Now is a great time to get started with a career in tech. The recent Great Resignation and corresponding churn in the job market means many organizations are looking to hire workers immediately. According to the recent Job Openings and Labor Turnover (JOLTS) report, 4.4 million Americans left their jobs in September, and there are now 10.4 million job openings, which passes pre-pandemic levels.
Pivot to a New Job
The pandemic caused many people to re-evaluate their lives, jobs and careers, writes Jack Kelly in Forbes. “Many people realized that they don’t want to continue in the same old job. They wanted to pivot to a new job or reinvent themselves by pursuing different interests.” Others are interested in remote positions that allow them to work from anywhere.
Global data from LinkedIn’s Glint division, for example, shows that 87 percent of workers would prefer to stay remote at least half of the time. Kelly also notes that “remote job listings on LinkedIn garner double the amount of views and 2.5 times the share of applicants compared to in-office listings.” The tech industry offers many such remote opportunities, ranging from technical support and website development to database administration and DevOps.
In this article, we’ll look at the current state of hiring and share ways you can start learning and developing your tech career right now.
Tech Workers Are in Demand
Tech workers in particular are in high demand, with U.S. software development job postings in September up 73 percent from February 2021, and total U.S. job postings up about 43 percent, according to Axios.
Hiring activity for tech workers in the United States also hit a two-year high in October, according to a report from CompTIA. The report says “tech jobs postings were strong across multiple industries and geographies, reaffirming the importance of technology, innovation and digital transformation for businesses.”
The report also notes that “one-third of the openings were for emerging tech positions or jobs requiring emerging tech skills, suggesting that companies are expanding or resuming their activity in areas such as artificial intelligence, automation, robotics and the Internet of Things.”
Employers are hiring at a blistering pace, says the Boston Globe. “Candidates fresh from school or with little experience are in the unusual position of dictating terms in negotiations, seeing the balance of power swing sharply in their favor.”
Hires have increased 173 percent on LinkedIn, with one person getting a new job every 15 seconds, Kelly writes. Additionally, LinkedIn’s members are increasingly taking advantage of the site’s online courses, consuming “over one million hours of learning per week,” which is up more than 50 percent from a year ago.
"Upskilling and continuous learning are key for both job candidates and employers,” says Barbara Casarin, Talent and Leadership Development Specialist, with whom we spoke. “You become an attractive and valuable candidate when you can provide more than the minimum required skills and competencies. Upskilling differentiates you from the crowd and shows initiative, motivation, and a self-starter mindset. For employers, it indicates you will be able to be productive and provide value to the organization from day one.”
Start Learning
The following resources provide practical information on how to get started in the areas of system administration and cybersecurity, as well as tips for making a career change, finding online learning options, and more:
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