OK. Let's get the bad news out of the way. An unemployment rate approaching 10% is not the most positive news to hear during a Labor Day weekend.
The San Francisco Chronicle reports that the news may be even worse:
The underemployment rate for August was 16.8 percent.
"Underemployment" is a broader measure that includes capable Americans who would like to work full-time, but have to settle for part-time opportunities, and those who are too discouraged to even look for work.
What follows are a few thoughts on how Web technology professionals can to get out from under the underemployment shadow.
Forward Focus
Let's look forward by focusing on what industry experts are saying.
The AIGA Design Leaders Confidence Index reveals that demand for design services is improving. This finding marks the second consecutive quarterly improvement reported by more than 300 design leaders working in various types of practices.
The ExecuNet Recruiter Confidence Index reveals that search firms are expecting an improvement over the next six months in placing workers in leadership positions. Just seven percent of recruiters are "not confident" that the market will get better during this period.
The Spherion Employee Confidence Index registered its highest level in more than 18 months as workers who have jobs are growing increasingly confident in the improving strength of the economy.
Boston Market
The Top 20 Web Technologies in Boston have been recalculated for September. An analysis of job postings at Monster.com reveals that job opportunities remained stable during August despite the perception that late summer is a slow hiring period. Half of the Top 20 Technologies show an increase in job postings in early September over early August.
The Top 20 List is located in the right-hand column and is dominated by database and programming skills. One newcomer to this month's Top 20 came about as a result of feedback from an executive recruiter. He stated that he was was experiencing an increase in demand for "UI Designers."
A search on this term landed it at #20 with 75 job postings. According to Wikipedia, "The goal of user interface design is to make the user's interaction as simple and efficient as possible." Job seekers with design skills may want to add "UI (user interface)" to their professional bios and social profiles.
Training Opportunity
The best training opportunity in September begins this week with FREE online Ajax training. Ajax (Asynchronous JavaScript and XML) is a Top 10 Web technology in terms of job demand in the Boston technology marketplace. JavaScript and XML are also Top 10 technologies. With more than 100 job openings mentioning Ajax in job descriptions, and nearly twice as many mentioning JavaScript and XML, few technologies will grab the attention of recruiters than Ajax.
Free Ajax training is offered by Sang Shin, technology evangelist at Sun Microsystems. This 18-week course will guide you through some of the following topics:
- Ajax Basics
- JavaScript Basics
- Libraries and frameworks (Dojo, Prototype, jQuery, etc.)
- and much more
Participants receive a certificate upon successful completion during the first quarter of 2010. To learn more, access Ajax and Web 2.0 Programming (with Passion!) Online Course.
[ NOTE: Beantown Web is now on Facebook. Facebook Fans gain access to an expanded list of the Top 50 Web Technologies in Boston. Become a fan today! ]
