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The job market continued its rebound in 2013 with the Technology sector leading the way. In 2013 Cypress was an active participant in the growth while partnering with companies to recruit talent in the Applications, Infrastructure / Ops, Marketing and Creative, and Cloud Services spaces. We believe that 2014 is going to be another very [video_lightbox_youtube video_id=”wvsboPUjrGc” width=”640″ height=”480″ anchor=”exciting”] year in technology and below are the four areas we anticipate being the most competitive.
Mobile Application Engineers
The mobile space continued to flourish in 2013 and that trend looks to continue as companies continue to invest in their mobile presence and strategy. With that investment, comes the need for talented Mobile Engineers.
Mobile Engineers develop applications that run on either iOS or Android operating systems and are accessed on your mobile device.  Some have gone so far as to suggest that mobile applications have overtaken the Web in popularity.  It seems as though there is an app for everything, from games to services that find last-minute hotel deals.  Apple’s App Store downloads topped $10 billion in 2013.  Everyone wants a piece of that.
When companies are building out their mobile teams, they pay a lot of attention to professional/personal apps that candidates have published in the Google Play/Apple Store. Android developers specialize in Java and Android SDK, while iOS developers focus on Objective C and iPhone SDK. Successful mobile engineers also tend to work on the full stack as opposed to only doing front or backend work. There is a strong demand for high level developers who carry 3-5 years of experience working on highly downloaded published apps. Market value for mid-level mobile engineers in 2014 lies between $120,000 – $135,000 annually.
Big Data Engineer
Information or Data is being accumulated by companies faster than ever before.  Data is no longer just coming from people, but from objects like phones, watches, thermostats, and even ovens.  All of this data needs to be stored and ultimately analyzed which calls for highly skilled engineers.
A Big Data Engineer works on complex data projects with a focus on collecting, managing, and analyzing large sets of data.  The goal is to transform the massive amounts of data collected into useful information that gives insight into the health of a business.  Failing to use all data relevant to your business could be costly and thus, the need for talented Big Data Engineers is high.
These individuals have extensive knowledge in different programming languages as well as expert knowledge regarding various database technologies. They design and develop data processing systems commonly using Hadoop/Cassandra/NO-SQL technologies as well as Java or Python. A strong mid-level Big Data Engineer is looking at a salary range from $120,000-$140,000 per year.
[video_lightbox_youtube video_id=”Vhh_GeBPOhs” width=”640″ height=”480″ anchor=”Developers, Developers, Developers, Developers…”]
One thing that will surely keep an executive up at night is how to find the absolute Top Engineering Talent.  As many of you know, software, websites, and applications do not just decide to write themselves. Thus, the demand for talented Developers is extremely high. Different Developers are involved in every part of the SDLC – research, writing, design, and testing- making it an extremely versatile profession. These individuals work on the programs that touch almost every single aspect of our lives. From the games on your smart phone to the Google Docs you share with your colleagues, Developers take an idea and code it into a tangible, useful tool. It is an exciting time to work as a Developer because these skills allow you to write software that can do things that no software has ever done before. Because the demand for talent is high, the pay is also very competitive. A mid-level Developer could rake in anywhere from $100K – $120K per year depending on experience and specific skill sets. Strike while the iron is hot! The future of a Developer is one that will continue to grow and seemingly, the possibilities are endless.
[lightbox type=”single-image” full=”https://www.cypresshcm.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/show-me-the-devops.png”]DevOps (aka: Site Managers)[/lightbox]
Companies have been using cloud infrastructure offerings for years now by leveraging products like Amazon’s EC2,Rackspace, Window’s Azure, GoGrid and others. This trend is the new normal and that means companies that would like to optimize their infrastructure need folks with those skills. The return on investment in this strategy can be overwhelming.
DevOps Engineers are individuals that have a blended background of experience in Systems Administration and Software Development who have knowledge of one or more open source coding/scripting languages. This diverse background gives DevOps Engineers a well-rounded view of the technical environment that they work in and helps them streamline the process of identifying and solving issues that relate to both the Development and Operations teams.
There is a large demand for established DevOps Engineers with 3-5 years of experience of designing, building and maintaining systems. The annual salary range for a mid level engineer in 2014 is $115,000 – $135,000.