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.
Don’t Let STEM Jobs in State Go Unfilled
Herald Net | Staff | Dec. 10
http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20141210/OPINION01/141219954/Don’t-let-STEM-jobs-in-state-go-unfilled-
Washington state is actually doing pretty well in producing family-wage jobs in technology fields. The Boston Consulting Group, in its recent report, “Opportunity For All: Investing in Washington State’s STEM Education Pipeline,” finds that the state has one of the highest proportions of science, technology, engineering and math jobs in the nation, half of which are in computer science. The difficulty, it says, comes in filling those jobs. Under current trends, only 9 of 100 children born in the state will end up in STEM-related jobs in the state, jobs that BCG estimates number around 25,000 now and which could double by 2017. Jobs not won by state residents are instead filled by out-of-state workers, or — worse yet — the jobs themselves could be sent out of state. What’s needed, the consulting group says in its report, are investments by the state and others in early learning, K-12 education, the transition to college, post-secondary education and career coaching. An investment of $650 million in the first three, the report says, would result in the creation of 8,000 STEM jobs and generate $4.5 billion in tax revenue and reductions in spending for the state.
US Job Openings Rise to near 14-year High; Quits, Total Hiring Also Remain at Healthy Levels
U.S. News | Christopher Rugaber | Dec. 9
http://www.usnews.com/news/business/articles/2014/12/09/us-job-openings-rise-hiring-remains-healthy
The number of available U.S. jobs rose in October to the second-highest level in 14 years, and companies kept hiring at a healthy pace, adding to evidence of an improving economy. Job openings increased 3.2 percent to 4.83 million, the Labor Department said Tuesday. That’s just below August’s total, which was the highest on records dating back to 2000. Total hiring slipped 0.4 percent to 5.1 million after reaching a seven-year high in September. The number of people quitting was mostly unchanged at a six-year high of 2.7 million. The overall figures paint a picture of a more dynamic job market, with businesses filling more open jobs and more Americans quitting, typically for better-paying opportunities. More quits and more job postings provide more opportunities for the unemployed to find work. Job openings have been rising strongly all year, but total hiring has only picked up in the past couple of months. That suggests employers are stepping up their efforts to fill open positions.
Cool Spaces: PayScale’s Stadium-view Office Is a Sports Haven
Puget Sound Business Journal | Rachel Lerman | Dec. 8
http://www.bizjournals.com/seattle/blog/techflash/2014/12/cool-spaces-payscale-s-stadium-view-office-is-a.html?ana=e_du_pub&s=article_du&ed=2014-12-08&u=ilbLUrKrU2/jjJJmX4zKbA08463807&t=1418178259
PayScale’s office is one of its most valuable recruiting tools. The 17,000-square-foot space is right above Elysian Brewery in Pioneer Square, just steps away from CenturyLink Stadium. And the company is definitely recruiting. It hired 60 people in the last four months, bringing its total to 190 employees. PayScale plans to have 225 employees in the first quarter next year. PayScale is a software company that helps employees find out how much they should earn and employers gage how much they should pay.
Approximately 150 PayScale employees work in the main Pioneer Square office, and another 40 work a couple blocks away. The space reflects its neighboring stadiums — college flags hang from the mezzanine so employees can represent their favorite teams.
Latest Seattle Job Listings for PayScale
Uber Hiring Engineering Manager in Seattle, Signaling Plans for Development Center in City
GeekWire | Taylor Soper | Dec. 8
http://www.geekwire.com/2014/uber-hiring-engineering-manager-seattle-signaling-plans-establish-development-center-city/
Another fast-growing Silicon Valley tech company appears to be opening up an engineering office in Seattle. This time it’s Uber, the San Francisco-based on-demand transportation startup that just raised another $1.2 billion at a massive $40 billion valuation. Uber is hiring an “Engineering Manager” in Seattle who will be “instrumental in hiring and mentoring the engineers who work on new product features and experiences for our riders.”
Latest Seattle Job Postings for Uber
New Year, New Job: Where to Find High-Paying High-Tech Jobs
Main St. | Hal Bundrick | Dec. 5
http://www.mainstreet.com/article/new-year-new-job-where-to-find-high-paying-high-tech-jobs
Recession-resistant and rapidly growing, technology jobs have been money in the bank for the past 20 years and are expected to continue offering abundant and lucrative opportunities going forward. The U.S. Department of Labor says employment in the IT industry grew by 37% since 2003. The recession barely moved the needle in job demand, trimming the tech workforce by only 1%, which quickly recovered and reached new heights. Where are the hotspots for high tech jobs? Well, there are the obvious candidates: Silicon Valley in California — and of course the home of Amazon and Microsoft and many other tech leaders: Washington state. But Massachusetts has led all 50 states in tech and science resources since the Milken Institute began tracking such data in 2004. And those capabilities quickly translate into new companies and more jobs. In fact, in the latest State Technology and Science Index, Massachusetts achieved its highest score ever.
Seattle Jobs that Make $100,000
Seattle PI | Vanessa Ho | Dec. 4
http://www.seattlepi.com/business/article/Seattle-jobs-that-make-over-100-000-5928280.php
Looking for a job in the Seattle area that pays at least $100,000?
Here’s a list of the most popular local jobs with annual salaries of six figures, according to the latest data from the state Employment Security Department. A few things to note: Numbers are for the Seattle-Bellevue-Everett area. They were released in late 2014 and are based on 2013 wages and estimates.
Annual salaries are based on an average hourly rate, times 40 hours a week. It represents regular wages and does not include overtime or other compensation. Self-employed people and military workers are not included. The slideshow features the most common local, high-paying jobs. To see a fuller picture of salaries tracked by the state — for cashiers, baristas, teachers and other jobs — see “Seattle salaries: How does yours compare?”
Virtual reality Macs? Apple Hiring Engineers Familiar with Oculus, Leap Motion
GeekWire | Blair Hanley Frank | Dec. 3
http://www.geekwire.com/2014/virtual-reality-macs-apple-hiring-engineers-familiar-oculus-leap-motion/
Apple may be eyeing a move into the virtual reality space…or something. The company has posted a handful of job listings seeking engineers who are familiar with virtual reality tech like the Oculus Rift to develop future software for Apple. “We are looking for a software engineer to develop UI and applications to create next generation software experiences,” reads one job description for an App Engineer position. “The individual must be able to take participate in collaborative and iterative UI design through the implementation phases & complete performant user experience code for product delivery. This engineer will create high performance apps that integrate with Virtual Reality systems for prototyping and user testing.”
Latest Seattle Engineering Job Listings for Apple