Mobile Hiring Is Booming
MOBILE HIRING IS BOOMING
By MobileWirelessJobs / MobileContentJobs
June 2006
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.”
