As Demand Keeps On Increasing, Hadoop And NoSQL Skills Pay Off

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In this special guest feature, Matt Asay from 10gen writes that the move to Big Data means plenty of IT jobs for people with the right skills.

The rise of Big Data has pushed companies to desperately start seeking IT professionals that can help in their database efforts. Though the Big Data market is still within the early adopter phase, major corporations beyond the .com industry are becoming more aware of the benefits of Big Data and the many software vendors that support it. According to Wikibon, a technology and research open source community, the Big Data market is estimated to reach $18.1 billion in 2013, an annual growth of 61%.

The demand for database management skills has expanded beyond Web or software companies and into industries such as retail, hospitals, and even government. These industries are seeking individuals with skills in managing and analyzing large data sets. And when it comes to the most desired skills, it should come as no surprise that NoSQL and Hadoop knowledge is highly desired.

Looking at the numbers

Not only are these skills in high demand, but companies are also willing to pay highly competitive salaries to get their hands on people with experience. According to a recent survey conducted by Dice, a site that specializes in IT jobs, salaries for employees who use Hadoop and NoSQL are over $100,000. This is significantly higher than the overall average IT salary of $85,619.

Big data related jobs in general have a higher than average salary. The average salary for big data related jobs is over $113,000. With large companies such as Amazon, Apple, Dreamworks, Nokia, and more looking for big data experts, it’s no wonder the average salary is so high.

For professionals interested in NoSQL databases, MongoDB skills top the list. As of the time of this writing, Dice shows the following number of jobs available for each of these popular NoSQL databases.

  • MongoDB: 635
  • Cassandra: 430
  • HBase: 320
  • Redis: 208
  • CouchDB: 93

While MongoDB NoSQL has been at the top since around 2011, HBase is seeing great growth and is definitely on the rise. Openings requiring Hadoop skills are currently at 1,227 which outnumber the umbrella of NoSQL (1003).

These statistics are a strong indication that companies are in need of database management skills. This can be directly attributed to the growth and popularity of big data. Perhaps one of the best aspects of careers in data management is that they are recession-proof and are unlikely to decline.

The fact is that we depend on data and unless there is some technological revolution that eliminates the need for data store, analytics, software development, and all of the other tasks that require databases, job security will not be an issue.

Careers that require NoSQL and Hadoop skills

There is no shortage of uses for NoSQL and Hadoop in the business sector. Here are some of the specific careers that these skills are being put to use for:

  • DBA: With an average salary of $81,000 according to Indeed, database administrators are in high demand right now. Companies hiring for DBA’s are looking for experience in handling a variety of database platforms such as MongoDB, Cassandra, and Oracle to name a few. The more experience you have, the more you can expect to earn. Senior DBA’s make an average of over $100,000.
  • Data Architect: This position nets an average salary of $107,000. Data architects are required to have some experience in creating data models, data warehousing, analyzing data, and data migration. Experience as a DBA and with Hadoop is also highly desired.
  • Data Scientist: Data science is a position that encompasses a variety of data driven skills. Data scientists gather data, analyze it, present the data visually, and use the data to make predictions/forecasts. The average salary for a data scientist is $104,000. Data scientists are currently in high demand and the demand will likely continue to increase.
  • Systems Engineer: The position of a “Systems Engineer” is fairly broad and typically branches off to several other positions such as software development, data warehousing, and even some DBA work. The average salary for systems engineers is $89,000.
  • Software/Application Developer: One of the more popular careers for people with NoSQL and Hadoop skills is software development. People with these skills can get ample freelance work or can launch their own startup if they have the entrepreneurial spirit. In addition to database management experience, you will also need programming skills. Software developers make an average salary of $107,000 and application developers average $93,000.

I should also note that many companies are still looking for people with relational database experience. But the growth of document oriented type databases has ignited the spark for NoSQL positions. The demand for people with Hadoop and NoSQL skills is not “on the rise”. It is here right now and IT professionals are highly encouraged to take advantage.

About the Author:

Matt Asay is Vice President of Corporate Strategy at 10gen, the company behind MongoDB NoSQL database. With more than a decade spent in open source, Matt is a recognized open source advocate and board member emeritus of the Open Source Initiative (OSI).

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  1. […] be the year when Hadoop adoption goes ‘a lot more mainstream and turns into a tornado’. Inside-bigdata.com reports that the ‘Big Data market is estimated to reach $18.1 billion in 2013, an annual […]

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