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2016 Hiring Outlook for the Engineering, IT, and Scientific Fields

With the new year starting off, if your thoughts are aimed at searching for employment in January or soon afterwards, it helps to be aware of the job outlook in your field of choice. Is the economy still in its steady post-Great Recession recovery, or are new factors conspiring to force companies into more conservative staffing policies? How are the outlooks for the engineering, Information Technology, and general scientific fields?

Let’s take a closer look at the answers to these pressing questions for job seekers in the technology realm.

Job Prospects Look Good for College Graduates in 2016

If you are fresh out of school, you be pleased to know that companies are expected to increase their hiring of college graduates by 11 percent over the next year, according to a survey by the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE). While graduates with scientific degrees are largely expected to take advantage of this hiring uptick, the decline of the oil and gas industry is contributing to a sharp downturn in the employment rates and average starting salaries of new petroleum engineer graduates.

BLS Report Shows IT Leading Job Growth in 2016

A report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reveals that IT job occupations are expected to be among the leaders in overall job growth through 2016 and beyond. Dr. Ray Panko, professor of IT management at the University of Hawaii Shidler College of Business, commented on the report, stating it “fully reflects the dot-com bust and recovery, and takes offshoring into account.” Panko continued: “The BLS again predicts robust job growth for IT occupations.”

2016 STEM Hiring Is up for Most Disciplines

Studies show robust hiring trends for many STEM disciplines. In addition to the uptick in IT hiring noted earlier, job prospects look bright for mechanical and civil engineers. The BLS report noted the latter discipline is expected to add nearly 65,000 new jobs by 2022. The job outlook generally looks great across the entire STEM world, with the previously discussed exception of petroleum engineers due to the oil industry doldrums.

Expect to see a continued increase in occupations combining different STEM disciplines. One example is the data scientist, which fuses the database skills typical of many IT jobs with the analytical acumen possessed by many scientists. The McKinsey Global Institute predicts a shortage of 140,000 to 190,000 data scientists by 2018 — something to consider for current petroleum engineers worried about their future job prospects.

If you need any advice when searching for employment in one of the STEM industries, talk to the recruiters at Synerfac. One of the top technology staffing agencies in Somerset, NJ and the East Coast, we can help take your career to a higher level. Meet with us at your earliest convenience.

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