Technology jobs have increased by nine percent in Atlanta from 2010-2013. This is the equivalent to 8,000 jobs according to 11 Alive.
The highest paying technology positions in Atlanta include software developers, computer hardware engineers and computer programmers. Each job makes at least $85,000 a year according to The Business Journals.
11 Alive states new positions in health care, finance and administrative fields are the result of increasing jobs in technology.
Jason Bishop, co-founder of the software company Nightsprout, said Atlanta is emerging as a new leader in software.
“Although we aren’t on the level of Silicon Valley, Atlanta is definitely one of the cities riding this wave, emerging as a leader in software. We’re home to a lot of great universities, so there is always new talent to recruit from. And there are a surprising number of Fortune 500 companies based out of Atlanta too, so the demand for talent is high as well…” Bishop said.
Start-up hubs such as Atlanta Tech Village, ATDC and Hypepotamus have also emerged recently as great resources to technology-oriented entrepreneurs, according to Bishop.
Berkay Aydin, Georgia State Department of Computer Science doctorate student, said software publishing has already made its way to other fields ranging from book publishing to selling groceries.
“Simply, a software publisher company is the middle-man between developer and distributor. That concept is applied to almost any industry,” Aydin said. “The only difference for software publishing is that it has different sorts of services, such as translation, technical support, sales and marketing in local markets. However, again this has already been used for almost any business field.”
He also said the increase in tech jobs has given him confidence to land a job post-graduate school.
Bishop recommends that students major in computer science if they wish to pursue a career in software development or engineering.
“… Even if they don’t learn to use these things directly, being able to have a conversation about them–understanding what they are, why they are important, having that general awareness–would go miles in a job interview or at a networking event,” he said. “Co-op programs give insight into what working a corporate job is like, but there is a world of software development out there that extends far beyond that. Given that software is culturally and economically relevant right now, I believe universities should already be responsive to the conditions.”
