Rolling With The Job Market

February 6, 2012 Dan Burger

Got a head full of ideas, but no job or maybe the wrong job? Maybe this will help. It’s a listing of staffing priorities for 2012 compiled by the career data-mining specialists at Dice, with info based on data scooped from the brains of 1,200 tech-focused hiring managers and recruiters.

Many of you IBM i and RPG propellerheads aren’t going to like this, but number one on the list of skills that lead to jobs is Java. I know . . . next to the notice of mandatory attendance at another meeting where reductions in healthcare benefits are discussed, this is the worst news you’ve gotten today. Damn those Java people (unless you are ambidextrous and can code RPG with your right hand and Java with your left). Demand for tech professionals with Java know-how has grown year over year for more than two years, according to Dice.

But here’s something a little easier to swallow. Software developers, in general, are in demand as well. Being number two on the most wanted list is a great opportunity, as long as your picture isn’t on the post office wall. And listen to this . . . Dice says employers want developers with strong opinions on what makes high quality code. I guess they’re tired of all that cheesy stuff created by people who change jobs every time a new season of Survivor comes around. Or maybe outsourcing has left a bad taste in the mouths of these folks who want to talk about high quality code. If you can create code that performs well, keeps the users happy, and provides real business solutions, you could be seeking more gainful employment right now.

Did you know there are software developer positions posted in 44 states? You know we only have 50 states, right? So that’s pretty good.

The top metro areas for jobs leads off with New York/New Jersey (that’s mixing a city and a state, isn’t it?), DC/Baltimore, and Silicon Valley, (which would be San Jose/San Francisco if I wanted to continue the slash happy ways that Dice seems to prefer). The rest of the top 10 consists of Chicago, Los Angeles, Boston, Atlanta, Dallas, Seattle, and Philadelphia. If you’d like to aim at a bigger target, Dice recommends the entire states of Florida, Oregon, Colorado, and Arizona.

Turning back to the skills needed to get in on the action, how are you suited for creating mobile applications? If you’re good, the light just turned green. Put your foot on the gas and go. There are fewer people with these skills than there are jobs that require them.

Although .NET developers remain in demand, Dice reports these are relatively low-paying jobs with limited long-term career potential. If you never did like .NET all that much, this might be the best joke you’ve read online today.

Dice says the reason systems and network engineers are in demand might be related to companies that have exceeded the limits of their communication channels and platforms by constantly trying to do more with less. You can only hang from a thread for so long before it breaks.

Now that you know what 1,200 hiring managers want and where they live, the rest is up to you. If you get a new job, don’t forget to update your email address on our subscription page. Thanks.