that is a minus. On my template, you see quite a bit under LE, but when viewing a system, I zero in on these items and the learner experience too.
4. Skills – What skill functionality do you have? The more is yes, in this case, the better. Skill ratings – okay, do you explain what each level means? Self-validate, manager validate, others validate? Skills tied to content/courses? Skill or skills playlist? Can I select my own skills at the beginning before entering the system, or somewhere during my experience in the system? Can I change or add skills? Skill coaching? Skills tied to boot camps or scenario-based learning or some other type? If you offer interests on top of skills, definitely a nice add.
5. vILT and event management – This is the new world where webinars, are going to be huge versus ILT F2F (excluding blue-collar, front-line – where ILT will still be a must). Beyond the basics, what else can you do? SMS notifications? Whatsapp notification? Ability to accept 3rd party external training?
6. Admin Functionality – I want it all. Okay, not all, because that can be overpowering like skunk surprise. To get an idea, look at my template under admin and you will see what I look for in each and every system.
7. Metrics – Can’t get any bigger than this. All the other items above along with some other features such as social, gamification, compliance, and so on, data drives learning and training. I need to know what you – the learner does not know, needs help in, faces challenges, acquires or is missing skills and the list goes on. What metrics come with the system? Views? Worthless. What else do you have? Do you offer advanced analytical – could be similar to a BI (Business Intelligence) or not. Does it cost extra or is it included? What about data visualization? Does it look like Excel pie and bar charts or something more modern, such as heat maps, spiders, and so forth? Can I see the data points? Slice and dice? Do you have an LRS? If yes, what data can be extracted from that, that you are not showing in your system? Can you turn that on? I’ll toss in reports here, but they really based on, hold on, data – which comes from those metrics.
8. Intangibles – Do you have a mobile app where I can get a digital signature, after certain items are completed, as a way to validate and verify that they have been completed satisfactorily? (A must-have for compliance). Can I white-label your mobile app? ( A huge you want if you are providing customer education/training – I mean do you want your customers to see WidgetLMS or your name in the Google Play or iTunes Store? Do you offer deep configuration (the majority of vendors do not)? If yes, how/what can be done? There are vendors who can totally overhaul their LMS, so what you get looks nothing like what everyone else sees or gets. I should add – that Deep config and white-label mobile apps are not free. And that deep configuration goes way past what you get whenever you =buy a system.
Can I share content on social media sites beyond Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, and LinkedIn? I can count on one hand the number of vendors that offer the ability for you to share content on Instagram, Whatsapp, and others. Tik-Tok? Same hand. How long does it take you to implement a system – assuming deep configuration does not apply. Nowadays anything longer than three months from signing off on a project plan is too long (excluding deep configuration). Do you offer online proctoring? Do you offer managed services? (This is going to be big in the next two years, and a competitive advantage for vendors). Do you have a content marketplace? If yes how many partners?
9. Support and Service. It continues to be the number one reason people hate/dislike and/or leave their system. Yet, buyers rarely go in-depth about it. I do.
Support and service always play a role in my ratings/rankings and this year, those vendors who have agreed to a stringent certification program around support (with checks and balances) will get increase weight and points in this category than others. You will never find a vendor who tells you their support stinks or is awful. It won’t happen. Yet, I can tell you that I know vendors who are fully aware of how bad their support is, and yet, they continue to tell prospects it is outstanding. The CEPstrips that away and shows you the vendors that will go through an independent process to validate. Hence it should carry additional weight and consideration in terms of support.
True Story
Once a day, I take my dogs for a car ride and go to McDonald’s to get a Coke. One MCD is 10 minutes from my home (one-way). Another is 20 minutes (one-way). I drive to the one, that R/T will take me 40 minutes. Why?
Because that one has outstanding customer service. They are friendly, polite and professional. They can brighten your day, just by a smile. You can tell the owner of that location, sees customer service as very important. The other location, the one closer? Rude. You get a lot of “Yeah, what do you want” when you go thru the drive-through. They make mistakes. You can leave angry and frustrated. They just don’t care.
I think we wall want that MCDs that does care. And that is the value of real customer service. Not just saying it, but showing it as well.
NexGen is looked at and while I have not yet published my Tier 5 of NexGen, I will in the coming month. There you will be able to see what I define as Tier 5, but feel free to look at Tier 4, which is considered under NexGen too.
