where are the healthy job markets for software devs (globally)?

Question

First, in defense of the question: if I can't work, it's going to be pretty hard to develop my skills. All the ruby or php or c# in the world doesn't do me much good if there's no jobs. I could certainly go freelance, but I don't know if I have the tolerance for that kind of risk.

The question: If the US goes into a severe recession and I need to look for a new job I may have to expand my job search. I've told my son's mother that, should this happen, I'm willing to tolerate 3 months of unemployment before I get freaked out and start looking at Dubai or Australia or something for a 1 year contract. Where, globally speaking, is the demand at right now? Is the US still the best bet for a developer looking for work? My experience is in dotnet line-of-business apps. Around 5 yrs experience.

Right now I think I'm doing OK, but having a plan B (or C) helps me sleep at night.

Answer 1

If you are a good programmer and don't have a sketchy background you should have no problem finding a job as a programmer in the United States.

Answer 2

I would suggest you work for (directly or indirectly) markets that are unaffected by the economy status, which are:

• the health industry
• sin services (sex, alcohol, gambling)
• education
• food & farming

These resources do not see a downturn with market changes; people still need to go to the hospital, people will always drink and gamble (yes despite the economy), people will still go to school and people still need to eat. It's the rest of the things in life people will cut back on (ex: they may not be as quick to go buy a new car, a new computer, the next version of Office). Just don't put yourself in a luxury service and overall your career will be fine.

Despite, many articles have been written that explain the IT world hasn't been affected by the market. Although recently some major software companies have cut back on some staff, it should be noted those job roles were working on products/services that have been in the red for many years or nobody were using anymore.

Also keep in mind probably the most insecure job to have right now would be where your work is contracted for US military use because the US is about to turn down their efforts in the Middle East.

Answer 3

I can hardly comment on the global, or even national level, but I know as much that my workplace (A Java shop of ~25 employees currently) has trouble finding decent workforce fast enough to meet its growth schedule. And we're in Finland, and we're not in one of the tech hub cities, to boot.

Answer 4

UK is pretty good and people tell me that the money you can get for being a contractor is pretty silly in comparison to other places, especially if you can tolerate london. A lot of places also rate experience much higher than qualifications so as long as you have the technical knowledge a lack of formal education wont hold you back.

Answer 5

I'm a developer in the US, and I'm still getting unsolicited job opening announcements from various friends/recruiters, so it's not all as bad as it would seem

Answer 6

I agree with TravisO. It appears that the thirst for top shelf talent when it is obtainable is not waning.

At first glance, we appear to be weathering the situation with measurable demand from our client base. One of our clients is heavy in the gambling sector though.

I have another client that has been looking for an architect / developer individual for 2 years ostensibly to replace some of our services, but they keep coming back to us because of the lack of talent. They can only hire one person in this position and that person has to be comfortable dealing with Business Process Management, System Architecture, Development and Database Design. Since I fill this bill, and I believe it a tall order to find a single individual to fit these requirements they are on a long quest.

Answer 7

I just started a new job at the end of last year. I had a number of decent offers after 2 months of job hunting. My perception is that the market has shrunk a little, but not significantly. Some of that might have been a normal slowdown in hiring due to the holidays and possibly budgets running dry at the end of the year.

Answer 8

Another line of attack would be to get in touch with recruiters as they may be able to help keep you up to date on how things are going.

Don't forget that most places may have some expertise that doesn't necessarily translate globally, e.g. most IT jobs in Calgary are with Oil & Gas companies and to have little experience in that field may make things hard for a developer looking for work while in Seattle there were a number of dot-coms like Amazon, drugstore, and Expedia that have their own domain knowledge there.

Answer 9

Bangalore(India) is pretty good