When you think about innovative technology, like artificial intelligence (AI), you probably think Silicon Valley, Google self-driving cars, San Francisco, and maybe even Central Oregon’s own tech hub of Bend. However, all those assumptions would be wrong according to an Indeed study on AI jobs. It turns out New York owns 11.6 percent of the AI job market. That’s right, New York.
Behind New York is number two San Francisco, number three San Jose, number four Washington D.C., and the number five spot going to Boston. Not what anyone really expected. New York is enticing AI candidates better than any other city with job openings for Machine Learning Engineer, Data Scientist, Computer Vision Engineer, Algorithm Engineer, and the list goes on.
Why Are AI Tech Jobs Migrating East?
There are definitely a few reasons why New York is better at wooing AI-minded job seekers. One of the major factors is that companies in the AI space are opening offices in New York. Why not, since the cost of renting or buying an office in San Francisco or San Jose is insanely overpriced. Interestingly, New York is pretty fair priced.
“Office space pricing in Manhattan ranges from a low of $28.00 per Square Foot to $140 per Square Foot per year,” explainedAlan Rosinsky, Principal Broker of Metro Manhattan Office Space. “Inexpensive commercial office rentals are located in The Garment District, Chelsea and in Lower Manhattan’s Financial and Insurance Districts.”
There are also more big-name tech companies opening offices in and around New York that may find AI technology useful. So why not have an AI tech firm closer to those who want and need it, like the large industry titans with headquarters’ in the northeast, as well as government agencies.
How Can We Stop The Tech Bleeding On The West Coast?
In order to plug the leak in the tech job market, specifically the jobs in artificial intelligence, there needs to be an attractive offer for high level developers; whether that be stock options in a growing firm, or flex work for mature companies that are considered stable in this nascent industry. Keep in mind, for the Silicon Valley tech companies, this might be par for the course, but competing for top talent is considerably more challenging in Central Oregon, though big business deals are still done here. This makes it important to employ a few essential tips to attracting and retaining top talent. Let’s take a closer look.
4 Tips To Attract And Retain Top Tech Talent
1. Get Really Involved In The Local Tech Community
If you want to attract top tech talent, first look to your community. Chances are there are budding techies that can add a lot of value to your company. You can also get to them before they begin looking out of state for jobs. To do this, you can host events like networking socials specifically for tech-minded people, or even a hackathon.
2. Be Supportive Of Professional Development
To attract and retain top tech talent for your company, you need to have a career development path that they find enticing. Non-linear careers are pretty normal in the tech space, so focus efforts at having exciting projects, technology to play with, and internal job growth opportunities to fill in a short amount of time. Most tech employees today will look for a new job within two to three years of starting one. So focus on retention and fast.
3. Ensure You Have The Latest Technology
Job candidates in the tech field do not want to work with outdated technology. They want to advance their skills by learning and working with the latest technology. If you have it, they will come and probably stay. If you are a new tech company that may be struggling with buying the latest and greatest tech equipment, it may be a worthwhile long-term investment to have the tech that attracts the type of talent that will grow your company exponentially.
4. Have Flexible Work Options In Place
The latest tech talent does not want to sit in an office, behind a desk, from 9am to 6pm. They want to have room to spread out and enjoy a bit of work-life balance. Having flexible work options in place is a great way to attract top tech talent and keep them around for more than two or three years. Things like remote work options a few days a week are great ways to entice candidates.
Wrapping Up . . .
The shift from west coast to east coast for artificial intelligence job candidates is most likely only the beginning. More tech jobs may be moving east in the very near future. For west coast states like Oregon, Washington, and California to keep top tech talent around, there will need to be changes. From remote work to career growth, have a plan in place for the next generation of top tech talent. How do you plan on attracting and retaining talent for your company?
