Tech startups in Toronto experiencing fast growth
As an IT staffing agency in Toronto, we have the pleasure of seeing many startups reaching lift-off status, first-hand. Many of our clients recently ranked on Deloitte's radar, and one company was recently acquired by a prominent game manufacturer:
Nexj Systems: placed fourth on Deloitte's 2010 Canadian Technology Fast 50 Ranking. Out of the 50 companies on this list, 11 were from Toronto.
Polar Mobile: was awarded Deloitte's 2010 Companies-to-Watch award. Out of the list of 10 companies, 4 were from Toronto.
Five Mobile: a mobile development company from Toronto, was recently purchased by Zynga, a social game development company, for an undisclosed amount. They are now known as 'Zynga Toronto.'
Part of the reason tech business is booming in Toronto is due to a government initiative called the Scientific Research & Experimental Development (SR&ED) program. SR&ED provides millions of dollars in cash refunds and/or tax credits for small business expenditures on research and development work done in Canada. Companies such as Polar Mobile are happy to take advantage of these credits rather than outsource work to India or China, creating job opportunities for local technology professionals.
Lucrative tech careers at the moment
It's great to see companies investing in local talent, and it's great to see that IT professionals have more options today. Many developers and programmers we've placed are reluctant to take contract positions for less than three months as they know their services are in high demand at the moment, and they're right for thinking this way. It's a profitable time to be in an IT profession.
To give you a range of salaries for hot tech jobs in Toronto at the moment:
Mobile App Developers: We're seeing people with J2ME skills, Objective C, and Android developer skills that have been placed at companies for an average salary of 60k+ starting salary as a Jr. Developer, and upwards of 80+ with about 5 years experience. These developer skills are in high demand at the moment.
M-commerce or Mobile Commerce: Experience with this as a developer will easily net 70k+. Leading companies in this field include PayPal, Square (started by Twitter Founder, Jack Dorsey), and local Toronto company, EnStream.
Object Oriented Programming Skills in Banking or Software (OO): These skills almost guarantee you are going to get a job in Toronto right now. With 5-7 years experience, you could earn an average of 60-75k a year.
Banking Skills in Anti-Money Laundering (AML), Business Analyst Derivatives, or Derivatives Programming: This area of IT is experiencing a lot of growth right now. You can net about 80k+ with less than 5 years experience at the moment.
Regulation Processes (Sarbanes Oxley & Basel I, II, III): This is another growing market. This is quite an advanced field in Canada at the moment, so if you go into this profession, it's not unusual that you would be asked to travel all over the world.
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, Malcolm Gladwell speaks of the rule of 10 thousand hours. He believes after 10 thousand hours of practice or study on a particular topic, you become an expert. Imagine the potential our children will have if they become experts in technology while they are still in high school. By university, they'll be ahead of the curve, and by the time they reach the job market, they'll have a competitive advantage, a vision, and no ceiling on where they can go, and what they can accomplish.