Thursday, January 14, 2010

Boston Market | January 2010

Employers will covet technology workers in 2010. If you are a techie with the right skills and the right connections, then you will uncover work opportunities as this new decade begins. Here are the details . . .

CareerBuilder’s 2010 Job Forecast

One in five employers plans to increase their number of full-time, permanent employees this year. The comparison from one year ago:

  • 2010 | 20 percent
  • 2009 | 14 percent

Here are the areas within these companies that will most likely increase staffing levels in 2010:

  • technology | 33 percent
  • customer service | 28 percent
  • sales | 23 percent
  • research/development | 18 percent
  • business development | 17 percent
  • accounting/finance | 15 percent
  • marketing | 14 percent

So, companies will be hiring in 2010 and technology professionals head the list of desired talent. A summary of these survey findings of 2,700 hiring managers and human resource professionals across the U.S. is available from CareerBuilder.

Top 20 Web Technologies

To find out which web-related technologies are most in-demand access the list of Top 20 Web Technologies in Boston. The list has been updated for January and appears in the right-hand column. The downward trend from early December reflects a normal year-end slowdown in hiring.

The Top 10 remains largely unchanged from one year ago (HTML + CSS replaced ASP.NET for the #10 position). This demonstrates a strong and steady demand for the following technical skills:

  • Web Design | HTML, CSS, JavaScript
  • Web Development | Java, C#, Perl, Web Services, XML
  • Database Development | SQL, Oracle, SQL Server
The Second 10 skills (#11 through #20) include the following:
  • Web Design | UI, Photoshop, Flash
  • Web Development | Ajax, e-commerce, JSP, ASP.NET, Python, PHP, SharePoint

Training Opportunities

The best (read "least expensive") training opportunities to upgrade your skills and make connections during the first quarter are the following:

Code Mastery
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Technology focus: SharePoint, ASP.NET, Silverlight
SharePoint Saturday
Saturday, February 27, 2010
Technology focus: SharePoint

Both events are FREE and hosted by Microsoft at their Waltham, MA offices. SharePoint Saturday events occur in more than 30 cities around the globe. Access the SharePoint Saturday website to identify a location near you, if you are not in the Boston area.

[ NOTE: Facebook Fans of Beantown Web gain access to an expanded list of the Top 50 Web Technologies in Boston. Become a fan today! ]