The Important IT skills that help most with career advancement In IT Product/service Industry are as follows.
Software Development/Engineering
System Administration
Technical Analysis
Functional/Business Analysis
IT Support
Software Testing and Quality Control
Growth Hacking & Digital Marketing
Software Designing UI/UX
Data Analytics
IT Project Management
CRM/ERP
Middleware
Machine Learning & AI
Software Development/Engineering
One of the most Important thing in IT is to create software for which there will always be a never ending demand for coders be it any programming
languages or frameworks (java,c++,javascript,php,python etc.. the list goes on). During Initial phase of your career just focus on mastering one programming language then as you grow you can easily learn other languages, Remember once you have mastered foundations of programming logic you can master any programming language as the logic remains same and syntax changes across all programming languages.
System Administration
Another Important pillar in IT is system administration , whichever software you make it should be Installed and deployed across multiple computer servers/hardwares Including maintaining the Infrastructure,Computer Networks and security as well all these things comes under System Adminstration and some of the skillsets which comes under system administration are (Linux/Windows administration,Firewall setups,Shell Scripting,Cloud computing,AWS,IAAS,GIT,Database Administration etc... the list goes on).
Technical Analysis
Technical Analysis is usually done by an experienced technical software engineer who has atleast some good years of experience in IT Industry and has played multiple roles like software development,support,testing,functional requirements gathering etc.. Technical feasibility of a project depending upon the functional business requirements are decided by a Technical Analyst and its a very Important skill set in IT Industry.
Functional/Business Analysis
This skill set usually comes from the functional domain of projects lets take an example of Healthcare so if anyone has atleast some good years of experience
on how hospitals work, plus some additional experience on Tech support in hospitals then he can be considered for Functional Analysis to understand the functional feasibility of a Healthcare IT project.
IT Support
Every software has to be maintained technically and functionally. IT support exactly does that.
Software Testing and Quality Control
Every software made will need testing to find bugs in it so this skill set is as Important as coding and will surely help with your career advancement.
Growth Hacking & Digital Marketing
Traditional marketing is evolving in to something new and If you stick to old marketing techniques you cannot market your IT product/services and cannot grow your B2C or B2B Userbase so Growth Hacking & Digital Marketing is a must required skill these days.
Digital Marketing itself is a very big field with concepts such as SEO,SMM,PPC Ads,social media ads,display ads,adnetworks etc...
Software Designing & UI/UX
IT product/services will always have either B2C or B2B Userbase If you cannot build products/services which satify User Interface/User Experience then you wont be able to grow your userbase hence Software Designing & UI/UX is a skill set which we cannot Ignore.
Data Analytics
In order to take better IT decisions one needs to have data analytics at their fingertips always.
IT Project Management
Nothing will work without the IT Project Management skillset typically people who have years of experience in all the diverse skillsets discussed here are considered for this skill set fulfillment.
CRM/ERP
CRM/ERP is used to Increase the overall profitability and efficiency of an IT Project , A must needed skill set for all businesses across the world today.
Middleware
Typically comes in B2B Industry and Industries where merger or co-operation between 2 organization happens.
Machine Learning & AI
Advancements in Machine Learning & AI has the ability to disrupt and replace all the skill sets mentioned above, so it's becoming one of the most needed skill set these days if you want to prosper your career in IT.