As we approach the end of 2021, is demand spiking for certain tech roles, such as software and web developers? Knowing what employers want can help shape your job search in the last quarter of the year and beyond. 

CompTIA recently crunched job data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) and generated the following breakdown of tech job hiring. As you can see, there’s significant hunger for software developers of applications, as well as IT support analysts, systems analysts, and web developers:

And who exactly is hiring all these fine folks? CompTIA also broke down last month’s top employers of tech talent. As with previous months, consultancies, healthcare, defense, and insurance companies led the way:

If you have the right combination of software developer skills (as well as a solid grasp of software-development methodologies), there are lots of employers out there (big and small) potentially interested in hiring you. However, you have to show that your skills are equal to the job—in addition to being able to write lots of code, you’ll likely need to demonstrate your abstract problem-solving abilities. Depending on your specialization, you may also need to master particular tools and (sometimes) more esoteric programming languages.

Given the velocity and importance of many software projects, companies are also interested in developers who have considerable “soft skills” such as empathy and communication. Many developers must work with other stakeholders throughout an organization to complete projects; those who can manage teams, explain initiatives and results to executives in an easy-to-understand way, and petition for resources can find their advancement fast-tracked. Whether or not you want to end up in management, good communication skills are vital.