Big Data = Big Money

If you’re a Big Data engineer, you can expect to command one of the highest developer salaries in 2017:  up to $196,000 annually, according to the new 2017 Salary Guide for Technology Professionals.

The other big salary this year is expected to go to mobile coders, in the neighborhood of $182,250. Not a bad neighborhood.

Despite their impressive salaries, big data and mobile development are not the careers seeing the biggest growth. In the development category, that distinction goes to developer/programmer analysts, who will see a 4.3% increase. In the data category, the data scientist will see a 6.4% increase, which is the largest reported for all tech positions.

To compete for talent, employers are finding that they need to make generous offers, including above-market pay, signing bonuses, and options such as working from home. Once those top professionals are in the bag, employers still need to work at keeping them happy and in the fold. Typical retention strategies include: checking in with employees to ensure they are happy in their role; regularly discussing career development; and benchmarking compensation and benefits in order to stay competitive.

Of course, one can’t help wondering what possible changes immigration law will do to the developer job market. Stay tuned…