The technological advances have led to rapid growth of the tech industry and jobs such as developers, designers, and software testers. Between 2000-2010, the tech industry grew 4.6% annually on average and added nearly 100,000 jobs between January-June 2012. By 2020, employment in computer occupations is expected to increase 22%. Jobs related to app development grew from non-existent in 2007 after the iPhone launch to nearly 500,000 jobs in the US in 2011. Developers, designers, and software testers will continue to be in high demand as the tech sector's importance grows.

1. THE RISE OF THE
DEVELOPER, DESIGNER, &
SOFTWARE TESTER
TECHNOLOGICAL ADVANCES HAVE HAD MANY FAR-REACHING EFFECTS, PARTICULARLY THE TYPE OF
TECH JOB MARKET THAT EXISTS TODAY AND ITS IMPACT ON OTHER INDUSTRIES.
GROWTH OF THE TECH INDUSTRY
100,000
JAN
4.6%
2012
Industry output grew rapidly between 2000 and
2010, increasing 4.6% annually on average.
JUN
2012
Between January and June 2012 the tech industry added
nearly 100,000 jobs at a 1.7% gain.
THE LARGEST GAINS
9.2k
TECHNOLOGY
50.8k
MANUFACTURING
SOFTWARE SERVICES
In the span of a year and a half, the
industry added nearly 200,000 jobs at a
3.3% increase to a total of 6 million jobs
across 4 sectors within the industry.
49.9k
ENGINEERING AND
TECH SERVICES
2010
2020
By 2020, employment in all computer occupations is expected to increase by 22%.
APP ECONOMY
2007
App related jobs were non-existent prior to the first iPhone
in 2007. They have since grown to nearly half a million jobs in
the U.S. and account for a significant section of the economy.
2011
45%
YOUR AD
HERE
By one estimate, the App Economy generated
almost $20 billion in revenue in 2011.
Since late 2009, the estimated jobs in the App Economy
have been on a steady, rapid incline – including a 45%
higher average of tech want ads related to apps
between 2010 and 2011.
IMPACT ON
OTHER INDUSTRIES
Since 2000, a significant gap has developed between the U.S.
economic activity/productivity (which continues to increase)
and employment/job creation (which is weak and stagnating).
Technology, and particularly automation, has been proposed
to be the cause behind both.
TECH
1980
2011
In 1980, manufacturing accounted for 22.1% of jobs
in the U.S. In 2011, it was down to only 10.2% of jobs.
TECH
TECH
TECH
TECH
TECH
TECH
TECH
8 of the 10 fastest growing jobs from 2000 to
2010 were in the tech industry.
DEVELOPER
MEDIAN SALARY
SKILLSET REQUIRED
$90,530
Analytical skills to analyze user
needs and software design
The highest-paid positions
can be found in:
Attention to detail to tackle
multiple parts of the software
and complete work thoroughly
El Centro, California, and the
Haverhill-North Andover-Amesbury
areas of Massachusetts and New
Hampshire
0000
0000
Technical skills and knowledge of
computer programming
Problem-solving skills
JOB ROLES
JOB GROWTH
The largest occupation, software developers make up about
20% of the industry with over 900,000 software developers
in the U.S. in 2010.
57% 72%
Applications software developers design a wide
range of programs for consumers, including
applications used in cloud computing and company
intranets.
Applications software developer jobs are
projected to grow 57% from 2010 to 2020.
Systems software developers create and upgrade
the systems that keep computers functioning
properly. This includes the software that supports
a computer's basic functions as well as building
the system's interface that allows users to
interact with the computer.
Systems software developers jobs are
projected to grow 72% from 2010 to 2020.
DESIGNER
MEDIAN SALARY
SKILLSET REQUIRED
$75,660
Analytical skills to analyze user
needs
Creativity to combine user needs,
marketing, and design to create
websites
The highest-paid positions
can be found in:
The metropolitan areas of Reading,
Pennsylvania; San Jose, Sunnyvale and
Santa Clara, California.
Problem-solving skills
JOB ROLES
JOB GROWTH
Web designers are
projected to grow 22%
by 2020, creating about
22%
65,700 jobs
Web designers design and create websites. They are responsible
for the appearance of the website as well as the behind the scenes
coding, performance, and capacity.
SOFTWARE TESTER
SKILLSET REQUIRED
MEDIAN SALARY
Analytical skills are a must for
being able to foresee potential
issues and make good decisions
about what testing is best used to
improve the software.
$77,740
The highest-paid positions
can be found in:
Creativity and problem-solving
skills go hand in hand to devise
innovative solutions to problems
or bugs discovered as well as for
finding issues before users.
Massachusetts, California, Washington
state and Colorado
JOB ROLES
Software Testers, also called Software Quality Assurance or
Implementation Analysts, do testing on software, applications,
and upgrades
Testers write reports to
management recommending ways
to improve the software
JOB GROWTH
22%
Software testers can act as a
bridge between the software
developer and the IT infrastructure
team that takes care of installation
and maintenance
The U.S. Bureau of Labor
Statistics lumps software
testers with other analysts.
Together, computer
systems analysts are
estimated to expect 22%
job growth between 2010
and 2020 with an increase
of over 120,000 jobs
CONCLUSION
WITH THE TECH SECTOR'S EVER-GROWING IMPORTANCE AND INFLUENCE,
THE DEVELOPER, DESIGNER, AND SOFTWARE TESTER WILL CONTINUE TO BE
A SIGNIFICANT PART OF THE JOB MARKET.
SOURCES
money.usnews.com/careers/best-jobs/web-developer
money.usnews.com/careers/best-jobs/software-developer
www.thebestschools.org/blog/2012/10/15/20-best-it-jobs-2013
www.bls.gov/ooh/Computer-and-Information-Technology/Software-developers.htm
www.technet.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/TechNet-App-Economy-Jobs-Study.pdf
www.technologyreview.com/featuredstory/515926/how-technology-is-destroying-jobs
www.techamericafoundation.org/tech-industry-adds-nearly-100000-jobs-in-1st-half-of-2012
www.bls.gov/ooh/Computer-and-Information-Technology/Computer-systems-analysts.htm
www.theverge.com/2013/9/30/4784088/bloomberg-tech-summit-study-says-new-york-city-tech-is-booming
www.bls.gov/opub/btn/volume-2/careers-in-growing-field-of-information-technology-services.htm
www.computerworld.com/s/article/9225673/IT_jobs_will_grow_22_through_2020_says_U.S.?pageNumber=1
www.bls.gov/ooh/computer-and-information-technology/information-security-analysts-web-developers-and-computer-network-architects.htm