In recent years, the Toronto tech scene has been growing exponentially, with startups opening everyday, new jobs being posted by the hundreds, and Toronto tech salaries steadily outpacing those of other industries and areas. While our tech inclined lifestyle is affecting more traditional careers, making some of them obsolete all together, tech careers like Web Development have never been more promising. If you’re looking to launch a new career, level up in your current role, or simply pick up a new in-demand skill, Toronto tech is the perfect industry to launch into. Here are a few reasons why you should invest your future in Toronto tech.
The Toronto Technology Industry is Booming
In 2017, Toronto created more tech-related jobs than tech giants San Francisco, Seattle, and Washington combined. With 241,000 tech workers in Toronto, the city is now the fourth largest tech talent market in North America, and the fastest growing. Not only do these numbers show that the tech in Toronto has boomed, but that tech industry growth is likely to continue, with tech jobs increasing by 50% in the past five years alone. Though some traditional industries have taken a hit in recent years, industries like tech are growing, and are a reliable place to invest your time, and your future.
Toronto Needs More Tech Talent
From 2011-2016, roughly 27,000 people graduated with tech related degrees in Toronto, while almost 82,100 tech jobs were added in the city over almost the same five year span. Ultimately this means that Toronto doesn’t have enough formally educated people to fill the demand of the tech job boom we talked about above. This gap needs to be filled either by people who aren’t formally educated, or who were educated outside of Toronto. Luckily, the number of people ‘educated in Toronto’ is still counted by the number of degrees issued - and at HackerYou we know there are lots of other ways to learn. This means that these jobs can be filled by people who are being educated at less traditional institutions like HackerYou, where they aren’t receiving a degree, but instead, a hands-on skill-based education. In fact, our Web Development Immersive Bootcamp has a 2017 employment rate of 97%, most of whom stayed within Toronto - proof that there are positions here that need to be filled by talented people.
Major Companies are Putting Down Roots
Toronto has not only become a hotspot for new Canadian startups, but also international tech companies looking for somewhere new to settle. These businesses are being attracted to Toronto by factors like the high quality of tech education in the city, relatively affordable operating costs, a diverse workforce, and the kind of government support mentioned above. With major international tech companies like Microsoft opening Satellite offices in Toronto, and the city being on the short list of potential headquarter destinations for giants like Amazon, it’s clear that the demand for tech workers in Toronto will continue to grow. And of course, tech in Toronto has its own pool of local startups who’ve built themselves up in the city and launched onto the global stage. Companies like Uberflip, Ecobee, and Loopio are all part of our community of hiring partners here at HackerYou.
Toronto Tech Salaries are Higher than Average
An important part of choosing an industry to invest yourself into is the return on your investment. Not only are you paying money for education in a certain industry, but you’re investing your time and effort, and want to know that you’re investment will pay off - not only in a long career, but a rewarding one. Impressively, when it comes to tech in Toronto, salaries are higher than the average across the board. In 2016 in Toronto, the average individual income across all industries was just above $30,000, while the average 2017 salary of someone in a tech occupation was $83,245. The average salary of a graduate of HackerYou Bootcamp, in their first entry-level Web Development role was $53,872 in 2017. This not only shows the exciting position of Web Development as a whole compared to other industries, but also the potential for growth our graduates have as they progress in their careers.
How to Break Into Tech
When trying to break into tech there are a number of different fields to choose from - you could be anything from an IT specialist, to a web designer, to a software developer. At HackerYou, Front-End Web Development is our focus, and it’s a career path we believe is not only lucrative and long-term, but exciting. And it’s not just us, 25% of all Toronto technology jobs were in development related fields in 2017. These are people building websites, web applications, user interfaces, and more - all things you can create with the knowledge you gain at HackerYou.
Here at HackerYou, we pride ourselves on making learning to code accessible. Our Web Development course is designed specifically for people with no coding knowledge. If you discover a passion for coding you can continue on into our Web Development Immersive Bootcamp. Our Bootcamp will not only teach you all the skills you need to be a front-end developer, but also provide guidance and support during your job hunt.
If you’re looking for a way to break into tech, coding is an accessible, enjoyable, lucrative pathway that hundreds of students have chosen to take through HackerYou. Whether you’re looking to launch a new career, pick up a new skill, or level up at work, learning to code can get you there.
But what is coding? What is web development? If you’re asking yourselves these questions, our Coding 101 Package will teach you everything you need to know about coding in an easy-to-understand format. No jargon, no confusion - just a beginner friendly approach to coding and how to decide if it’s right for you.