NEW YORK - Mobile
technologies and related services represent the most aggressive
segment of expansion of the US telecom sector in the last six months. If you
consider wireless data services, mobile devices,
mobile content providers,
application software, systems integration
and related services, the total addressable
market is roughly $75 billion. Our research
has shown that the resulting growth has
meant that approximately 4.6 million people
are currently employed in the US
telecommunications industry, with 414,000
people working in the mobile technologies
segment alone in 2006 (approximately 9% of the total US telecom market). This represents approximately a 25% increase from 2004.
"We can't seem to fill positions fast enough," says Michael
Hodgskin, HR Director of a Manhattan based mobile/online dating
service. "The need for senior level developers is through the
roof and there seems to be a lack of available qualified
applicants in the local market. We have people working in 8
different countries at the moment, many of whom are contractors
who are probably working on competitor products in and around
our projects."
Mobile Entertainment employment, in particular, has skyrocketed
since 2002. This one time tiny segment of the mobile market has
become a major force due to brisk sales of hand held devices and
related internet service offerings.
While there currently exists very little information on the
exact size of the mobile entertaiment labor market,
MobileWirelessJobs is currently researching the topic.
"Kids today are doing more with mobile devices than just
about any other form of entertainment, including computers,"
says Mike Adler, Managing Partner of AC Lion, a New York based
Executive Search firm focused on online media, sales and
marketing for the mobile industry. This will translate into a
tremendous demand for more entertainment content and thus, more
skilled mobile professionals. Millennials, in particular, are
the most intriguing demographic of this growing consumer, and
eventual labor, base. "Agreed. They will grow up mobile," noted
Adler. Millennials refer to the generation born after Gen Y
(1980-1995) and will most likely consume more than 50% of all
mobile entertainment sold by the year 2015.
To keep pace, mobile content companies are encouraging educators
to offer a more specialized telecommunications track starting in
high school and eventually middle school. "We need to educate
our future mobile engineers earlier in the process," added Hodgskin.
"Otherwise, we will once again find ourselves in a mad scramble
for experienced talent by the time the next generation enters
the workforce."While
mobile start-ups are getting funded at an alarming rate in 2006,
the capacity to serve these labor markets is met with mixed
excitement. "On the one hand, these start-ups represent
tremendous growth in an otherwise flat labor market. On the
other hand, there is a tremendous rumble taking place between
rival firms for essentially a fixed number of qualified
candidates," said Adler. "I would highly recommend candidates
who possess transferable skills to explore mobile technologies
right now." Adler recommends software developers, especially
those with a C++ or C# background, to take training courses in
mobile technologies. "Its going to be an essential skill set. It
will no longer will be added luxury."
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