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Industry Data



Analysis of the industry data from (Burning Glass Technologies 2018b) and (Burning Glass Technologies 2018d) shows that demand for these roles in the industry was high in 2018. All 5 of our team's ideal jobs are in the top 10 of the Top Occupations List (Burning Glass Technologies 2018d), with Software developers being the #1 ranked occupation.

IT is a fast-moving industry with changes every day; given that the data from Burning Glass is already three years old, we sought to confirm if the demand for these roles was still strong in the 2021 context. The National Skills Commission Occupation Matrix (National Skills Commission 2021a) confirmed these roles are still in high demand, with Software and applications programmers again ranked #1 for Information Technology occupations in Australia.

Role Burning Glass
Top IT Job Titles(a)		 Burning Glass
Top Occupations(b)		 National Skills
Commission
Occupation Matrix(c)
System Administrator 8th/200 4th/25 5th/11
Senior Front-End Developer 22nd/200 1st/25 1st/11
Smart Contract/Blockchain Developer 17th/200 1st/25 1st/11
Junior/Mid Game Developer 133rd/200 8th/25 1st/11
Product Owner 125th/200 10th/25 2nd/11

a-(Burning Glass Technologies 2018b), b-(Burning Glass Technologies 2018d), c-(National Skills Commission 2021)



In addition, the future for employees wanting to move into these ICT roles is bright. The Skills Priority List (National Skills Commission 2021b) released in June 2021 predicts strong future demand for all of our team's ideal jobs.


Given the #1 ranking for software developers in the occupation ranking above, it is likely that the skills required for those roles would also be in high demand. We confirmed this assumption by comparing the required skills set for the team's ideal jobs with the Skills in Greatest Demand [Burning Glass 2018]. Figure 1 below is a visual representation of this comparison, demonstrating that the developer rolls require most of the top 10 in-demand skills required for the IT industry.


IT Skills in Greatest Demand

Figure 1: IT Skills in Greatest Demand



It is interesting to note that whilst the above list is an IT skills specific list; it also includes more generically transferable skills, such as building relationships, customer service, and business management. These transferable skills were repeatedly called for in our team's ideal jobs.


Some skills are explicitly required in the vacancy notices for the team's ideal jobs; however, many are also implied or come as a prerequisite to the skills called for explicitly. For example, none of the roles called for Microsoft Office, but it is a core requirement in order to demonstrate the following skills successfully:


It is challenging to identify the definitive top 3 IT-specific skills not required by any one of our ideal jobs. While not explicitly requested in any of the vacancies, Linux would still be required by some developers, depending on the environment they are working in.

Oracle & SAP are also not specifically called for; however, as worldwide leading software products, experience using Oracle or SAP would be advantageous to applicants applying for any of the team's ideal jobs.


The most in-demand generic skill identified by (Burning Glass Technologies 2018a) is communication, and all 5 of the ideal jobs called explicitly for this skill:


As demonstrated in figure 2 below, very few generic skills are not required by our ideal job roles.

Generic Skills in Greatest Demand

Figure 2: Generic Skills in Greatest Demand



Mentoring stands out as a skill not required by the roles; however, just as with the IT-specific skills, this is a skill that would be advantageous to any applicant. English language skills are implied in the specific vacancy's identified for the team's ideal jobs; however, this is highly subjective to the role's location, so it may not be a requirement for a developer working for a company based in China, for example.



Has your opinion of your ideal job changed?


Aidan Colosimo-Petrasso


Looking over the data has shown me that the junior/mid game developer field is growing. Due to this and my general passion for games as a whole, my opinion on my job has not changed. I still think it is a fantastic field to get into, and I would love to focus my skills in that area or related areas when possible.



Gesina Sands


Based on the analysis of industry data provided, my ideal job has not changed. The technical skills required for the role of Senior Front-End Developer, as well as supporting skills such as creativity, leadership qualities, and analytic skills, amongst many others, are all things that still appeal to me.

I believe it will be a rewarding and interesting area of Software Development to work in; furthermore, the job growth in this area is strong, and this leads me to believe that it is also a practical area to focus on for future work potential.



Liane Wong


Taking the data into account, the opinion of my ideal job – Product Owner has not changed. As I have a passion for organization, perhaps more emphasis could be put on developing communication and leadership skills. Depending on the industry, the technical skills a product owner needs will vary greatly.

For example, if I were to develop software in a mining company, the technical skills required would be different to if I were to develop software in a games company. However, aside from technical skills, product owners require empirical knowledge such as people management and being able to identify consumer needs which can only be derived from experience.



Purdey Eades


Despite the optimistic future this data predicts for System Administrators, my opinion of the role has changed. Not as a result of the Burning Glass data but as a result of undertaking this course. The Introduction to ICT course has highlighted that I do not have a passion for the broader technical aspects of IT required to fulfil the systems administrator role. Instead, I would like to focus my future study expanding my skills in eLearning development.



Samuel Drew


The industry data presented for the blockchain position only confirms my opinion that software development in this field is showing great promise and growth with this emerging technology. However, having an extensive background in secondary education, I would like to find a position/opportunity that uses blockchain technology in this setting that will provide possibilities for students to be engaged and take ownership over their own learning.



References