This is off-topic for this blog, some of my readers (yes, I have some – I can prove it!) may be interested. I market myself as a business analyst and writer, with a web specialization (content strategy and development, web business analysis, UX design). Like most contractors, I keep in touch with number of recruiting firms. One of these firms gave be access to some data on IT contracting opportunities in five Canadian cities.
Two caveats: (1) This data applies to me, and people with similar experience and skill sets. Things may look quite different for people like you. (2) For confidentiality’s sake, I’m not providing the raw data, just a summary.
Here goes:
- The opportunities I looked at fell into three categories: business analysis, technical writing, and specialized web-related work.
- There were roughly equal numbers of suitable BA and tech writing jobs; web work accounted for about 10 percent of the total.
- I looked at Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Toronto, and Ottawa, from June 2009 to June 2010.
- Half the opportunities were in Calgary – and that’s not counting the ones I’d need oil-industry experience to qualify for.
- The others were shared out fairly evenly among the other four cities.
This last point sounds weird, given the cities’ relative sizes. Two factors explain it: (1) I live in Victoria, Canada’s westernmost large city; so western Canadian cities get a boost; (2) I have strong government experience, so capital cities like Edmonton and Ottawa loom large.
Now the cool part: competition by city and role.
- In terms of the number of applicants per job, there’s least competition in Edmonton.
- Toronto has 1.5 times more applicants per job than Edmonton.
- Ottawa and Vancouver each have twice as many.
- Calgary is toughest city, with three times as many.
- BA is the toughest role, with twice as many applicants per job as tech writing.
- Web-related roles have the least competition, with half as many applicants as tech writing. (Remember that I apply for info architect, content strategist, and similar roles, not the more common developer and graphic designer roles.)
So Calgary has more opportunities, but the competition is tougher. BA is the hardest job to get. Look for me in Edmonton, doing content strategy!
A final, optimistic note: a year ago, opportunities in my field were getting three times the applicants they do today, and there’s been improvement every quarter. So, barring the dreaded double-dip recession, the rest of 2010 looks… not rosy, but probably OK.
Christopher Burd is a business analyst, writer, and information designer based in Victoria, British Columbia. His website is www.catchword.ca. You can follow him on Twitter.
