TechNirvanaForum: Huge Growth Projected for Web Tech, Software, Systems Job Market

Thursday, March 25, 2010

Huge Growth Projected for Web Tech, Software, Systems Job Market

blue employee sign Looking for a job? You're probably about to find one. By the year 2018 there will be 1.4 million job openings for so-called "computer specialists" - that's everyone from developers to database administrators - according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The non-hardware-related job market is expected to grow faster than almost any other sector in the country. For instance, jobs for systems and application software developers are expected to grow 30%-34%. The number of network systems and data communications jobs will explode by 53%.

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The BLS' analysis, which measures from 2008 to 2018, found that only a few other job sectors are expanding as fast as tech. Health care is also at the top of the list - which makes sense considering the growing needs of the aging Baby Boomer generation. But many "computer specialist" jobs are unique in that they have some of the lowest replacement rates in the nation. That means those double-digit growth figures represent almost entirely new jobs.

Editors Note: This post is part of a series ReadWriteWeb is producing in partnership with Tableau Software, where we examine interesting data sets relevant to technology trends today. You can use Tableau Public to create interactive visualizations like this and publish them to your own blog or website or anywhere online. This is the last week to enter Tableau's User Generated Graph Contest. Winner will receive a free trip to Web 2.0 and $500. Sign up before March 26.

Play With the Data

The top graph shows what kind of education will be required for the fastest-growing jobs. The bottom graph puts employment growth into a wider perspective. You can play with the data yourself by choosing different education levels or job types. You can also download the data and create your own visualizations.