The Hottest Tech Positions Right Now: A Deep Dive Into Current Market Needs by ZDNet

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While technology sector employment has taken some hits in recent months , overall prospects for job growth and opportunities in IT remain steady across all industries this year – and the greatest demand is projected for data scientists/analysts, cybersecurity experts, UI/UX designers, and software developers.

That’s the key conclusion from CompTIA’s recently released State of the Tech Workforce report, which predicts 3% growth in size of the US tech workforce size through 2023 – the same pace of growth seen during the past 12 months.

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The report states there are currently 9.2 million people that can be considered technology professionals within the US, which represents 5.8% of the total workforce – but this relatively small segment has an outsized impact on the rest of business.

The study puts the estimated average salary of tech workers at $100,615, or double the median salary across all occupations.

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Tech occupation employment during the next decade is expected to grow at about twice the rate of overall employment across the economy.

The technology occupations that are projected to grow the most during 2023 include:

Data scientists and data analysts – 5.5%
Cybersecurity analysts and engineers – 5.2%
Web Designers and UI/UX – 4.7%
Software developers and engineers – 4.7%
Software QA and testers – 4.1%
CIOs and IT directors – 3.4%
Systems analysts and engineers – 2.6%
IT support specialists – 2.4%

Among the nine million-plus technology workers identified in the study, 61% are focused on building and deploying solutions, while 39% are dedicated to the business side of technology delivery – sales, marketing, finance, HR, operations, and management.

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The majority of technology professionals are employed by end-user companies (58%), while the remaining 42% work directly for tech firms.

Within the technology industry itself, which encompasses IT occupations and supporting business occupations, “growth has varied”, the report’s authors state. The IT services and custom software services category has powered job growth since 2017, accounting for 52% of job gains. Software products accounted for 29% of job gains in the same time period.

In terms of quantity of tech job gains between 2021 and 2022, New York led the way, followed by Dallas and Seattle.

New York City + 18,420
Dallas + 14,010
Seattle + 13,438
San Francisco + 12,650
Austin + 10,795
Los Angeles + 6,681
Denver + 6,357
Miami + 5,166
Houston + 5,090
San Jose + 4,539

The CompTIA study also reveals high turnover is almost the norm within the technology sector. The replacement rate for tech occupations during the 2023 to 2033 period is expected to average about 7% annually, or approximately 400,000 workers each year, totaling several million through 2033, the report predicts. The total turnover rate, which encompasses workers transitioning within tech, such as those promoted into a new role, is estimated to average 36% annually during the reporting period.