IT Professionals’ Career Confidence Ticks Up Slightly

A Big Market for Big Data Jobs

Looking at employee confidence across all industries, global HR provider Randstad found that the last six months have seen confidence levels consistent with the pre-recession period–hanging out in the mid-50s on its scale.

For July, U.S. employees surveyed by Harris Interactive for Randstad responded on their confidence about being able to find a new job (49 percent feel confident) and their confidence in their employer’s future (62 percent said they were confident).

IT workers in the sample didn’t reach the same level of career confidence overall, compared to the full sample, but their 2013 Q2 average rose to 53.6 on Randstad’s scale from 48.6 in Q1.

Bob Dickey, executive vice president of technologies at Randstad US, said of the demand for IT skills in the U.S., “companies are seeking candidates with much needed skill sets, such as SuccessFactors, Microsoft Dynamics, SQL Server, SAP HANA and Workday. We are also seeing higher demand for candidates with an understanding of service-oriented architecture (SOA), java and data architects.”

Dickey also sees growth ahead for hiring related to Big Data initiatives.

Twenty-five percent of respondents working in IT said it is likely they will lose their jobs in the next year. Forty-seven percent said they feel confident they will find another job if needed, and 43 percent think they will be job hunting within the next 12 months.

Dickey points to the prevalence of temporary positions in IT as one of the factors keeping career confidence low.

For more insights on movement and growth in IT careers, see my Q&A with Chris Mader, Randstad vice president, Growth Strategy & Development, “Randstad: IT Professionals Have Much to Be Optimistics About.“