.NET is a popular and versatile framework developed by Microsoft that plays an integral role in the creation of efficient software applications. Companies using this framework are on the lookout for candidates adept in .NET to develop robust, scalable, and secure systems and applications.

Knowing .NET means being able to work with a wide array of language options such as C#, F#, or Visual Basic and using them to build applications for Windows, websites, web services, and mobile apps. .NET is also essential for developing server-side applications, and it extends its capabilities into robust User Interface (UI) components, database connectivity, data access, cryptography, web application development, XML web services, networking and much more.

For a firsthand understanding of ".NET", the framework comes with its runtime environment, which is a key component of the .NET framework. It serves as the execution environment that manages running .NET programs and allows them to deliver operational efficiency, scalability, dependability, and better performance. Furthermore, .NET boasts a standard library that has a large set of predefined classes that encourage code reusability across different.NET languages, therefore, making the software development process faster and more efficient.

Those who are new to programming and are looking at adopting .NET as a skill, a basic understanding of other programming languages can be a great start. An existing knowledge of languages such as C, C++, Java or understanding software development life cycle would be beneficial and give you a solid foundation to master .NET.

For those coming from a non-programming background, having knowledge of basic programming concepts will be highly useful. These include understanding variables, loops, conditional statements, and data types.

To sum up, mastering the .NET framework is an incredibly valuable skill in the tech industry. It's cross-platform capabilities and versatility in programming languages make it highly sought after in diverse sectors of the tech industry.