Technology trends
The year 2012 begins with many good news for technology students. The numbers of student enroll in Computer Science, Software Engineering, and Information System Management in the U.S. has increased 23% as compare with last year. More students from Business, Finance and Banking are switching to Information System Management due to high unemployment in these business areas. U.S universities reported that most technology classes are full to capacity. The best news is for the first time in history, the average annual salaries for technology workers have surpassed the $100,000 USD mark.
According to the industry report, salaries for technology workers in Silicon Valley rose above $100,000 to an average of $105,000, much more than U.S average of $87,000 for technology workers. The report concluded: “If you are a technology graduate, the place to be is Silicon valley. The critical workers shortage has pushed the salary up faster than anywhere else.” Another big bonus for technology workers is the “return to prosperity” with companies like LinkedIn, Zynga and Facebook went initial public offering (IPO). In just a short time, over ten thousand workers became millionaires and their owners became billionaires. One worker told the newspapers: “I graduated two years ago and worked for Facebook, I made over $90,000 a year but with the stock options, now I have over five million dollars. Imagine a 23 years old millionaire, it is a wildest dream.” He was not alone, together with several thousands of Facebook workers who became multimillionaires suddenly, it was quite remarkable that a career in technology could bring.
Their success has sparked the creation of numerous new start-ups, which in turn has spurred a hiring war for software engineers throughout California. To keep employees, most technology companies immediately raise all workers salaries to stay competitive or give them bonus worth five to ten thousand dollars just to stay. Although, technology job growth in other cities like Boston, Seattle, and Austin, New York has remained relatively quiet but according to the report, it will not be for long. As many tech workers are ready to move to better jobs, better paid, technology companies in these cities must make decision soon.
However, with many technology graduates receiving several job offers, the factor is still the ability to find the right people with the right skills. According to the report, despite the hiring boom there are many people who could not find works. Many of them have degrees in technology but found that their skills are obsolete. These people have worked for more than a decade in technology industry but never update their skills. Most have been out of work for several months. One engineer told the TV media: “Today job market is not the same as it was years ago. New companies want people with the latest skills. I had a lot of experience but not what they are looking for. The issue is many of us are working for the electronic industry and technology manufacturers, while most of the new companies that are hiring are Internet-based. Web-based companies like Facebook, Twitter, and Google are looking for younger talent to hire, but older workers like us who do not have skills that they want.”
The semiconductor industry, which used to be the dominant of Silicon Valley’s economy have lost several thousand jobs since many factories have moved to lower cost countries. Even Cisco Systems, the maker of computer networking equipment, one of Silicon Valley largest employer have also laid off thousands of workers. Many of them are having difficulty in finding new jobs. A senior manager said: “The pace of change is as dizzy as we begin to enter a new world of contradiction. There are so many opportunities, so many job openings. Every company is desperate to hire people but at the same time, there are so many people with experience but could not find work. Technology changes so fast, you have to be constantly kept pace with them, always learning new thing to survive.”
A director at Google said: “We are looking for people who are “passionate” and “truly have a desire to change the world”. We are looking for people who possess the latest skills and technology, not someone who just need a job because they know something about coding or testing.”
Another manager at Facebook said: “We want every new hire to be entrepreneurial with the latest skills. That is why we only select candidates from universities that have the latest training programs. We only interview college students who have new ideas and want to start company when they were still in school. We hire students who develop an iPhone app over the weekend. These motivated students are what we need to drive Facebook toward the future.”
Getting hired is difficult for workers who have been laid off after many years working at a single company. The new thinking is “People who stay too long in one job, doing only one thing for many years are basically lazy and do not have the attitude of “continuous learning”. They have no passion for their work but only want a job rather than something they do to challenge themselves.”
The report concluded: “These are good news for recent graduates, good news for younger people, and people who upgrade their skills but bad news for people who relied on their work experience but not update their skills.”
Sources
- Blogs of Prof. John Vu, Carnegie Mellon University
