10-year forecast shows growth in network architect jobs while sysadmin roles shrink

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) is forecasting a decade of growth for many – but not all – IT positions.

The U.S. economy is expected to add 6.7 million jobs from 2023 to 2033, which equates to 4% job growth overall. The picture is rosier for IT occupations.

The market segment that BLS calls “computer and mathematical occupations” is projected to grow 12.9% between now and 2033, increasing by 699,000 jobs. That makes it the second fastest growing occupational group, behind healthcare support occupations (15.2%).

“The growth of computer and mathematical occupations is expected to stem from demand for upgraded computer services, continued development of artificial intelligence (AI) solutions, and an increasing amount of data available for analysis,” the BLS stated. “In addition, the number and severity of cyberattacks and data breaches on U.S. businesses is expected to lead to greater demand for information security analysts.”

Twelve of the 14 computer-related positions tracked by the government agency are expected to see increases in U.S. employment between 2023 and 2033. The two categories that are expected to decline are network and computer systems administrators, which are forecast to decline by 2.6%, and computer programmers, which are facing a 9.6% decrease in jobs.

Specific to networking, there will be a net increase in jobs between 2023 and 2033 if the three network-related categories are tallied together:

• Computer network architects: 13.4% growth and 23,900 jobs added
• Computer network support specialists: 7.3% growth and 12,100 jobs added
• Network and computer systems administrators: -2.6% decline and 8,800 jobs lost

The 11 remaining computer occupations tracked by the BLS with their associated job gains and losses are:

• Computer systems analysts: 10.7% growth and 56,500 jobs added
• Information security analysts: 32.7% growth and 59,100 jobs added
• Computer and information research scientists: 25.6% growth and 9,400 jobs added
• Computer user support specialists: 5.1% growth and 37,200 jobs added
• Database administrators: 8.2% growth and 6,600 jobs added
• Database architects: 10.8% growth and 6,600 jobs added
• Computer programmers: -9.6% decline and 13,400 jobs lost
• Software developers: 17.9% growth and 303,700 jobs added
• Software quality assurance analysts and testers: 11.8% growth and 24,200 jobs added
• Web developers: 9.0% growth and 8,500 jobs added
• Web and digital interface designers: 7.9% growth and 10,200 jobs added

The catch-all “all other” category of computer occupations shows a 10.8% increase, which equates to 51,100 jobs added between 2023 and 2033.

“Overall employment in computer and information technology occupations is projected to grow much faster than the average for all occupations from 2023 to 2033. About 356,700 openings are projected each year, on average, in these occupations due to employment growth and the need to replace workers who leave the occupations permanently,” the BLS reports.

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• Cisco debuts CCDE-AI Infrastructure certification
• Networking among tech roles forecast for growth
• IBM program targets mainframe skills shortage