infoTECH Feature

January 11, 2012

Programmers in Top Demand for 2012

Programmers will be in high demand as the new year unfolds, says a new study from tech job site Dice.

Though network and system administrators will also rank highly among hiring managers this year, application, Web, and mobile developers dominated the top ten list for the second year in a row, according to a report from Alice Hill, managing director of Dice.com (News - Alert).

Based on feedback from almost 1,200 tech hiring managers, Java developers took the number one position as the highest priority. In fact, the need for developers with Java experience has grown each year for the past two years, according to the number and type of job postings on Dice. As such, Hill advised companies in need of Java developers to act quickly if they want to grab the right people.

Software developers and engineers took the second spot on the in-demand list for 2012. Companies need developers “who have strong opinions on what makes for high quality code, and a passion to create excellent user experiences and business solutions,” said Hill. Currently, Dice is advertising jobs for developers in 44 out of the 50 states. Moving beyond the main metropolitan areas, the job site is seeing heavy demand for Java pros in Florida, Oregon, Colorado, and Arizona.

Mobile and .Net developers were third and fourth on the top-ten list, respectively. As the mobile market has surged, so has the demand for mobile developers. But Hill says that the supply of qualified developers with the right mobile experience still lags behind demand. As for .Net, concerns about lower compensation and being typecast as a .Net developer has shied some professionals away from this platform, keeping demand alive.

Next on the list was project managers, always in need among enterprises juggling more and more projects. And taking sixth place was Web developers, not surprising as companies focus on creating and maintaining Web-based applications.

Hopping onto the list for the first year were systems and network engineers/administrators in seventh and eighth place, respectively. The need for professionals in this sector may be a sign that companies are facing difficulties trying to maintain their existing infrastructure with fewer people, notes Hill.

Capping off the list in ninth and tenth place were SAP (News - Alert) professionals and business analysts.

Continuing a common theme, Dice’s December report shows that the right type of IT professionals are always in demand despite the sluggish economy and struggling job market.

IT pros who are looking for work or new opportunities and have the right basic experience should review the list of in-demand jobs and open positions on Dice. And remember that education and training are always options to consider if you need to beef up your job skills in a certain area. Those of you whose employers pay for training should always take advantage of such opportunities to pursue areas that interest you and are also in high demand.

Want to learn more about the latest in communications and technology? Then be sure to attend ITEXPO East 2012, taking place Jan. 31-Feb. 3 2012, in Miami, FL. ITEXPO (News - Alert) offers an educational program to help corporate decision makers select the right IP-based voice, video, fax and unified communications solutions to improve their operations. It's also where service providers learn how to profitably roll out the services their subscribers are clamoring for – and where resellers can learn about new growth opportunities. For more information on registering for ITEXPO registration click here.

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Lance Whitney is a journalist, IT consultant, and Web Developer with almost 20 years of experience in the IT world. To read more of Lance's articles, please visit his columnist page

Edited by Rich Steeves
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