Software and Computer Science Technologist

In this section you’ll find:

• General information on IT technicians and employees in the field.
• More specific details about work in software and computer science technology.
• Information about the job market for software technologists in Ontario

Fast facts about software and computer science technology :

• Results of a 2005 report suggest that handling many different kinds of jobs at the same time—or multi-tasking—is very important in many IT jobs.
• The range of skills needed in many software and computer science jobs, especially in Ontario’s public sector, suggests a broader education may improve employment options in this field.
• A majority of work in IT focuses on software. Most jobs though, combine a variety of skills and tasks.
• About half of all IT workers surveyed said they worked in all of the top six IT areas of: software, web/Internet/intranet, database, hardware, network, and systems.
• Nearly all of Systems Testing Technicians, however, work in software.
• Just over 30% of Systems Testing Technicians worked abroad before working in Canada. This suggests a large number of workers in this job are immigrants.
• Over half of IT employees work in large organizations of 50 or more workers.
• Over 40% of Canadians in the IT sector live and work in Ontario.
• IT professionals in the Ottawa Gatineau region had the highest salary average in the private sector: $69,900 for women and $74, 406.

What are employers saying?

• The largest obstacles employers faced finding suitable workers were experience and locating candidates with the skills needed. 24% of employers felt that poor communication skills and/or language barriers made staffing harder.
• An overwhelming 90% of employers rejected an internationally educated professional candidate because they believed the language barrier was too challenging.
• Employees surveyed felt that communication and interpersonal skills were more important than general technical and business skills in IT jobs, especially teamwork, spoken and written communication.
• 41% of applicants were rejected because they did not have Canadian experience while 31% were because they didn’t have enough documentation.
• When selecting new workers, most employers felt job experience was more important than education level.
• Employers generally believe that professionals who were internationally trained are high performers.
• Based on these results, good English communication skills appear to be very important to employers.

“We will most definitely hire skilled immigrants so long as they have the experience in the electronic/software engineering and technology space.”

 Christina Shu-Hotta, Director, Americas Talent Acquisition, AMD.

• Over 60% of surveyed employers felt technicians, programmers and software engineers were generally most qualified to work in Canada.

Finding Work:

• The top three ways IT professionals find work are: Internet websites, networking and through help wanted ads in newspapers.
• In the public sector, IT workers used the government or company’s website, networking and Internet websites to look for a job.
• Employee referrals, word-of-mouth and resumes submitted to the company (not in response to a job posting) were the top three ways employers in the private sector recruited IT employees.
• The processes used for recruitment in the public sector are very different—employers reported their top three methods of finding staff were through: official staffing rules, government websites and help wanted ads in newspapers and other print media.
• At 1.3% vacancy, there are fewer jobs available for Systems Testing Technicians, especially when compared to the highest job vacancy of 7.6% for Software Engineers.
• At 11%, the unemployment rate of workers in computer science is somewhat higher than the Canadian average of 7%.
• 89 % of people who graduated from a computer science program are satisfied with their work even though just under half do not have a job directly related to their training.
• The largest obstacles employers faced finding suitable workers were experience and locating candidates with the skills needed. 24% of employers felt that poor communication skills and/or language barriers made staffing harder.
• When selecting new workers, most employers felt job experience was more important than education level.

The Job Market

Because there are so many different jobs available to those trained as technicians and technologists in software and computer science, a sample of jobs and their average wage is provided.

Average Income for System Testing Technicians:

Annual Annual Income Ontario Workers All Occupations	Average Annual Income Ontario Mechanical Engineering Technology Workers	Average Annual Income, OACETT Certified Computer/Information Technology Workers
$47,299	$50, 767	Associates $52,800 Technicians: $67,300 Technologists: $72,500

Average Income for Computer Programmers and Interactive Media Developers

Annual Annual Income Ontario Workers All Occupations	Average Annual Income Ontario Mechanical Engineering Technology Workers	Average Annual Income, OACETT Certified Computer/Information Technology Workers	Average Hourly Canadian Wage, All Workers	Average Hourly Canadian Wage, Mechanical Engineering Technology Workers
$47,299	$57, 805	Associates $52,800 Technicians: $67,300 Technologists: $72,500	$18.07	$26.56

 

These salaries are considerably higher than the Ontario average but this data may be higher than the true average because:

• The sample size for the study was quite small (108 people total).
• The average salaries are of OACETT certified members. Certification may account for the higher wage.

For more information on the salary you can expect to make in the IT industry visit the Canadian IT Salary Calculator

Information Technology Links

IT World Canada

Information and Communications Technology Council (ICTC)

The Canadian Technology Human Resources Board

The Information Technology Association of Canada (ITAC)