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Kara Kummer

Professor: Dr. G. Jimmy Chen

CSIS 1030

20 April 2017

Top jobs in the technology field for 2017

Todays job market in technology has a wide range of opportunities. Many employers

are looking for specialists to fill their positions. So, then what specialties should college

students pursue?

Rasmussen College, a career-focused higher education school, founded in 1900 in St

Paul, Minnesota provides a list, published on their schools website August 31, 2015, as to what

positions students can expect to find. They analyzed over 560,000 job postings from July 2014

to June 2015 and have determined the 10 most common jobs for applicants with a computer

science degree. Number one on their list is Software Applications Developer with 165,063

available jobs and a median annual salary of $95,510 with projected growth of 20% or higher.

The second and third on their list were Computer Systems Analyst ($82,710, 22 %+) and

Computer Systems Engineer ($83,410, 3-7 %). The list continues with different positions for

analyst, developers, programmers and software tester.

A report by Robert Half Technology, a technology staffing firm, named on Forbes list of

Americas Best Large Employers. (2016) published a graph listing the top 10 technology and IT

jobs for 2017, based on predicted salary growth in 2017. Topping their list is Data Scientist with

a median salary of $140,000 (increasing 6.4%). Followed by Big Data Engineer ($166,000,
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+5.8 %) and Network Security Engineer ($139,000, +5.7 %). Also listed are security

administrator, developers, data security analyst, developers, designer and engineers.

A newer report published January 1, 2017 by Glassdoor, one of the fastest growing jobs

and recruiting sites, listed 50 of the best jobs in America for 2017. Technology jobs ranking in

the top 10 of their list. Number one on their list is Data Scientist with a median salary of

$110,000. The second and third best jobs were DevOps Engineer ($110,000) and Data

Engineer ($106,000). Also on their list are data administrators, designers, developers and QA

managers. The Glassdoor Job Score is based on three key factors: earning potential based on

median annual base salary, job satisfaction rating and number of job openings.

There are numerous websites among these, with lists available for research, including

www.payscale.com and www.computersciencezone.com, containing plenty of career paths for

any avenue of computer science. However, careers as developers, analysts, and engineers

seem to be the best choices (see table 1).

So, then based on the specialties employers are looking for in todays job market. What

specialties should college students pursue?

After the research done, by companies looking to help students find the perfect job in

their field which considered at job openings, annual median salaries, and potential salary

increase percentage. Students should consider developer, scientist/analyst and engineering

specialties in their computer science studies. These specialties will be the most sought after in

applicants with computer science degrees in 2017.

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Table 1

List of top 3 ranking jobs from Rasmussen College, Robert Half Technologies, and Glassdoor

websites.

Rank Rasmussen College Robert Half Technologies Glassdoor

1st Software Applications Developer Data Scientist Data Scientist

2nd Computer Systems Analyst Big Data Engineer DevOps Engineer

3rd Computer Systems Engineer Network Security Engineer Data Engineer

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Bibliography

Malvik, Callie. Rasmussen College. Rasmussen College - Regionally Accredited College

Online and on Campus, www.rasmussen.edu/degrees/technology/blog/what-can-you-

do-with-computer-science-degree/. Accessed 9 Mar. 2017.

Beachy, Jason. The 50 Highest Paying Jobs in Computer Science. Computer Science Zone,

14 Dec. 2016, www.computersciencezone.org/50-highest-paying-jobs-computer-

science/. Accessed 9 Mar. 2017.

Best Jobs For Computer Science Majors by Salary Potential. Best Jobs For Computer Science

Majors | PayScale, www.payscale.com/college-salary-report/common-jobs-for-

majors/computer-science. Accessed 9 Mar. 2017.

Best Jobs in America. Glassdoor, www.glassdoor.com/List/Best-Jobs-in-America-

LST_KQ0,20.htm. Accessed 9 Mar. 2017.

Florentine, Sharon. 14 best tech jobs in America. CIO, CIO, 8 Feb. 2017,

www.cio.com/article/3167568/it-skills-training/14-best-tech-jobs-in-america.html.

Accessed 9 Mar. 2017.

2017 Technology & IT Salary Guide. (2017, January 10). Retrieved March 09, 2017, from

https://www.roberthalf.com/technology/salary-center-for-technology-professionals