8 Hot Tech Jobs Getting Big Salary Bumps In 2016
Engineering jobs to mobile app developer positions are expected to post some of the largest salary gains in 2016, and some tech-related creative careers are not too far behind. Here's a look at eight of those hot jobs.
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Although the nation's professional workforce is expected to post an average of a 4.1% base pay increase in 2016, technology workers overall are expected to fare better with a 5.3% increase. Thanks to an increasing focus on digital strategy among businesses, several "creative" positions are set to cash in as well, according to the 2016 Salary Guide from staffing firm Robert Half Technology and The Creative Group.
Wireless network engineers in particular will be rolling in the dough, with an anticipated base pay increase approaching double-digit growth next year. Meanwhile, creative jobs like multimedia designers and content strategists are expected to post higher gains than the overall national bump and the tech sector.
"Companies continue to struggle to find professionals who can help create seamless digital experiences -- from collecting and analyzing customer data, to building secure e-commerce environments to providing intuitive, easy-to-navigate websites," said John Reed, senior executive director of Robert Half Technology and The Creative Group, in a statement.
The recently released salary guide forecasts compensation trends across a wide array of technology positions based on data from thousands of interim and full-time job placements each year, as well as surveys of 2,400-2,500 CIOs and other IT professionals conducted by Robert Half.
In the race to fill vacant positions with high-caliber talent, some companies -- including Fortune 500 players -- have resorted to offering unlimited vacation time and generous perks on the company campus like free gourmet meals, to massages, to more unusual benefits like office decorating budgets and helicopter rides.
[See 10 Skills CIOs Need To Survive, Thrive In 2016.]
Recruiting techniques have also undergone some changes as companies seek to get an edge when wooing technology and creative workers. Some of the techniques include providing the latest and coolest tools for workers to use and providing opportunities to work on exciting projects. Other recruiting techniques include offering opportunities for professional development and for working remotely.
With a combination of lavish perks and above-market pay, companies are aiming to hook potential employees for their engineering and big data positions, as well as their creative slots, according to Robert Half Technology. The staffing firm has found that highly skilled and experienced IT workers frequently receive multiple job offers, even when they aren't pounding the pavement looking for work.
This environment helps explain some of the salary pops in these eight careers. Is your job on the list? Even if it isn't, are you expecting to see a jump in your pay next year? Tell us why or why not in the comments section below.
A big data engineer is responsible for being the liaison between business users and data scientists, with the role of helping them to understand business objectives and translate those objectives into data processing workflows, Reed explained. Data engineers compile, transform, and aggregate data into databases, while data scientists gather and analyze large sets of data and make business recommendations to uncover opportunities or ways to save the organization money.
"As more industries start to rely on data, these roles will become more visible and sought after within organizations," Reed predicted.
Data scientists analyze and integrate data sets and make recommendations based on their findings.
In explaining why big data engineers tend to earn more than data scientists, Reed said, "Data engineers and data scientists work hand in hand to analyze data and make recommendations to the business, but data engineers are necessary in building the data applications and organizing data, which makes them an incredible value to businesses."
He noted that while data scientists can come from mathematical or statistical backgrounds, data engineers require additional technology skills and experience.
"We added mobile applications developers to our annual salary guides in 2012 around the time when many companies were increasing their mobile strategies," Reed said. "The role of mobility in the workplace and the growth of application development as a whole have increased significantly since that time, resulting in the need for mobile developers on technology teams."
Mobile still drives hiring, since mobile initiatives have expanded and are becoming more mainstream, observed Reed.
A content strategist sets the game plan for building content around business objectives and needs, Reed explained. "Content strategists have seen a growth in demand as content creation becomes mainstream across a variety of organizations. These professionals will ensure that all of the content being produced makes the most sense for business goals and that it tells a compelling story."
As content creation becomes a more conventional practice within businesses, Reed predicted the need for strategists will likely remain high to manage the process.
Multimedia designers develop and produce multimedia for electronic and interactive communication on the Web, multimedia presentations, and interactive displays and exhibits, according to Reed.
"As digital strategies within organizations increase, roles such as the multimedia designer will become increasingly in-demand as well," said Reed. "These professionals have a combination of technical and creative expertise, and are able to create compelling content for end-users, but can also grasp Web design and Web development."
The role of a user experience (UX) specialist is to create compelling experiences for users, often drawing on results from user research and workflow analysis, said Reed, adding that they typically have knowledge of Web design, as well as Web technologies.
"UX specialists are sought-after and seeing rising salaries due to the hybrid nature of the role: technical skills, design skills, and analyzing research," Reed said.
A user interface (UI) developer builds the interfaces that connect the users of an application to its backend processes and data, said Reed. This work includes providing code that meets usability and accessibility standards while enabling users to accomplish their goals quickly.
"A UI developer typically reports in to a technology leader, and the responsibilities of the role can be sometimes fall under a developer role, depending on company and team size," said Reed. "Client [experience] and user experience are such […] important factor[s] for businesses, which can potentially keep professionals in these roles in high demand across industries."
A user interface (UI) developer builds the interfaces that connect the users of an application to its backend processes and data, said Reed. This work includes providing code that meets usability and accessibility standards while enabling users to accomplish their goals quickly.
"A UI developer typically reports in to a technology leader, and the responsibilities of the role can be sometimes fall under a developer role, depending on company and team size," said Reed. "Client [experience] and user experience are such […] important factor[s] for businesses, which can potentially keep professionals in these roles in high demand across industries."
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