Part of the WTIA’s mission is to grow a strong and sustainable workforce, which means we’re passionate about keeping local talent plugged into our state’s technology industry. In addition to our job board, every Wednesday we’ll be keeping you connected to Washington’s job market with the latest in local hiring news.

 

Seattle Tech Hiring Expected to Grow in First Half of 2015

Puget Sound Business Journal | Ben Miller | Dec. 2

http://www.bizjournals.com/seattle/blog/techflash/2014/12/seattle-tech-hiring-expected-grow-in-first-half-of.html?ana=e_tf&s=newsletter&ed=2014-12-02&u=ls5d+7OJRUaWfkIJW6OjBA0fe38366&t=1417572719

Tech hiring in Seattle is expected to grow in the first half of 2015, according to a new survey of chief information officers. Tech professional hiring agency Robert Half’s study indicates that 23 percent of Seattle-area CIOs surveyed recently plan to expand their information technology teams in the first half of 2015. What are the hottest tech jobs in Seattle today? According to the survey, 68 percent said network administration skill sets are in greatest demand within their IT departments, followed by desktop support (64 percent) and wireless network management (60 percent).

 

The 10 Fastest Growing AND Most in-demand Jobs of the Year

UpStart Business Journal | Michael del Castillo | Dec. 2

http://upstart.bizjournals.com/resources/advice/2014/12/02/the-10-fastest-growing-and-most-in-demand-jobs-of.html?ana=e_ubj&u=ls5d+7OJRUaWfkIJW6OjBA0fe38366&t=1417572825

There’s a sweet spot in the job market where the number of jobs companies post significantly surpasses the number of people actually qualified to do those jobs. But there’s another factor to consider when looking at the hottest jobs of the year: job growth. Last week job finding site, Careerbuilder and Economic Modeling Specialists Intl. co-published a list of the top jobs based on gap between postings and applications, both for those with a college degree, and those without…We culled through that data to find the fastest growing jobs over four years. Call it the sweet spot, within the sweet spot.

 

SpaceX Posts Job-listing for Farmer to Help ‘Advance the Course of Human History’

International Business Times | Anthony Cuthbertson | Dec. 2

http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/spacex-posts-job-listing-farmer-help-advance-course-human-history-1477599

SpaceX, the US-based firm that states its ultimate mission as “advancing the course of human history and pave the ways to Mars”, has posted an unusual job listing to fill the role of a farmer. The online job advert appears alongside other positions on SpaceX’s careers page that include Avionics Integration Engineer, Director, Launch Operations and Propulsion Structural Analyst (Dragon Systems). “We are not like most companies,” the advert states. “Our goal is to do what has never before been done – enabling mankind to live on other planets. We push the boundaries of what is currently possible, and understand it takes rare individuals to help us make this happen. “We seek future colleagues with a rare mix of drive, passion, scrappiness, intelligence, and curiosity to seek what’s beyond the stars.”

 

Latest Seattle Job Listings for SpaceX,

 

Obama Tech Job Plan Disappoints

EE Times | Rick Merritt | Dec. 1

http://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1324806

With his recent actions on immigration, President Obama “missed an opportunity” to improve the US job market for engineers and other high tech workers, according to an analysis by the IEEE USA. President Obama outlined four actions that effect high tech hiring in his executive actions on immigration announced in late November. The moves didn’t go far enough, said Russell T. Harrison, director of government relations for the 200,000-member electrical engineering association. The group was among several that lobbied President Obama to exempt dependents from being counted in the employment-based visa program. The EB visa program issues 140,000 green cards each year for workers in specialty fields, but it currently counts cards issued to dependents. About 1.1 dependents get green cards for every worker qualified in the program, “so of the 140,000 green cards issued we only get about 65,000 workers,” said Harrison. “Exempting dependents would have more than doubled the program — that would have been a game changer and fundamentally transformed the U.S. high-tech economy,” he said.

 

What Tech Skills Should Students Acquire to Get Summer Jobs

Forbes | Dan Woods | Nov. 30

http://www.forbes.com/sites/danwoods/2014/11/30/what-tech-skills-should-students-acquire-to-get-summer-jobs/2/

There is a basic set of computer science and software development skills that you need if you are going to make money. These include:

• A basic understanding of operating systems or cloud computing environments that will run your programs.
• How to install software on the computers that will run your programs.
• Scripting and various other tools for automation of the software development and deployment process.
• Basic operational and diagnostic skills to see if your programs are running.
• Knowledge of Git, GitHub, and other tools used for managing and sharing software.