The number of companies looking for qualified and competent tech talent across the country is increasing with time. Most of the SMBs and software companies get a shock when they finally shortlist candidates for the job and ask the candidates to quote their salaries. Yes, it’s true. IT and tech talent is super-expensive and will continue to be that way in the years to come as well. Bigger organizations and larger IT groups have grown accustomed to the monetary demands put forward by the IT and tech talent these days. They’re big, they can afford the costly tech talent, but the SMBs out there suffer a great deal.
Here is the very simple answer of why tech talent cost so much: The demand for good tech talent is increasing dramatically because of new technology. This demand has a downstream impact. Understand the new technologies coming in, you then understand the demand for technical talent.
If truth be told, the jobs for programmers and software engineers are considered to be the most coveted jobs in Silicon Valley. You can very well imagine the salaries these people get there. For instance, Google truly understands the worth of talented tech people and rewards them more than generously. Even the interns at Google get exorbitantly compensated for their services.
You must be going through the reasons in your head as to why tech and IT talent demands such high salaries for their expertise. Well, that’s what this article is about. So, let’s get into the details and see why the modern tech talent is into quoting such high salaries.
1- Increase in IoT Devices
In 2017, the installed base of the Internet of Things (IoT) devices was 18 billion. By 2020, it is expected to reach 31 billion, and by 2025, it will be 75.4 billion. The global IoT market is expected to hit $457 billion by 2020. Each IoT device has a code behind it. This can give you an idea of how much demand there is for tech talent these days. And the higher the demand, the higher will be the price.
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2- The Jobs for Tech Talent Are Really Tough
Aside from the extra pressure these IT people and software engineers have to bear, the basic nature of their jobs is quite tough as well. They have to meet strict deadlines, they have to create new and advanced software, they have to fix the bugs and errors in existing software, and they have to maintain the standard of developing cutting-edge software unless they want to risk losing their jobs to younger and fresher talent. Yes, the tech talent never stops studying. After every three to five years, there is always something new for them to learn, like AngularJS, Bootstrap, ReactJS, Django, and NodeJS. Thus, keeping in view the kind of services tech talent is asked to provide, their salary is bound to go higher.
3- Home Assistants Still in 1.0 Mode
Home assistants, like Amazon Echo and Google Home, are still being designed in 1.0 mode. On the other hand, there are smart devices, like ikettle, that are being designed in 2.0 and 3.0 modes. Thus, there’s a severe need to upgrade home assistants to higher modes in order to be compatible with smarter devices. Moreover, with home assistant comes its app to operate it via your mobile phone. As the technology behind home assistants is destined to get better, it would require newer apps to be designed for which tech talent would have to put in strenuous efforts that can only be justified with their high salaries.
4- Dealing with Big Data
The term “big data” might have been around for quite some time now, but there’s still nothing that can deal with it properly. Big data refers to extremely large and complex structured and unstructured data sets that are analyzed with the help of modern computers to reveal trends and patterns pertaining to human behavior. Such information is of high importance to business owners, but there’s a long way to go before such data sets can be fully analyzed. Since traditional data processing software are not adequate to deal with big data, only advanced education of data analytics can help deal with it. Realizing how valuable the insights from big data can be, MBA programs of reputable universities are now beginning to offer degrees in data analytics. You can only imagine what tech talent will demand in terms of salary when they acquire those degrees.
5- AI and Machine Language
The tech talent that has qualification, skill, and experience to deal with AI and machine language is the most expensive stratum of IT people. Since the use of AI and machine language is not prevalent in the corporate sector, tech talent that can deal with it wants nothing but a salary that sets them apart from the competition in the IT job market. The current situation is that the best and brightest companies are adopting cutting-edge technology. This is why, according to a New York Times report, some AI firms are offering starting jobs at $500,000 with perks.
6- The Increasing Cloud Services
First, there was Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Microsoft Azure when we talked about cloud service providers. Now, Google has also entered the competition with its cloud platform. As more and more cloud services are surfacing, the jobs for tech and IT people are getting more competitive, leading them to demand higher salaries.
7- Software Companies Demand More Talent
As the competition in the IT industry continues to grow intense, software companies are persevering to create new and competitive features in both their new and existing software. This makes sense with the mobile platform being available to launch various apps and mobile version software.
8- The Growing Need for Cyber-security
The Thales Data Threat report of 2018, which is based on the responses of over 1,200 senior security executives, mentions that about 46% of the US companies had to suffer from the consequences of a data breach in 2017. According to the report, the number of data breaches seems to be increasing every year. Now that cyber-security is getting greater emphasis, it means companies need more tech and IT talent than ever.
The supply of quality tech talent is limited. As the demand of companies and software houses for such talent continues to grow, the prices of tech and IT talent will also go high. That’s just basic economics. As for the reasons why the demand is on the rise, there are too many of them. Implementation of blockchain technology in companies is another huge reason.
The companies that want to stay competitive and abreast with modern technology have realized the value of tech and IT talent. And those companies will pay them their quoted salaries.
Are you finding it harder to locate the good technical and IT talent? Many companies find them selves in the same situation. There are some better ways to locate and attract the right it and technical people to your company. Contact us to learn more.