[April 25, 2017] |
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TEKsystems Survey Pinpoints Best IT Jobs for New College Graduates
With the approach of university and college graduations nationwide,
TEKsystems (News - Alert)®, a leading provider of IT
staffing solutions and IT
services, today released the results of a survey revealing the top
IT jobs for recent graduates along with the key factors hiring managers
look at when considering candidates for entry-level positions. The
survey was conducted in March 2017 and the results represent the views
of more than 250 IT hiring managers across the United States.
Key highlights from the survey include:
Developer Roles Provide the Best Job Opportunities
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Q: What skill sets provide the greatest opportunity for recent
college graduates searching for entry-level positions? Select all
that apply.
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Job
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Percentage
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Applications developer
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60%
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Technical support
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54%
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Business/systems analyst
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52%
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Web developer
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48%
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Network/systems administrator
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39%
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Network/systems engineer
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37%
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Database administrator
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35%
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Quality assurance engineer
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27%
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TEKsystems' Take: IT hiring managers recommend applications
developer roles as the best opportunity for new college graduates.
Individuals with an IT degree in computer science can learn common
development environments such as Windows, .NET (News - Alert), Linux and SQL. This
experience provides a foundation for future growth in a more
specialized area of software development. Coincidentally, developer
roles are consistently difficult roles to fill, a result of the
sky-high demand for qualified tech professionals across the industry.
Technical support, business analyst and web developers are also
mentioned as good opportunities for new graduates with generalized
degrees. Digital transformation will continue to create a lot of
opportunity for new IT professionals as organizations take on more and
larger IT projects. These initiatives will require a small number of
highly skilled and experienced individuals to design, but a larger
number of junior- or entry-level workers to implement.
Generalized IT Degrees Preferred Over Specialized Degrees
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Q: For most entry-level positions, which type of degree is most
applicable for recent graduates? Select only one.
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Type of Degree
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Percentage
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Generalized/traditional degrees (e.g., CIS, computer science,
computing, software engineering)
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83%
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Specialized / new age degrees (e.g., data analysis, human-computer
interaction, AI, game development)
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17%
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TEKsystems' Take: In the last several years, we've seen an
explosion in the different types of degrees and specialized areas of
study available for IT related careers, such as data analysis,
human-computer interaction and artificial intelligence. However, the
vast majority of hiring managers, more than 8 in 10, say a generalized
or more traditional technology degree is more applicable for new
college graduates. Hiring managers often prefer several years of
experience when filling specialized roles, while certain organizations
internally develop individuals for specialized roles requiring unique
skill sets. The research indicates that new graduates should feel
confident their generalized degree is more effective for initially
landing a job to gain valuable experience and to focus later on
acquiring additional skills and certifications in more specialized
areas of IT.
Work Experience and Internships Dominate as Top Factors for Hiring
Over GPA and School Attended
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Q: When considering a recent graduate for a position, how
important are the following factors? Stack rank from most important
to least important.
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Rank
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Factor
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Percentage (ranked 1 or 2)
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1
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Work-related internship / experience
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86%
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2
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Referrals/references
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50%
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3
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GPA
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24%
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4
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School attended
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18%
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5
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Extracurricular activities
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11%
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6
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ROTC or Military Reserve Program
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10%
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TEKsystems' Take: When considering recent college graduates for
entry-level positions, IT hiring managers are loud and clear that
work-related internships or experience is the most important factor,
ranking it twice as high as the next factor, referrals and references.
This is significant as it has implications for both hiring managers
seeking candidates as well as students themselves: work-related
internships and experience, along with referrals and references, are
better predictors of performance for first-time graduates than either
GPA or the particular school attended-especially in the fast-paced,
ever-evolving industry of technology. It could also speak to an
increased focus on finding the right cultural fit versus technical
fit, where the decisive criteria in competing candidates with less
proven backgrounds would be practical experience and an ability to
assimilate into an existing team. A more "build versus buy" approach.
Salary Still Tops, but Workplace Flexibility More Important Than
Healthcare; Nearly Half of Hiring Managers Willing to Offer a 10 percent
Premium for Exceptional Candidates
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Q: In terms of a hiring package, which factors do you consider
most attractive to a recent college graduate when offering them a
job?
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Rank
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Package
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Percentage (ranked 1 or 2)
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1
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Salary
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85%
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2
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Workplace flexibility (i.e., ability to telecommute, flexible work
schedule)
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68%
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3
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Healthcare
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26%
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4
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Tuition reimbursement (on-going education)
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16%
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5
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Retirement/401k
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5%
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Q: If a candidate were truly exceptional, how far above the
budgeted salary would you be willing to offer? Select only one.
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Percentage Above
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Response Percentage
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10% above
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46%
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5% above
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32%
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15% above
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15%
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20% above
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5%
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More than 20% above
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2%
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TEKsystems' Take: Not surprisingly, IT hiring managers say
salary is the most attractive aspect of a hiring package for recent
college graduates. A recent graduate could be in-line for as much as a
10 percent bump in the initial salary offering if a hiring manager
finds the candidate exceptional. However, that's the maximum amount
most recent graduates should expect for job offers, as the salary bump
percentages drastically drop beyond that. Hiring managers are also
well aligned with the desires of IT candidates when thinking about the
most attractive pieces of the hiring package puzzle, ranking workplace
flexibility as the second highest factor-even above healthcare.
Although salary is important to job seekers, and no company can
compete for IT talent with salary bands below market value, an
increasing trend among IT talent, particularly new job seekers, is
workplace flexibility. It allows them the freedom to structure their
own working hours, which in turn, can offer a better work/life
balance, as well as the time for additional job opportunities. Hiring
managers who wrap flexibility into their employee value proposition
should stand out in the competitive IT job market.
"The industry is still a seller's market and provides a target-rich
environment for recent graduates entering the landscape. However, new
graduates should still expect to be offered the types of junior/entry
level roles where they're primarily being asked to maintain, update or
fix currently deployed software programs," said TEKsystems Research
Manager Jason Hayman. "This is most likely why organizations are showing
a heavy preference for generalized degrees over specialized, where in
the future they can develop the skill set of a capable individual to fit
their own specialized requirements. Newly graduated job seekers may be
surprised that it's not about the name recognition of an expensive
school or a cutting edge degree that gets you in the door, it's getting
your hands dirty prior to graduation and making yourself a valuable
member of whatever team or project you get the opportunity to work on."
TEKsystems' Jason Hayman is available for additional commentary. For
more information about the survey, or to schedule an interview, please
contact Nathan Bowen at [email protected].
About TEKsystems®
People are at the heart of every successful business initiative. At
TEKsystems, an Allegis Group company, we understand people. Every year
we deploy more than 80,000 IT professionals at 6,000 client sites across
North America, Europe and Asia. Our deep insights into IT human capital
management enable us to help our clients achieve their business
goals-while optimizing their IT workforce strategies. We provide IT
staffing solutions, IT talent management expertise and IT services to
help our clients plan, build and run their critical business
initiatives. Through our range of quality-focused delivery models, we
meet our clients where they are, and take them where they want to go,
the way they want to get there.
TEKsystems. Our people make IT possible.
View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170425006553/en/
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