Targets
This isn’t something you will notice when you look at a system, but I do. If I see a system that says they focus on the customer education/partner training segment, then I am expecting certain features and functionality, such as multi-tenant and e-commerce. If they are focusing solely on employees then I am looking at other functionality, such as the “job role” component. Job roles tied to skills, tied to content would be one.
If I am targeting employees, I might offer a career mapping component or “opportunities” option, normally add-ons.
Since the majority of the market are combo systems, then I should see a duality of capabilities each focused on those specific targets. A combo system will always skew more towards employees. That’s just reality.
System Types
It is not fair to compare a TXP to an LXP or an LXP to a Skills-focused platform or an LMS that focuses solely on compliance against an LMS in general.
If you are a vendor who says they are an LMS with an LXP component or vice-versa, then by golly you better have those features that clearly show that. The former is more common these days when it comes to that, and yet, I see vendors who do not have all the basics to be an LXP (there are four).
Vendors can call themselves whatever they want, but for my awards, I based them into one of the following:
LMS (can also be LMS with LXP)
LXP (can also be LXP with LMS)
TXP – These are talent dev systems with LXP components. Degreed is a TXP. EdCast XP is a TXP. Schoox is a TXP.
Learning Platform (can also be a Digital Learning Platform or Adaptive Learning Platform or Skills Platform)
Training Management System (There are like five that are legit TMS – which is heavy around scheduling)
Skills metric platforms. It’s all about metrics. UI is not strong here. Not at all.
Skill Level Ratings
Something new this year.
Each system will receive three skill ratings.
Learner – What kind of skill level will someone need to utilize the system to its full capabilities on the learner side?
Administrator – What skill level will someone need to successfully use the system with the items/function they will need to deliver and achieve what they want and need to utilize the system to its full potential?
Overall Skill Rating
Award Opportunities
Besides the 2022 Learning System Awards and sub-categories that are within, I have added two new awards – that cover the end of 2021.
The yearly awards are predicated on the upcoming year, obviously, and based on trends; but let’s face it, a vendor can be a shooting star at the beginning and for whatever reason, fizzle out, or be never heard of, and wham – sign me up!
Hence two more awards.
Platinum Pick
You can be an award winner for 2022, and still be a Platinum pick for 2021. Or you can be a Platinum Pick and not an award winner for 2022 (Which covers only the top 10 learning systems, but 11-20 are presented too via my blog and mini-report).
The Point is, if you are awarded a Platinum Pick you are in the top 30 learning systems in the world.
Diamond Pick
You are in the 31 to 50 range in the world. Not bad company, I would say.
Platinum and Diamond Picks will be covered and fully announced in mid-October – with a special blog post. But don’t be surprised if you see winners being slowly announced via my thread on LinkedIn.
The Bottom Line
They say you can’t go home, and yeah, that is probably true, but folks still do it anyway. But as with anything, what they remembered back then, isn’t what it looks like today.
The farm land has been replaced with homes and commercial buildings. The sound of silence, replaced with noisy cars and trucks.
Awards are sort of like that. They do change – year after year. One minute you are in the land of Twix barsand the next, you are chilling with Necco Wafers (which should be banned planet wise, sorry Mom).
Bots for example, should not be allowed in learning systems, yet here they are.
A new economic infrastructure, built through innovations such as cloud computing, big data, and artificial intelligence, is propelling work into the “next normal.” In this digital era, career success will depend on the ability to continuously adapt alongside technology. This affects not just the way we work, but fundamentally, the skills we learn. As the institutional bridge between education and work, universities must increasingly ensure that students are equipped with job skills necessary to thrive in this digital world.
These are important topics for university leaders to consider as they prepare students for the workforce:
How can higher-educational institutions embrace digital capabilities to keep pace with the accelerating rate of technological change?
How can educators both identify and anticipate the skills of the future?
How can existing programs of study be reconfigured to ensure that students are job-ready?
Coursera’s latest e-book, Curriculum Mapping for Student Employability, addresses these questions head-on. With more than 86 million learners, 4,000 academic institutions, 300 government entities and 2,000 organizations having used the Coursera platform (as of June 2021), Coursera is uniquely positioned to help higher education institutions align with the skill needs of the modern workforce. The curriculum maps presented in this eBook converge these rich insights with expert curations led by Coursera’s Skills Transformation team.
The six custom curriculum maps featured in this eBook serve as a proposed guideline for universities looking to integrate online learning. Each map demonstrates how universities can leverage courses on Coursera to close present-day gaps and empower students to develop job-ready skills.
