Boston Market -- 2nd Quarter, 2007

Job seekers with skills and experience that are valued in the marketplace are in the driver's seat of today's economy, according to a new study. Here is what staffing directors are saying in this latest research:

• 73 percent report that competition for talent has increased since 2005
• 79 percent expect it to further intensify in 2007

The report reflects responses from 628 staffing directors, 1,250 hiring managers and 3,725 job seekers across five global regions, and reveals that a tightening labor market has tilted the advantage toward job seekers.

Press releases for the report entitled "Slugging Through the War for Talent: Selection Forecast 2006-2007" are available for review at WebWire and Development Dimensions International (DDI). A more detailed Executive Summary (pdf) is also available for review.

Boston Market

While the report does not provide details about metropolitan regions in the United States or specific job categories that may be in greater demand than others, this quarterly review of the Boston Job Market provides such insights.

In the greater Boston area the demand for Web Developers with the right skills and experience far exceeds the demand for Web Designers as the following keyword search at BostonWorks.com indicates:

• Web Developer -- 1,163 job openings
• Web Designer -- 81 job openings

14:1 Ratio (Developer vs. Designer)

Currently there are more than 14 jobs that include the keywords "Web Developer" for every one job that includes the keywords "Web Designer."

A more detailed search on specific Web-related skills confirms this demand. Programming proficiency and database dexterity dominate the list of Top Ten Web-related skills most in demand in the greater Boston area:

1. SQL [ 669 ]
   
2. Oracle [ 610 ]
3. HTML [ 430 ]
   
4. SQL Server [ 385 ]
5. XML [ 351 ]
   
6. JavaScript [ 212 ]
7. ASP.NET [ 184 ]
8. JSP [ 120 ]
9. Photoshop [ 114 ]
10. CSS [ 109 ]

The second 10 of less-in-demand, Web-related skills are as follows:

11. Flash [ 76 ]
    
12. Ajax [ 69 ]
13. MySQL [ 59 ]
14. PHP [ 55 ]
15. Dreamweaver [ 47 ]
16. ColdFusion [ 47 ]
17. Visual Studio [ 42 ]
18. DHTML [ 44]
19. VBScript [ 28 ]
    
20. XHTML [ 28 ]

Web designers and developers who would like to advance their careers should consider implementing the following game plan over the next three months:

1. review the Top Ten list
2. identify one core skill that would be advantageous for you to improve on
3. develop a plan to improve that skill (self -study, online course, etc.)
   
4. demonstrate improvement in that skill by displaying a Web project

Editor's Note: In the Boston Market -- 1st Quarter, 2007 I stated that I would report on my progress toward improving my skills. I have identified the Web-related skills I will be focusing on and have outlined a list of self-study books I will be using to improve those skills. The Web Apprentices Training Center is available online and feedback is welcome. I will report on my continuing progress in early July, 2007.