If you ever wanted to work for Facebook, you’ve probably wondered which tech skills it seeks. And there’s good news on that front: According to its latest job postings, the social-networking giant desires technologists who are skilled in some of tech’s most widely-used languages and platforms, including Python, SQL, Java, and PHP.
In order to figure out Facebook’s most sought-after skills and roles, we turned to Burning Glass, which collects and analyzes millions of job postings from across the country. To narrow things down a bit, we looked at the past 60 days of Facebook job postings, which also offers some insight into how the company is hiring amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.
Here’s the breakdown of Facebook’s job postings, by role. Note that, like other large tech firms, Facebook doesn’t solely rely on job postings in order to source its talent; it directly approaches highly specialized technologists for work in areas such as artificial intelligence (A.I.) and virtual reality. Nonetheless, this data suggests that the bulk of Facebook’s hiring is indeed focused on where you might expect: Software developers, data scientists, and managers who can keep teams running:
It’s also well worth looking at the tech skills that pop up in these job postings. (For the purposes of this analysis, we excluded “Facebook” as a necessary skill, although it popped up as the "top skill" that the company wanted; it stands to reason that Facebook would want technologists who know how to actually use the platform.) It seems that the company is intensely interested in technologists with a grasp on tried-and-true languages and platforms such as Python, SQL, and Java:
What does this suggest? As with Apple and Google, it’s clear that Facebook needs technologists who know the fundamentals, and that makes sense—modern apps and websites are built and updated in commonly-used languages. Despite the buzz over artificial intelligence, machine-learning, and other cutting-edge technologies, those obviously aren’t an integral part of the majority of roles that Facebook hires for.
Facebook and the Future of Remote Work
Looking forward, Facebook’s job postings could undergo a significant shift, with fewer roles at the company’s massive Silicon Valley campus. In mid-May, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg earned some media attention when he suggested that most of his employees could end up working remotely on a permanent basis. “Coming out of this period, I expect that remote work is going to be a growing trend as well,” he said during a staff meeting.
Starting next year, remote employees will have their salaries adjusted to reflect their local cost of living; for example, a Facebook employee based in the Midwest might find themselves earning notably less than a colleague of the same rank and responsibilities who lives in Silicon Valley. But whether Zuckerberg’s newfound embrace of remote work will change Facebook’s hiring patterns with regard to actual skills remains to be seen.