This blended learning curriculum for computer science can help students to gain critical AI skills with online courses [blue]
This blended learning curriculum for business administration can help students to gain critical data analysis skills with online courses [blue]
Depending on their institutional priorities and policies, universities can incorporate online courses into their curricula as either for-credit offerings or multidisciplinary electives. In the coming months, Coursera will release several features to facilitate such integrations. The first of these features will recommend courses, organized by academic discipline, that universities can consider offering for credit to their students.
By enhancing their core curriculum with content on Coursera, universities can design forward-thinking learning programs effectively and at scale. The results—improved employment outcomes for graduates, deepened understanding of emerging skills among educators, and a more robust talent pipeline for employers—will benefit stakeholders within higher education and far beyond.
For more insights and all six curriculum maps, download the full report here.
You’ve worked hard to improve your existing computer skills and even learn new ones. But, if you don’t list those hard-earned computer skills on your resume, how will potential employers know that you stand above and beyond all the other applicants?
In this article, we’ll go over what computer skills are, take a look at some examples, and explain how to list them in your resume.
What are computer skills?
Computer skills are those you need to operate a computer, computer software, or computer components (a.k.a. hardware). Computer skills can be as basic as navigating a browser and using a search engine or as specialized as designing and managing a corporate IT network. In this article, we’ll focus specifically on computer skills related to software and development.
You might be asking: Does that mean that anyone who can use a computer has computer skills? Technically, yes. But, when it comes to listing them on your resume, you’ll want to focus on the specialized computer skills that you’re particularly good at and will help you succeed in the job. For example, while almost everyone can use a spreadsheet application like MS Excel, you could draw attention to your knowledge of its advanced functions.
Examples of the best computer skills to list on your resume
There’s no ultimate list of the best computer skills to list on your resume.
Depending on your background and the job you’re applying to, you’ll want to emphasize some skills over others. The exact skills you’ll need to highlight will be included in the job posting, but below, we’ve put together a list of common computer skills that employers look for on resumes.
Web development
Back-end development
Application/software development
Spreadsheet applications
MS Excel, including VBA
Pages
Google Sheets
Data science and analytics
Email and communications
MS Outlook
MS Word and PowerPoint, including VBA
Constant Contact
Mailchimp
Don’t worry if you’re not proficient with all of these computer skills. Again, the skills you should focus on depend on your particular career path and the specific job description.
How to list computer skills on your resume
It’s one thing to have a set of valuable computer skills, but what’s the best way to communicate them to employers? Here are a few tips for listing your computer skills on your resume.
Have a dedicated computer skills section
Jobs in development require advanced, specialized computer skills, which is why you should list yours in a dedicated section after your professional experience and education. Having a dedicated section also allows you to organize your computer skills by skill type and add details such as certifications and proficiency levels (more on all that below).
Stick to the most relevant computer skills
As you list your computer skills, read the job description in detail, and think about which skills matter most for the job. Chances are that the job description will explicitly call out a few desired skills (e.g., “Knowledge of SQL a plus”). In other cases, you’ll want to read between the lines. For example, if the job description includes website management, you’ll want to emphasize your skills in HTML.
We know you’ve worked hard to build all of your computer skills, and so it can be tempting to list each one on your resume — but we recommend against this. By sticking to your most relevant computer skills, not only will you save precious space on your resume, but you’ll also show the hiring manager that you’ve read the job description thoroughly and understand which skills will help you succeed in the role.
Include certifications
If you have an official certification or a certificate of completion after taking an online course, go ahead and add these next to your skills. Certifications are a great way of showing your employer that you’ve achieved a high level of competence in a given skill.
Don’t be afraid to show off your relevant skills
Even if you haven’t mastered a particular computer skill, as long as you have basic proficiency with it, go ahead and list it on your resume if it’s required for the job. During the interview, you can always mention that you’re willing to further develop your computer skills to prepare yourself for the role.
If you know that there’s a key computer skill you need for the job but are in the middle of completing a course, make a note of it on your resume. That way, your employer knows that you understand the job’s requirements and are working to fulfill them.
That said, if you’re not proficient or comfortable with a particular computer skill, don’t make it look like you’re a pro. You never know when you’ll be expected to show your expertise during the interview or when you start the job.
Your resume is the place to let your computer skills shine
Remember that most hiring managers only spend a few seconds looking through each of the hundreds of resumes they receive. Your resume is your biggest chance to show that you’re worth interviewing. Don’t be shy about listing the computer skills that make you the best candidate for the job.
