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Durham, North Carolina has long been part of the “Research Triangle” due to the presence of Duke University, North Carolina State University and University of North Carolina Chapel Hill. But the region, which also encompasses Raleigh, is set for explosive growth in the tech sector in 2022. From tech titans to scrappy startups, as companies take notice of Durham, demand has never been higher for skilled workers in fields like web development, data analytics, cybersecurity and more. The city has recently been named the second-best “Tech Town” in the U.S. by CompTIA and that is reflected by the diverse and innovative firms establishing roots in the region.
So how can you take advantage of this hiring boom and level up your career? One increasingly popular option is to enroll in a skills-based bootcamp. Bootcamps in the Durham area, specializing in fields like coding, cybersecurity and data analytics offer an opportunity to learn critical skills quickly and network and learn from local and international industry experts. Bootcamp participants in Durham can look forward to exciting internship and job opportunities and taking the first step towards a whole new professional journey in just a few months or less.
The job market for bootcamp graduates in Durham is excellent and only set to increase alongside industry demand. In the tech world, it doesn’t get much bigger than Apple and Google. The good news for aspiring tech workers is that both companies have recently announced plans to open campuses in Durham. Apple is set to bring 3,000 jobs to Research Triangle Park while Google’s engineering hub will bring with it 1,000 new positions. Other national brands with ties to the region include Cisco, IBM, GlaxoSmithKline, Red Hat, and SAS. Additionally, financial tech firm Envestnet and Microsoft added 150 and 500 jobs respectively to their regional headquarters in the Research Triangle. The “tech hotspot” boom has been driven by both homegrown development in the business community and highly skilled workforce and external organizations drawn to the area’s low cost of living and high quality of life. There’s never been a better time for bootcamp participants entering the workforce in a tech role, as evidenced by the more than $10,000 job openings in Durham as of May 2021, tracked by WRAL TechWire.
If startups are more your scene, it should come as no surprise that Durham has got you covered there too. Ranked number three on Inc Magazine’s list of best places to start a business, the city’s startups collectively raised more than $1 billion in 2019. Homegrown success stories scaling up in 2022 include communication software firm Bandwidth, expanding its headquarters by more than 1,200 roles and business website analytics firm Pendo, which recently completed a $50 million fundraising round. Companies invested in next generation tech also find a home in Durham, like PrecisionHawk, an industry leader in autonomous drones and RevealMobile, which provides GeoFencing software powering localized marketing campaigns and analytics. Bootcamp participants in Durham have numerous choices in combining the “hard skills” they learn in data science, management, or development to their passions in entrepreneurship, cutting edge technologies and more.
The growing job market in Durham has led to competitive salaries across many businesses. Combined with the area’s high level of affordability, this is great for potential job seekers. We’ve compiled a list of the average salaries for technology jobs in the city from Indeed.com. Roles with growing demand can average salaries of more than $80,000/year and might see that reflected in compensation or additional cash bonuses.
| Career Field | Average Salary |
|---|---|
| Data Analyst | $71,692 |
| Java Programmer | $71,282 |
| Back-end Developer | $138,561 |
| Full Stack Developer | $104,448 |
| Software Engineer | $104,674 |
| IT Security Specialist | $67,227 |
| Software Developer | $94,037 |
| Software Designer | $87,310 |
