Good news, Java developers: Everyone wants you

Java, which turns 20 years old this year, is having no trouble staying trendy, at least in the job market, as the Dice.com IT jobs site cites Java as its most-requested skill.

More than 16,000 Java positions are open on any given day, says Shravan Goli, Dice president, in the company’s January bulletin, and demand for Java is only heating up. “Java was named one of the Top 10 skills hiring managers search for when in the market for cloud candidates, according to our November report,” Goli says. “And considering it’s a basis for so many open source projects, demand for tech pros with this programming language [skill] doesn’t appear to be slowing down anytime soon.”

This week’s bulletin echoes previous Dice.com findings, including a report from last spring and a recent InfoWorld search on Dice.com. The bulletin also reported that software developers/engineers are the top must-have for any company wanting to build new products or develop internal systems. “As technology evolves, these ‘creators’ are key to helping company systems stay current — and companies know it,” Goli says.

Unemployment for software developers/engineers in the third quarter was 2.6 percent, a bit shy of half the total national unemployment rate of 6.1 percent, Dice reports.

Security professionals also are in a good predicament, with plentiful security positions listed on Dice. “Dice job postings for security professionals are up year-over-year, with cyber security up 91 percent and information security up 48 percent. Companies need professionals who can help oversee and protect their proprietary information from misuse or prevent security leaks,” Goli says.

Also in high demand: .Net professionals and sales professionals. “For companies still waiting or in the process of transitioning to a Microsoft services platform, a .Net professional is important to have in your back pocket,” says Goli.