If you’ve just started your journey toward becoming a developer, you may not know exactly which computer skills you should start learning. That’s why we recommend taking a look at our Career Paths, which help guide you in building all the computer skills you need to succeed in your new career as a developer.
As a result, many companies are looking outside the college ranks for their top talent, looking for people who can do the work even if they don’t have a degree.
Employers are realizing the best way to close the skills gap is through, well, skills. And they’re willing to invest in the right people. Keep reading to learn the highest paying jobs that don’t require degrees, their salaries, what the roles involve, and which courses you can take to land a great position — with or without a degree.
A Full-Stack Web Developer handles the design and deployment of web applications that companies use to serve their customers and improve their processes. As a Full-Stack Developer, you’d provide solutions involving both front-end and back-end development — designing everything a company needs to release its web app.
Full-Stack Developers have to know how to build the parts of the web and mobile applications that users interact with, as well as the components they don’t see. This requires working with both the design elements that create an effective, comfortable user experience and the technologies that support the app’s function. Some of these include:
Web servers and gateways
Virtual environments
Databases
Business logic that governs how the application produces outputs
Application programming interfaces (APIs)
All of these elements and more work together, and a Full-Stack Web Developer interweaves them to create a productive app. If you’re ready to start exploring the world of full-stack development, check out our Full-Stack Engineer Career Path.
Just like a Commercial Architect designs usable solutions for people working and residing in buildings, a Network Architect designs solutions for the networks people use day-to-day.
A Network Architect is in charge of ensuring that a network is available to users, ready to support an organization’s processes, and secure. As a result, they often have to leverage:
Wide area networks (WANs)
Software-defined wide-area networking (SD-WAN)
Public and private cloud network architectures
Hybrid networks
On-premises data centers
Hybrid data centers involving both on-premise and cloud processing
Unified communications systems involving texting, videoconferencing, email, and phone services
Network security vendors
Network security hardware appliances, such as firewalls
Essential to the performance of a Network Architect’s job is an understanding of the role coding plays in the various systems that make up a network. To get started with computer networking, you can use our Code Foundation’s Career Path.
As a Cybersecurity Analyst, you’d use hardware and software to protect an organization’s network and the devices people use to connect to it. A Cybersecurity Analyst also has to ensure the people and devices that connect to the network are what they claim to be and have the right to access any given area of the network.
This requires the use of a wide range of tools, such as:
A Computer Systems Programmer’s day-to-day work involves making sure operating systems are performing well for an organization’s users. Some of the common systems programmers work with include Windows, macOS, and Linux.
The applications and systems that computers run can only work if their operating systems are optimized for their performance. A Computer Systems Programmer adjusts settings and writes code that makes systems run better while reducing vulnerabilities that could threaten the cyber safety of the organization. This programmer may work with programming languages such as:
A knowledge of these languages helps you understand how computers and their software works, as well as discover ways of making them work better. Our full line of courses can prepare you for a lucrative career as a Systems Programmer. You can start with the following courses:
A Computer Hardware Engineer works with computer systems, designing, testing, and deploying them to the point where they’re powerful tools for an organization. As opposed to developers, who work more with software, a Hardware Engineer’s job involves the physical tools that make computers run better, faster, and more efficiently.
For example, a Hardware Engineer may be charged with deciding which processors and memory devices do the best job of helping employees perform a specific task. Computer Hardware Engineers also have to help optimize networks by choosing the best components and ensuring they’re configured correctly. As a Hardware Engineer, you may find yourself working with:
Circuit boards
Processors
Memory
Servers
Routers
Access points
Knowing how coding improves the function of hardware devices and the processes they serve is essential to being a successful Hardware Engineer. To start learning about the coding that supports computer systems, you can take our Code Foundations Career Path.
As many companies expand and change by digitizing their processes, results tend to carry more weight than diplomas, and you can definitely earn a high salary without a college degree. With our courses, you can gain not only the knowledge needed to succeed in these high-paying jobs but also a strong portfolio of work you can bring to the interview to help you stand out — even without a college degree. Get started for free today.
Two years ago, Delaney Preston was just starting her online public health degree, logging on as part of Michigan Public Health’s first cohort of online master’s students in the Population and Health Sciences program.
Ahead of her graduation, Delaney caught up with the School of Public Health to share what factors made her time studying online such a success: the flexibility of her online degree, the continual support from the School of Public Health team, and the rich community in her online cohort.
The recent grad attributes much of her success to the flexibility of the online degree program. “With this program being online, it was a lot easier to commit to a few live lectures and do the rest when I was ready. It’s easier to stay motivated when I can do the work when I have the time and mental energy to focus on it.”
