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Where do tech stars live, work in 2020?

Steppingblocks Top Tech Jobs Gender Analysis

A Geo & Gender Analysis

The answer to our title question will not come as a shock to you. Neither will the fact that males dominate the industry and flock to cities like New York, San Francisco and LA. But did you know Denver attracts top tech talent, too? Or that MTV and NASA are hiring Virtual Reality Consultants? 

In our labor market trend analysis of 45,927 employees from the years 2000 to 2017, we uncovered a few insights about in-demand jobs in the tech industry that may not be so obvious. For instance, Seattle ranks number three in top U.S. cities for data scientists, and Microsoft does most of the hiring.

[You might like: Cybersecurity, who's hiring?]

Tech Jobs Map NewSteppingblocks Geographic Analysis, Data Scientist 

Unlocking geographic hiring research is important at every level of the U.S. Labor Market. If Student X wants to work for Apple, they'll learn the most opportunity lies in San Francisco and Austin. If Recruiter Y needs an experienced Cybersecurity Engineer, they'll find the largest talent pool in Washington, D.C. and San Diego. And if University Z wants to diversify revenue streams and build targeted donor outreach campaigns, they'll know the optimal cities to hit based on alumni attributes.

[You might like: Where are your alumni now?]

How do genders compare by in-demand job titles in tech?

If you zoom out on our analysis, only 24% of employees represented are female. With over 500,000 in-demand computing jobs available, but fewer than 40,000 new computer science grads to fill them, this paves unprecedented opportunity for women to step in and take advantage of the world's growing need for tech.

[You might like: Closing the Skills Gap With Girls Who Code]

Research and consulting firm Accenture has partnered with Girls Who Code to triple the number of women in computing by 2025 — or at least get close. But based on our labor market trend analysis, they're facing an uphill battle. There are fewer women in computing than ever before, and this number will continue to decline if nothing is done to reverse the trend.

Gender Trends (2)

Steppingblocks Growth Trend by Gender

We took our gender gap study a step further by breaking down the gap by job title and found that Master Data Analyst reports the most equality out of these 11 titles. DevOps Engineer reports the worst. IBM, a top employer for DevOps Engineers, won the 2018 Catalyst Award for their efforts to advance women in business. Hear their stories, tips and pledges to create an equal workplace here.

Top Tech Jobs Gender

Steppingblocks Gender Gap by Job Title 

What are the top 7 in-demand tech jobs to strive for in 2020?

1. Data Scientist

Top City: San Francisco

Top Employer: Microsoft

What they do: Data scientists work in a multidisciplinary field that can be roughly broken down into three sought-after types: the Software Engineer, the Statistician and the Machine Learning Expert. One data scientist may be a highly-skilled programmer, while another is a master of numbers and theoretical interpretations.

2. Scrum Master

Top City: New York 

Top Employer: Capital One

What they do: Scrum Masters manage the process of how information is exchanged between IT and business members in order to facilitate agile software and product development  think project manager. They track progress, monitor budgets and ensure adherence to schedule and scope.

3. DevOps Engineer

Top City: San Francisco 

Top Employer: IBM

What they do: DevOps Engineers coordinate alignment between IT and business operations to manage infrastructure, support software code and monitor performance. They must have a solid understanding of programming languages and automation tools as well as the soft skills required to run an effective team.

4. Master Data Analyst

Top City: New York

Top Employer: The Coca Cola Company

What they do: Master Data Analysts interpret and analyze trends in complex data sets turning information into insights and ultimately decisions. They improve data quality and accuracy by performing regular audits and troubleshooting issues for internal and external partners.

5. AI Consultant

Top City: San Francisco 

Top Employer: Mitre

What they do: AI Consultants formulate custom strategies using machine learning tools and algorithms based on the client's challenges and opportunities. They design, implement, integrate and train their customer on new data initiatives, such as natural language processing and predictive modeling.

6. VR Consultant

Top City: Los Angeles

Top Employer: Google

What they do: VR Consultants research market needs to design and develop virtual and augmented reality experiences for a variety of industries from aviation to education. They provide guidance on technical, creative and business logic suited to the client and their user.

7. Cybersecurity Engineer

Top City: Washington 

Top Employer: Booz Allen Hamilton

What they do: Cybersecurity Engineers define security protocols and lead incident response efforts when a breach occurs. They conduct penetration tests to locate vulnerabilities and work directly with machines and code to secure against future attack. Experience with Firewalls and proficiency in programming languages are typical requirements. 

Want to learn more?

Ask about Steppingblocks for your school, and get full-story graduate insights without the need for manual surveys. Access a dataset of over 100 million alumni, and learn where your tech stars live and work 5, 10 and 20 years after graduation.

Want to be a tech star? Get data-powered career exploration with the Steppingblocks Student Platform. Research your future career with real-world stats about your major, your interests and your dream job title. Start your 14-day free trial.

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