| January 2007 |
 |
| A special need for systems integrators is cited |
|
| In late November, The Arizona Republic reported on the official arrival of a group of PayPal staffers who had arrived in Scottsdale. The newspaper quoted Jim McGuire, vice president of technology operations for PayPal, as saying, "One of the things that drew PayPal here to the Valley is it's got this deep and growing base of financial services organizations, and it's got this great and growing base of technology jobs." The operation should grow to 400 people in the next few years, he said.
|
|
PayPal's plans are indicative of a continuing surge in IT opportunities popping up all around Phoenix. Jason Miller, branch manager for IT recruiter Sapphire Technologies, said, "I think finance and healthcare continue to lead the way at this point throughout the Valley. In this day and age, when mergers and acquisitions are so plentiful, more opportunities often crop up due to system integrations and new projects relating to the consolidated company’s new market position."
Other hot areas: academia and biotech. Like just about every other state, Arizona is looking at biotech as a 21st-century growth industry, and research money is pouring into the state university system to kick start projects. In the past few years, the state has ponied up more than $400 million for projects, while private sources have come up with an additional $230 million. Voters even approved a sales tax increase and a bond issue to fund more research.
|
|
| "I think the Valley is becoming a hot bed for technology" |
| - Jason Miller, branch manager of Sapphire Technologies |
|
Asked what skills are most in demand in the Phoenix area, Sapphire's Miller said, "There’s still a strong need for technologies associated with production support environments, but I think the Valley is also starting to see more in the way of development opportunities, specifically for .NET developers."
Tracy Blackmore, an independent IT consultant, was like tech experts in many cities when she recommended that job seekers look to healthcare as an industry with huge growth potential, especially in warm-weather areas that are drawing aging baby boomers and retirees. "And beyond healthcare, defense, and finance--especially back-office operations--are two areas that seem to provide good IT opportunities."
Despite a low overall unemployment rate of just 3.9%, Phoenix-area employers (across all industries) expect to hire at a moderate pace this quarter, according to the Manpower Employment Outlook Survey. From January to March, 25% of the companies interviewed plan to hire more employees. The IT-centric Robert Half Technology IT Hiring Index was more optimistic for the first quarter, finding that an impressive 23% of Phoenix CIOs plan to make new hires this quarter, outpacing general employment trends.
And they'll pay well. According to the 2006 Dice Salary Survey, the average IT salary in Phoenix rose an impressive 7.07% in 2006 to $74,976.
At Dice, job listings bucked the seasonal trend and were up 3% for the fourth quarter. "There's a lot going on in Phoenix and Arizona," said Scot Melland, CEO of Dice. "Healthcare, semiconductors, distribution...so many industries are generating good IT jobs these days."
"I think the Valley is becoming a hot bed for technology," said Sapphire's Miller. "Wages have continued to rise, especially in states where the cost of living is higher. As such, many companies have begun moving their development to states such as Arizona to take advantage of the talent pool and lower cost of wages compared to where their headquarters are."
That's fine for now, but a recent University of Arizona study concluded with one of those classic good news/bad news findings: the population of Arizona could grow from 6 million to 14.5 million during the next 30 years. Traffic jams ahead.
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.
|
|
|
|
|
| Dice job postings in Phoenix are up 14% since Jan. |
 |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