During her program, Delaney was able to take advantage of professional opportunities that may not have been possible with another master’s program. The online nature of the MPH program allowed her to “[continue taking] these amazing and valuable travel assignments that make my job amazing…I was able to go on trips, gain professional experience, and still keep moving forward with my school work because I could access it from anywhere.”
Since beginning the program, Delaney’s life has changed a lot. She accepted her dream job and moved across the country, from Michigan to Alaska. At the start of her second year in the program, Delaney packed up to join Bristol Bay Area Health Corporation as a Health Educator in the midst of the pandemic, all while continuing her studies online. She explains that, during her job search, she was able to hold out for the role she was most excited about and notes that she was “amazed at the options” she had after a year of study.
When reflecting on how her education and experiences with Michigan Public Health prepared her for life after graduation she cites the support she received during her time in the program. “When I have had concerns come up in my job that need help with, I brought those into class, to my classmates. And the projects I worked on have been extremely connected to the work that I’m doing at my job.” In addition to getting this support from her program, she was also able to take advantage of guidance from the University of Michigan School of Public Health Career Development Office which is focused on bridging the gap between school training and professional goals.
As Delaney looks back on her time in the Population and Health Sciences program, the thing that surprised her most about the experience is how connected she was able to become to her classmates and professors.
“As an online cohort, we were absolutely still able to connect…All the professors have been so supportive. I felt more support and connection in this master’s program—even being online and four time zones away—than I did in my in-person undergrad experience. I think that has a lot to do with the size of our cohort and often feeling like we’re just having a conversation. In those smaller settings where we’ve got five to 10 classmates, you get to know each other and share opinions and ideas. I’ve been so pleasantly surprised at that connection.”
The Michigan School of Public Health’s Master of Public Health and Master of Science in Population and Health Sciences provide students with flexibility, career support and services, and a passionate, connected community. These factors prepare students like Delaney for a successful future as leaders in the field of public health.
Productivity is a very difficult skill to measure. It’s not something you can get a degree in or pass a test to prove you have it. But employers know it when they see it and they value it above almost every other skill an employee can possess. Time is money in every industry and so productivity translates into profit.
Upskilling to become more productive across a wide range of tasks adds up to make you a much more efficient employee in general. When you maximise your time to get the most out of it, your employer will notice that you manage your workload more successfully than others. This makes productivity one of the key attributes for earning promotions because employers want the efficient people running the show and teaching others how to be equally as productive. By taking these five courses, you’ll be taking the first steps towards a well-earned promotion!
Why Do Later What You Can Do Now?
Having the skills required to successfully complete a task is only half the battle to getting things done. Equally as important is the motivation and willpower necessary to get things done promptly and efficiently. Learning to Beat Procrastination will have an immeasurably positive knock-on effect on your career because you’ll find that you not only have more time to get things done, but you’ll have more brain space and energy to devote to your other tasks.
The Need for Speed
The overwhelming majority of jobs require you to type at some stage during the work day. Writing emails, notes, copy – whatever it is that fills your time – you’ll be able to do it a lot more efficiently if you complete our Touch Typing Training course. Countless hours are wasted over the course of a week simply because most employees have never actually taken a course in this fundamental skill that they use everyday!
Saving Time by Writing Minutes!
Taking Meeting Minutes is vital for the successful running of a business because it provides everyone with an accurate record of decisions taken and plans agreed. It facilitates moving forward as much as it documents what has already taken place. Minute taking can be a tricky business in a high octane meeting and so being able to quickly and correctly take down what is being discussed and decided is a skill that will mark you out as an exceptionally efficient employee.
Know Your Tools
No matter how well you think you know the software you use on a daily basis, you should always seek out new ways to use it more effectively and productively. This not only increases your personal capacity to work more efficiently, it makes you the workplace expert in a vital area. If you’re the one your colleagues go to with questions about how they can improve their performance, then you’ll stand out for your employers. Google Docs – Increased Productivity is a course that will mark you out as an employee who is truly ahead of the curve.
Time is on Your Side
This course on How to Manage Your Time is not just a great way to improve your work capacity, it’s also a great way to improve your work-life balance. So much time is wasted every day through poor time management which can be easily remedied. Successfully utilising every minute of your work day is the best way to improve your performance and cause your stock to rise with your employer. Good time management won’t just make you a better worker, it will also free up more time for you to enjoy life outside of work
