| April 2006 |
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| Silicon Valley IT Pros earn $15,000 more than the national Average -2005 Dice Salary Survey |
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While Silicon Valley continued the long journey from bust toward bubble this year, several indictors showed the epicenter of the technology job market will likely continue heading in the right direction.
And observers suggest the area’s continued resurgence may reverberate throughout an already tight tech job market on the national level.
“Silicon Valley’s continued IT job growth is an important indicator for the rest of the country,” said Scot Melland, CEO of leading technology career site Dice. “As the Internet economy continues to mature and grow, the need for talented people in the area will grow along with it.”
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Now Silicon Valley companies are staffing up, a direct result of the second straight year of record revenue and profits, according to the latest Silicon Valley 150 annual report.
The report –- which is conducted by the San Jose Mercury News -- showed profits among the Valley’s 150 largest companies grew 18 percent to $37.1 billion in 2005 and revenue rose 10.8 percent to $372.6 billion.
The region also continues to lead the nation in most high-tech industry metrics, according to a report by AeA, the nation’s largest trade association for the high-tech industry. California tech companies reported the largest payrolls of technology employers nationwide, and its tech workers had the highest average wage in the United States.
While companies continued to throw top salaries at IT professionals, investors did not shy away from throwing tech firms some money of their own.
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| “Silicon Valley is again showing strong signs of growth in its IT job market,” |
| - Scot Melland, CEO of Dice |
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In 2005, venture capitalists invested $10.4 billion in California, and tech companies exported $47.8 billion from California to countries around the world.
"California remains a fertile environment for new ideas and new technology companies,” said Tim Guertin, President and CEO, Varian Medical Systems. “Silicon Valley continues to be a primary destination for this investment.”
Technology job listings on Dice jumped 12 percent in Silicon Valley during a recent three-month period, from 7,329 in December to 8,202 in March.
“Silicon Valley is again showing strong signs of growth in its IT job market,” said Melland. “The tech market there is heating up.”
Many of the hiring companies and recruiting agencies who use Dice are noticing a tight labor market, while salaries are starting to trend higher as a result, according to Melland.
And it appears the traditional heavyweights in the region are once again leading the way. In 2005, Intel hired 14,900 people, Apple Computer added 3,105 and EBay hired 3,500, according to the Silicon Valley 150.
Google currently has more than 5,000 employees, up from approximately 3,000 just a little more than a year ago. There are 700 new job openings posted on its Web site.
A Google spokeswoman said the search firm was continuing to hire the highest quality talent worldwide “to scale with the growth of our business.” However, she would not provide specifics.
And the monetary rewards for joining the Valley crowd cannot be beat.
Silicon Valley IT professionals topped the salary list with a whopping $85,600, more than $15,000 above the national average, according to a salary survey by Dice. The most sought-after IT skills right now on Dice include Java, SAP and Oracle.
“It’s a good place to be if you’re a skilled IT professional,” Melland said. “That’s for sure.”
If you would like to be interviewed for the next Dice market report, or if you have comments about this article, please contact us at feedback@dice.com.
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| Silicon Valley companies are staffing up |
| - Silicon Valley 150 annual report |
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