| April 2007 |
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| IT jobs in D.C. are available in both the public and private sectors |
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| Here's an encouraging analysis of IT job prospects in our nation's capital: "There continues to be a very strong demand for, and a significant shortage of, IT talent in the Washington D.C. IT job market. With 4.5% general unemployment nationally and 2.5% in IT nationally, the real IT unemployment rate in D.C. is probably below 2%. I don’t see that trend changing in the near term." That's the word from Ed Estelle, area manager for IT recruiter Sapphire Technologies/Sapphire Government Technologies.
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Estelle has some interesting insight on what you can do to improve your chances of finding a great position either in the public sector or in a government contract position. "As federal efforts ramp up, particularly in the area of homeland security, the need for people with security clearances will rise,” explains Estelle. “Additionally, with the economy beginning to soften a bit overall, and with the dramatic rise in first and second mortgage defaults, people's ensuing credit difficulties will make it harder for them to obtain security clearances. And that in turn will make it even harder for employers to find qualified applicants." In other words, if you've got a clean personal and financial record, you could be in line for some great job opportunities.
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| "As federal efforts ramp up, particularly in the area of homeland security, the need for people with security clearances will rise” |
| - Ed Estelle, area manager Sapphire Technologies |
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In fact, Dice devotes its sister Web site, ClearanceJobs.com, to nothing but job postings (for U.S. citizens) that require security clearance. A recent ClearanceJobs.com search on available jobs in the D.C. metro area turned up a total of 304 listings. While almost any area in the country has at least a few jobs that require clearance, it's in the capital that the majority of them can be found.
Washington-based tech journalist Brad Grimes says to keep in mind the fact that the federal government spends about $60 billion annually on IT and has many multi-year projects underway. Washington-based IT executive James Howard, a recent arrival to the area, lists database and .NET development as two areas of growth and calls the job opportunities "tremendous."
So it's a good time to be looking. IT staffing consultancy Robert Half Technology, whose second-quarter IT Hiring Index was just released, finds that a powerful 23% of Washington-area CIOs plan to make new hires this quarter, the second highest number among all the cities Robert Half analyzes. Meanwhile, the quarterly Manpower Employment Outlook Survey finds that from April to June, 20% of the companies interviewed plan to hire more employees, according to Manpower spokesperson Charles Ray.
Dice job listings, on the other hand, are off 14% for the quarter after hitting their most recent peak last October. Still, more than 6,300 jobs are available. It's a huge IT job market in both the public and private sectors. Note that salaries are on the rise. The 2006 Dice Salary Survey found that IT salaries in the region were up 5.71% over 2005 to $79,911, an indicator of an overall positive job trend.
Dan Lindner, vice president of Clifton, Virginia-based information research and technology firm Mindcorp, says that the best opportunities in the region today are in healthcare and, not surprisingly, government contracts. The positions most in demand: systems administrators, network administrators and system installation experts.
Lindner is optimistic as he assesses Washington. "There appears to be no shortage of talent or jobs in the D.C. area, and local leaders have a good understanding of tech development. The Dulles Tech Corridor and the high-rise office buildings in Tysons Corner are two good examples of how tech has taken off here."
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