News

Hadoop Heads List of Fastest-Growing Freelancer Skills

• By David Ramel
• February 13, 2019

Amid growing enterprise initiatives in cutting-edge technologies like artificial intelligence, Internet of Things, blockchain and others, it's old-fashioned Hadoop that was identified as the fastest-growing freelancer skill in a new report.

Apache Hadoop, described as "open source software used to store, process and analyze Big Data applications," topped the new Quarterly Skills Index for Q4 2018 just published by freelancing specialist Upwork.

A quick glance at the site's stable of Hadoop-skilled freelancers shows hourly rates ranging from $5 per hour to $200 per hour for working on projects featuring the Big Data stalwart originally released in 2011.

Hadoop "was the fastest-growing skill out of more than 5,000 skills freelancers provide on Upwork.com in Q4," the company said in a news release. "This was the same quarter that Cloudera and Hortonworks, the two largest players in the space, announced a merger; and other open source software companies such as Databrick[s] and Confluent have also recently raised capital. Businesses are continuing to invest in solutions that allow them to capitalize on the value of their data, specifically leveraging freelance Hadoop experts. According to a report, the global Hadoop market is expected to grow an average of 29% year-over-year for the next five years, reaching $38 billion by 2023."

While the firm handles all manner of freelance work, many development-oriented skills are sprinkled throughout the top 20, which includes:

1. Hadoop
2. Dropbox API
3. Genetic algorithms
4. Microbiology
5. Computational linguistics
6. Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP)
7. Digital signal processing
8. Intercom
9. Interactive advertising
10. Invision
11. Employee training
12. Kubernetes
13. OAuth
14. Autodesk Revit
15. App store optimization
16. App usability analysis
17. Vue.js framework
18. Learning Management Solution (LMS) consulting
19. 3D scanning
20. React.js framework

In analyzing that list, Upwork noted the inclusion of education/training options.

"The latest Upwork Skills Index reflects the growth of nontraditional education options for employees and freelancers -- and underscores why skills training and reskilling is essential for anyone in the workforce," the company said in a blog post today (Feb. 13). The post noted growth in employee training (No. 11) and Learning Management Solution consulting (No. 18) as examples of an emerging trend in which more people are getting training on the job.

"Businesses are placing a greater emphasis on skills training, investing in the workforces they have today and the one they will need tomorrow," said Stephane Kasriel, CEO of Upwork.

Upwork said its report, available here, serves to reflect emerging skills and provide real-time validation of current trends in the labor market and tech industry.