IT job market is REALLY coming back

If you looking around, signs are everywhere - IT job market is really coming back. Although more IT jobs being slowly moved to offshore, there are simply more IT jobs being created in the US at the same time. Company's stronger security/regulatory measures, another cycle of upgrading ever complex systems, needing new Web2.0 applications, all demand more talented IT labor forces.

After analyzing industry growth and compensation levels, looking into such things as job satisfaction, stress levels, flexibility and advancement opportunities, a recent survey shows that software engineer job, once again, tops list of best jobs.

Google's job search engine ?

There is a blog entry saying that Google is developing its vertical job search engine, similar to the Google Real Estate’s launched the past week. This development appears to be a very logic step for the Company.

By looking at the "Google Real Estate" search user interface, you can easily tell what this job search engine interface will be like. The thing scares me is that it will be identical to that of simplyhired.com and indeed.com.

Are simplyhired.com and indeed.com will be big losers in this? I hope not, as long as both companies can quickly develop business revenues outside of the Search Engine/Ad model. It is going to be hard.

What to say when you ask for a salary raise ?

Based this report, next time when you negotiating a salary raise, you should mention to your boss following two facts :

1) Watson Wyatt (a human capital management consulting firm ) found that companies with the highest percentage of their budgets available for merit increases and promotions outperformed their peers, as did companies that made the largest distinctions in their pay for top performers and everyone else.

2) PricewaterhouseCoopers Saratoga (a human capital measurement firm) found that in 2004, for every $100 spent on salary and benefits, the average U.S. company enjoyed $42 in profit, double from the year before.

The return of two-year Associate Degree

There was a recent report showing the return of the two-year Associate degrees in the US educational scene:

"No long time ago, community colleges and other career schools were way stations for students who couldn't get into or afford a four-year school. These students would typically get their Associate of Arts (A.A.) or Associate of Science (A.S.) degree and then, either find a low-paying job, or transfer to a university to pursue a bachelor's degree. Today, many students are bypassing the four-year degree to enter the workforce straight out of career schools. Jobs in some of the most vibrant and growing fields today, such as many healthcare disciplines, are available to those possessing a two-year Associate of Applied Science (A.A.S.) degree". Many such programs already have student enrollment waiting lists.
In my opinion, from the job market perspective, this is one of the best thing happend to the community colleges (or other career schools) in the last 15 years. Comparing with 4-year colleges, community colleges are more flexible to build new curriculums, more adaptive to the dynamic job market. They know what kind of education they should offer to average kids, which enable them to get good jobs after graduation, and at a low cost.
People go with the trends and the times. A few years ago, everyone flooded the IT (information technology) programs in the community colleges. People got in the program early gained many years of experience already when the .com bubble busted, so they stayed on the jobs and moved up.

Currently, it is healthcare jobs that are targetd by many Associate of Applied Science (A.A.S.) degrees from community colleges. According to United States Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), two occupations requiring only an associate's degree--physical therapist assistant and dental hygienist--are projected to be among the top ten fastest-growing jobs in the next decade. The demand for both jobs is expected to rise more than 40 percent by 2014, and both are highly rated in terms of annual compensation. Dental hygienists typically make at least $43,600 per year, according to the BLS, while physical therapist assistants make between $28,580 and $43,590 annually.

Other in-demand jobs that career-school graduates are targeting include surgical technologist, respiratory care therapist, optician, forensic scientist, and cinema/television.
How far can a graduate go with a A.A.S. degree ? As far as with any other degrees, in my opinion, MBA degree included.

MBA degree is optional for top jobs

Business week published a piece demonstrated that for TOP management level jobs (CxO level), the MBA degree is not a requirement. Case in point:
1) two researches show in 2000-04, companies run by CEOs with MBAs have modestly better, sometime same, return on equity than those run by non-MBAs. But median shareholder return for the MBA-run companies was significantly worse -- 7.4%, versus 9.9% for companies run by non-MBAs.
2) research has found that fewer than 1/3 executives who reach those lofty heights do so with the help of an MBA. American Express , Citigroup , FedEx Corp, IBM ,Microsoft Corp and Wal-Mart Stores Inc all have CEOs without MBAs.
Headhunters say that while an MBA may help land a first job after graduation, the career benefits from that moment on are almost nonexistent. It's the instinct, the hard work, and the raw intelligence get people to the top.
However, for non-top management positions, MBA do get degree-holder paid better, the more prominent the school, the higher the salaries. This can be explained by the B-schools' carefully crafted brands, or the signal theory.