| January 2007 |
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| Beyond Microsoft and Boeing, demand for skilled IT experts cuts across all industries |
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| John Clyman, principal of Seattle-based Cascadia Labs, has lived in Seattle long enough to see the dramatic ups and downs of the technology sector. Today, he likes what he sees. "IT-intensive businesses are clearly picking up again after a flattening in the post-dot-com bust era," he said. "Microsoft continues to hire at a frenetic pace, tech startups are starting to appear again in sizable numbers, and the level of energy and buzz is palpably increasing."
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And it's not all about heads-down coders lined up in cubicles at Microsoft's sprawling Redmond campus. "Knowledge industries including gaming, telecom, aerospace, health, and biotech combine to be a formidable economic force in the area, and government and business leaders recognize their importance," said Clyman.
As eWeek magazine's number one "Blooming U.S. City for Tech" in 2006, Seattle has something to live up to in 2007, but it looks like it won't have any trouble. "While the tech industry was shooting to fame, other industries, such as healthcare, were making advances using technology, just with less of a fanfare,” said James Dixon, CEO of IT recruiter Greythorn. "Many IT professionals learned a great deal about these businesses and developed what are now highly marketable skills in industry-specific applications."
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| "There is a shortage of 'classical' software engineers" |
| - Kirtan Shah, a senior technical recruiter of Greythorn |
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"Demand for contract workers picks up as new projects begin, often in conjunction with a new quarter or financial year," added Dixon. "Conversely, towards the end of a financial year when ‘use it or lose it’ budget money is still available project teams may also bring in contract labor."
Which IT skills are in most demand? "There is a shortage of 'classical’ software engineers; people who specialize in languages like C++ and C# with algorithm development experience," said Kirtan Shah, Greythorn senior technical recruiter. "Too many people today try to master too many languages, and in doing so they lose the deep specialization that comes as a result of coding with the same language for many years. Candidates with more than ten years of C++ and who have developed applications from scratch can get six-figure salaries and highly attractive benefit plans."
Erik Fleischman, branch manager for IT recruiter Sapphire Technologies, said he also saw strong demand for C# experts as well as Java, .NET, and Oracle experts, and suggested that in addition to the usual tech firms, job hunters look to healthcare as a growth market.
And there will be plenty of hiring going on. According to the latest Manpower Employment Outlook Survey, from January to March, 28% of the companies interviewed plan to hire more employees. “Employers are also optimistic about hiring than they were a year ago," said spokesperson Jim Nelson. And IT staffing consultancy Robert Half Technology, whose first-quarter IT Hiring Index was just released, finds that 14% of Seattle CIOs plan to make new hires this quarter.
The numbers look good at Dice as well with a 6% increase in IT job listings in the fourth quarter. "Seattle is such a great location for IT experts," said Scot Melland, CEO of Dice. "Tech is part of the city's DNA. There are always interesting opportunities to be found, no matter the industry." Another good indicator: the average IT salary in the region rose to $79,787, up 9.14% last year according to the 2006 Dice Salary Survey.
It's clear that it pays to be smart in Seattle. According to The Seattle Times, between 2007 and 2012, Washington's Employment Security Department predicts that 47% of the openings in Washington that require a bachelor's degree will come in the fields for computer specialists, engineers, medical researchers, life scientists, nurses and secondary teachers. That statistic offers good clues about where to look for the most promising career tracks. As Brian Conlin, Microsoft partner account manager at Greythorn, put it, "Washington is one of the most literate and wired states in the U.S., but still local companies struggle to find qualified IT professionals."
In the future, the biggest challenge in Seattle may not be finding a job but rather getting to it. As Cascadia Labs' Clyman put it, "Government, citizens, and businesses still battle over how to serve the transportation needs of the fast-growing area. Commutes, particularly across the Lake Washington floating bridges linking Seattle with Bellevue and Redmond, are notoriously difficult." Perhaps some smart Seattleite will come up with a workable technological solution to the problem.
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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