Glassdoor ranks KC No. 3 in nation for jobs; software engineers wanted
September 19, 2017 | Meghan LeVota
The Midwest is hiring.
And Kansas City stands out among the best in the region, according to a new study.
Popular job search site Glassdoor released a list of the top cities for jobs, ranked by affordability, hireability and employee job satisfaction. Kansas City nabbed a No. 3 spot on the list, following Pittsburgh at No. 1 and Indianapolis at No. 2.
For Kansas City tech leaders, it isn’t a surprise, said Ryan Weber, president of KC Tech Council.
“Locally, we’ve known Kansas City is a great place to live and work,” Weber said. “However, it’s always validating to have this feeling backed up by data.”
Kansas City has 90,649 job openings, a median base salary of $45,000 and a median home value of $159,400, according to the Glassdoor study. Hot jobs include software engineers, research associates and audit managers, the report says, also noting that employees in Kansas City are relatively satisfied.
The report further established Kansas City on the tech scene, Weber said.
“Because of the growth we’ve experienced over the last several years, Kansas City is now recognized as a tech hub,” he said. “However, Kansas Citians need to take notice of the fact that there are many other Midwestern cities on that list, and we have plenty of competition.”
Kansas City trails not too far behind Pittsburgh and Indianapolis, yet such other regional players as St. Louis, Columbus, Cincinnati and Cleveland also fared well on the jobs report.
Coastal tech hubs San Francisco, New York and Boston were notably absent, not even cracking the top 25 of the report.
“Cost is the largest threat facing America’s big coastal cities,” Weber said. “They also happen to have a high concentration of tech companies. These cities have extremely competitive job markets and finding a ‘good job’ can be a challenge, even for talented workers.”
Despite the overall rank as No. 3, Kansas City is the best place for software engineers, the report shows.
“The landscape in Kansas City is changing before our eyes: Technology companies have become the largest employers in the region,” Weber said. “One of the largest needs of those big tech employers is software engineers.”
Although the report is good news for the local tech community, the massive number of job openings — 90,649 — shouldn’t be ignored, Weber said.
Yet, Kansas City isn’t alone in this phenomenon. Many American cities have a disproportionate number of available jobs, which Weber says is because of a shortage of a specific kind of labor.
“No city in America has an abundance of high-skilled labor with industry experience,” he said. “In Kansas City’s tech industry, the most in-demand jobs are mid-level positions requiring three to five years of experience.”
KC Tech Council released a report in June stating that Kansas City’s tech industry is directly responsible for 93,880 jobs. But despite growth in the industry, 4,699 tech jobs remained open in the Kansas City area, according to the report. Weber recommended a shift in education to fill the labor gap.
Kansas City’s tech workforce recently made the headlines in August when TechCrunch recognized the metro for its rapid tech growth.
2017 Startups to Watch
stats here
Related Posts on Startland News
With KC startup Edcoda, students learn as wizard saviors
Across the U.S., student engagement is declining. By the time students reach high school, 2 out of 3 them will become disengaged, according to Gallup’s 2015 figures. But one Kansas City-based startup is working to change that by making fun a top priority. Edtech startup Edcoda created the 3D, online role-playing game Coda Quest, which…
Fund me, KC: Crossing Arrows launches clothing line for the spirited girl
Startland News is continuing its segment to highlight area entrepreneurs’ efforts to accelerate their businesses. This is an opportunity for entrepreneurs — like Crossing Arrows founder Tricia Steffes — to share their stories to gain a little help from their supporters. Back Crossing Arrows’ here. Who are you? Crossing Arrows, a clothing line is designed…
With a halt on new overtime rules, what’s next for startups?
Disruption is good, right? Well, as the Game of Thrones memes say: “Brace yourselves.” The Department of Labor overtime rules that were originally scheduled to go into effect on Dec. 1 have now been indefinitely postponed due to an injunction issued on Nov.22 by U.S. District Judge Amos Mazzant. These rules were set to nearly…
Program commercializing classroom tech spurs 29 startups, dozens of jobs
A Kansas City program is making strides in its efforts to commercialize local, university-cultivated ideas. In the past four years, KCSourceLink’s Whiteboard2Boardroom program helped create almost 100 jobs and facilitated the creation of 29 new startups, according to a recent progress report. Those companies also generated nearly $16 million in follow-on funding, helping to fuel job…