Jesse Warden, seasoned developer and Atlanta native, shares his interesting perspective on the current climate for Flash and Flex work in the 2009 marketplace. Among many factors, shifting budgets have led to false starts on projects and result in devs having to look for new work to fill the void. His metrics include job offers during the month of March as well as the ratio of employers asking for candidates vs. the amount of candidates asking for opportunities. Although it is no surprise that these are tough times for even seasoned veterans, he ends on this positive note of encouragement:
"If you do Flash or Flex work, keep your chin up. While slow, things are pretty decent all things considered."
In addition, I am optimistic that the future will unfold a creative revolution fueled by the marriage of great ideas and solid execution. Volatility in the marketplace presents challenges as well as opportunities and 2009 will be the year that defines a decade by setting an important benchmark for the next generation of an eager industry.
LeroyV
May 20, 2011
Jesse,
So what is your opinion on that now? I feel that flash work is coming along less and less as corporations are starting to adopt other approaches like Silverlight and HTML5.
I also read a recent article (April-May 2011) that reported Advertising development positions/jobs are on the decline as well. I’m not sure about out there, but here in Seattle the advertising/creative firms are the ones utilizing flash mostly…aside from the entertainment industry.
admin
May 20, 2011
Hey LeroyV,
I can’t speak for Jesse, but I do know that he has been in high demand with various Flex projects lately.
For me, I still get a lot of Flash work from advertising/creative firms and a lot of them are finding it harder to find talented Flash designers & coders. Demand for flash has been steady for me since this article was published (back in ’09) but I wonder how much of the demand is a result of labor scarcity.