| January 2007 |
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| IT workers can ride a wave of economic growth |
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Houston-area IT expert John Gagon isn't afraid of offshoring. "No matter what anyone says, IT is still in high demand because small to mid-size companies don't have the resources to offshore," he said. "In fact, most of the calls I get are from people who have recently arrived here from offshore."
Gagon has found an active IT job market, especially for contract work, both in and out-of-state. "'Contract to hire' and 'recruitment' and 'contract to direct' and 'W2' are often key phrases that a job seeker should look for if they seek a permanent position," Gagon said.
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Gagon is one of about 43,000 IT workers in the Houston market (about 2% of the total workforce), including approximately 8,500 computer support specialists and 1,400 database experts. And the market is growing. Since its inception in 1999, the Houston Technology Center has helped more than 150 emerging technology companies raise more than $400 million in capital and create about 1,000 new jobs. It points to Hewlett-Packard, which has more employees in its Houston operation than at any other HP facility, as a great example of a local tech success story.
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| "There is no doubt that this area has a high demand for IT professionals in the oil and gas industry" |
| - Cord Courrege, branch manager of Sapphire Technologies |
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Job seekers can look to healthcare, software development, financial services, and even space technology as areas of growth. Cord Courrege, branch manager for IT recruiter Sapphire Technologies, said "There is no doubt that this area has a high demand for IT professionals in the oil and gas industry."
Courrege added that the IT workers most in demand are currently in the project management, business analysis, and application development categories. "Houston has seen a surge in application development, which has historically driven the need for other positions including project management, business analysis, system administration, and support," he said. "At present, there are high-quality jobs being created in large enterprise environments. This sustained activity has been a welcomed change from recent years when available candidates outnumbered the open positions."
In fact, IT staffing consultancy Robert Half Technology, whose first-quarter IT Hiring Index was just released, found that 18% of Houston CIOs plan to make new hires this quarter, and the quarterly Manpower Employment Outlook Survey, which covers all industries, found that from January to March, 33% of the companies interviewed plan to hire more employees, according to Manpower spokesperson Claudette Hilliard.
At Dice, Houston job listings were down for the fourth quarter, but that dip, attributable in part to seasonality, was uncharacteristic for the city. "2006 was a good year for Houston at Dice," said Scot Melland, CEO of Dice. "Listings are at a much higher level than they were a year ago, and a first quarter increase in listings, like the one we saw last year, is likely." Salaries are heading up as well. The 2006 Dice Salary Survey reported that the average IT salary in Houston was up 4.63% over 2005.
The environment does seem destined to improve. As Sapphire's Courrege explained, "Houston has historically lagged in IT trends, but due to the success of oil and gas companies in recent years, the local and state government and business leaders have encouraged technology growth in the city. Their ideas range from the 2003 implementation of an IT department within the Houston government to a citywide wireless infrastructure plan proposed by Houston’s mayor, Bill White, in early 2006.
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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| Dice job postings in Houston are up 48% since Jan. |
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