Look to fill more of these top tech positions in 2014
With 2013 coming to an end, there’s one thing left on our minds: What will 2014 bring? While we can’t answer that question across the board, we can offer insight into the new year’s top technology hiring trends.
As we recently discussed following Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff’s keynote at Dreamforce 2013, social, mobile, cloud and the Internet of Things remain four top tech trends on everyone’s list. Yet when it comes to trends affecting hiring, mobile continues to lead the pack, as the proliferation of this technology has made developers and analysts indispensable. Below are the top five positions we expect to see grow in 2014. Let us know if you agree in the comments.
The Five Positions Tech Departments Are Adding to Their Teams in 2014
- Mobile apps developer – Average starting salary increase: 7.8 percent
Not only do we continue to see massive growth in the variety of mobile devices, operating systems and user interfaces, but the bring-your-own-device (BYOD) movement has more than doubled the mobile workforce. As this trend continues to grow, the need for mobile applications developers will, too.
According to Gartner’s strategic technology trends for 2014, “Improved JavaScript performance will begin to push HTML5 and the browser as a mainstream enterprise application development environment.” Gartner goes on to recommend that developers “focus on creating expanded user interface models, including richer voice and video, that can connect people in new and different ways.”
Because it’s a bull market for mobile developers of nearly all skill levels, competition for top talent remains steep. Look for developers with the following skills, then be ready to pay them competitively:
- Experience developing mobile applications for major platforms such as iOS, Android and Windows phones
- Experience coding with mobile frameworks such as Xcode, Android SDK and/or Windows Phone App Studio
- Experience with mobile development languages such as Objective-C, Java for Android and/or C# for Windows Phone
- Experience with responsive design for mobile-ready websites
- Experience with web development languages such as HTML 5, CSS 3, JavaScript frameworks (jQuery, BootStrap, EXT_JS)
- Experience with mobile app frameworks such as Sencha or PhoneGap
- Software developer / software engineer – Average starting salary increase: 7.7 and 7.5 percent, respectively
Since the advent of the Internet of Things, the need for skilled software developers and software engineers has increased drastically. This should come as no surprise as now nearly any physical thing – like your car – requires a just-as-integral software component.
However, organizations are still working to fill the inevitable skills gap that accompanied the Internet of Things. “The problem is that most enterprises and technology vendors have yet to explore the possibilities of an expanded internet and are not operationally or organizationally ready,” according to Gartner.
Make sure you’re prepared not just for the Internet of Things, but the Internet of Everything. Look for software developers and engineers who are adept at creating engineering specifications for software programs and applications, collaborating with hardware engineers to test hardware/software interaction and implementing specific development methodologies.
- Business intelligence analyst – Average starting salary increase: 7.4 percent
Tag, you’re it, business intelligence analysts. It has been a long time coming, but finally Wall Street cannot compete with tech organizations and departments for top business intelligence analysts. Why is that? One reason is Big Data. With so much data, companies need business-minded technology professionals to analyze it so they can glean valuable insights.
Look for business intelligence analysts who can:
- Design and develop enterprise-wide data analysis and reporting solutions
- Review and analyze data from multiple internal and external sources
- Communicate analysis results and make recommendations to senior management
- Develop data cleansing rules
- Data architect – Average starting salary increase: 7.2 percent
Just like with business intelligence analysts, it’s the Big Data trend that is keeping data architects in such high demand. Because data architects require both analytical and creative skills, along with in-depth knowledge of data systems and database methodology, design and modeling, they have all your various “Big Data Vs” covered – volume, variety, velocity and veracity.
Look for candidates with an educational background in computer science or a related field, as well as experience with Oracle, Microsoft SQL Server or other databases in various operating system environments, such as Unix, Linux, Solaris and Microsoft Windows.
- Developer / programmer analyst – Average starting salary increase: 7.1 percent
According to Forrester, a great digital experience for end users is no longer something that is nice to have, it’s something that can make or break your business. Because developer / programmer analysts deal with both the technical and business side, as well as participate on project teams, they are the perfect addition to bridge the gap between the two sides of the business.
Make sure you’re not falling behind the competition; staff up on developer and programmer analysts that have strong analytical and problem-solving skills. These analysts are more than developers, they’re creative thinkers who can write code, test and debug software applications, then recommend system changes and enhancements.
Additional Technology Hiring Trends Resources
For more information on leading tech trends or for insights into what top technology talent is worth, check out the following resources:
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