The growth in information technology job opportunities in the Tampa Bay area is certainly another factor helping boost the Tampa real estate market. IT professionals relocating to the Tampa Bay area to pursue IT career growth opportunities are signing lease contracts or home purchase contracts. A rising number of residential listing inquiries are coming from IT professionals who have visited the area previously, fell in love with the place and have decided to settle here.
Based on the Hillsborough-Pinellas IT Workforce Analysis, which was carried out in 2012 by economic development organizations in the Tampa Bay region, describes the need for more IT professionals to fill the manpower needs of technology companies in the region.
The study revealed that the most in-demand IT jobs in the Tampa Bay region are those jobs that require the following IT skills and specialties:
Agile Development
Java Programming
Mobile Applications Development
Application Architecture
.NET Programming
Business Analytics and Data Mining
Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) Implementation
IT Project Management
Data Warehousing
According to the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity’s Employment Projections Study, the following IT jobs have the biggest potential for growth over the period from 2011 to 2019:
| Network Systems and Data Communications Analysts | 36.3% |
| Computer Software Engineers (Applications) | 21.6% |
| Computer Software Engineers (Systems Software) | 20.4% |
| Database Administrators | 18.4% |
| Computer Specialists | 18.3% |
| Network and Computer Systems Administrators | 15.9% |
| Computer Systems Analysts | 14.9% |
| Computer and Information Systems Managers | 13.0% |
| Computer Support Specialists | 11.4% |
| Computer Programmers | -3.1% |
The following table shows the number of IT professionals in the Tampa Bay region in 2011:
| Computer Systems Analysts | 5,098 |
| Computer Support Specialists | 4,370 |
| Computer Software Engineers, Applications | 3,932 |
| Computer Programmers | 3,761 |
| Network Systems and Data Communications Analysts | 3,091 |
| Network and Computer Systems Administrators | 2,180 |
| Computer Software Engineers, Systems Software | 1,946 |
| Computer and Information Systems Managers | 1,519 |
| Database Administrators | 1,103 |
| Computer Specialists | 792 |
The Hillsborough-Pinellas IT report was financed by the Tampa Bay Workforce Alliance. Additional financing was granted by the Tampa Hillsborough Economic Development Corporation, Florida High Tech Corridor Council, Pinellas County Economic Development, Tampa Bay Partnership and Tampa Bay Technology Forum.
In a survey conducted by PayScale in 2012, the city of Tampa was among the Top Ten choices of young people looking for jobs across the U.S. It was the only Florida city in the Top Ten. Miami, which was the second Florida city chosen, was ranked 18th.
Among the factors used in the survey were job satisfaction, flexible schedule, compensation, stress levels, employer score and wage improvement. Among the additional reasons that can be cited for Tampa’s top ranking could be the relative abundance of IT jobs, the cosmopolitan-but-small-town feel of the city, the most-days-of-the-year good weather, the access to beautiful beaches, the abundance of waterfront homes and condo complexes and the proximity to theme parks.