This summer, the Technology Association of Georgia will place 150 rising high school seniors in paid ($1000) five-week internships with Georgia’s technology companies. “We want to give teens who have been taking science, technology, engineering, math courses some specific work experience, so they’ll know better what they want to take in college,” said Tino Mantella, president and CEO of TAG.
The technology industry is booming in Georgia. “We tell students and their parents that there are going to be jobs in this field. Every industry needs technology,” said Mantella. “The sector [in Georgia] added 20,000 new jobs from 2011 to 2103, an 8.3 percent increase overall. Jobs in the rapidly-expanding health information technology field grew by 17.2 percent.”
Mantella added that “you don’t necessarily need a four-year degree to enter these fields. Many graduates are starting their careers with a specific skills certificate or two-year degree from one of our technical colleges. Taking STEM courses leads to great career paths.”
Want to know more about technology jobs? Here are some highlights from the 2014 TAG State of the Industry Report (see www.tagonline.org).
• The average high-tech wage for Georgia in 2013 was $83,183.
• Computer systems analysts, computer support specialists, software developers and information systems managers will be most in demand.
• Specific hot skills in IT include: SQL, Windows OS, Business Analysis, Oracled DBMS, Java, Linus, C++/VC++, Unix and others.
• The Georgia Department of Labor projects that there will be more than 22,000 new STEM-related jobs added between 2010 and 2020.
• Of the 300 Georgia technology decision-makers [employers] surveyed, 71.4 percent they expected to increase their workforce this year; 82.6 percent said they would increase in the next five years.
• HOPE grant recipients in health care technology and information technology – both high-growth, high-demand fields — can get additional money for tuition thanks to the Strategic Industries Workforce Development Grant.
• The Army Cyber Command is relocating its headquarters to the U.S. Army Signal Center of Excellence at Fort Gordon in Augusta, home of the largest IT training site in the U.S. military. It’s expected to generate 1,000 new jobs.
• There are more than 250 health information technology companies in Georgia.
• Georgia is home to more than 115 information security companies.
• The Georgia financial technology sector, which supports financial services companies, makes $34 billion annually. More than 80 percent of the country’s payment processing flows through Georgia, Mantella said.
• Georgia’s 25-plus business incubators, including the Advanced Technology Development Center at Georgia Tech, keep technology innovation growing.
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