5 LUCRATIVE TECH CAREERS IN NIGERIA IN 2023
The tech sector in Nigeria has seen a significant boom over the past few years and this is not surprising given the large population of youth in the country which make up a large part of those that are currently into tech.
It is one of the fastest growing sectors in the country and a lot of skill-building schemes focus on teaching tech-related skills because of the amazing earning potential when compared to other kinds of sectors.
According to the Center for Global Development, the tech sector has seen a growth of 18% between 2016 and 2019. In addition to that, the tech sector also contributed 15% of Nigeria’s GDP (gross domestic product) in 2020, despite the COVID-19 pandemic.
In 2023, the opportunities in the tech sector continue to grow and I’ll be providing you with five lucrative tech careers in Nigeria that you can start learning today.
- Software Development
At the top of this list is software development and it’s at the top for a good reason - software developers are some of the highest-paid people in the tech industry. Let’s put the money aside for a second and let’s talk about what software development entails.
Software developers are the people behind every mobile app, web app and software that you have ever used. Some specialize in front-end development and others in back-end development. Those that do both front-end and back-end are called full-stack developers and they are all in high demand across the globe. To open the door to innumerable opportunities as a software developer, you need to learn programming languages like Python, JavaScript, Java, Kotlin, or Objective C.
2. Data Science
To help businesses make data-driven decisions, the data they have amassed needs to be analyzed to provide business insights that can help to determine the right course of action that will move them closer to their business goals.
Data scientists extract information from large amounts of data through techniques such as data collection and storage, data preparation, machine learning, statistical analysis, data exploration, visualization, experimentation and prediction.
In the field of data science, you could be a data engineer, data scientist, data analyst or machine learning scientist working to unlock hidden information in the data of companies in different industries like finance, telecommunications, healthcare and retail.
3. Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML)
If you’ve ever used Chat GPT, Google Bard, OpenAI’s DALL E, or Midjourney, then you’re already familiar with the power of AI. If you’ve watched the 2011 series, Person of Interest, you’ll also understand how powerful artificial intelligence can be. It is literally the future and unsurprisingly, professionals in this field are in high demand all around the world.
These professionals develop intelligent humanoid robots like Sophia, recommendation systems, chatbots and predictive analytics systems that are set to transform society and businesses. If you want to be part of those that shape the future of technology, this is where you want to be.
4. User Experience (UX) and User Interface (UI) Design
Those user-friendly, beautiful interfaces and experiences that you have when you interact with mobile and web applications can be attributed to the work of UX/UI designers. They strive to understand user behaviours and employ design principles to bring applications to life and provide the best digital experience possible to ensure that you enjoy using the app.
These experiences determine whether a user will come back to the application or not and this makes UX/UI designers highly needed in the software development process.
5. Cybersecurity
Cyber threats have increased over the years and so has the need for cybersecurity professionals. Because of this, organizations require cybersecurity professionals to protect their networks, data and computer systems.
Cybersecurity experts engage in an exciting combination of strategic thinking, problem-solving and detective work to protect the digital frontier of organisations that are serious about the security of their businesses.
Nigeria’s growing tech ecosystem provides many opportunities for lucrative tech careers and you can pick any field that you’re passionate about as they all hold immense potential for professional growth and of course, financial success.
Upskill and join Nigeria’s tech revolution.
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