Say you’re interested in becoming an application software developer, living in the Twin Cities and want to stay there. What’s the demand for this occupation? How much does it pay? Can the pay meet the basic cost of living in the Twin Cities?

Whether you’re a young person deciding on a career path, experienced worker considering a career switch or employer wanting a broad range of information on specific occupations, Career Profile is the latest go-to resource from DEED.

Career Profile can help users answer many questions, including:

• How much does a particular occupation pay?
• Is the pay enough to meet the basic cost of living in my region?
• What are the educational requirements for this occupation, and where can I find training?
• Do the typical tasks and abilities for this occupation match my interests and abilities?
• Is there a demand for this occupation? How many openings are expected in coming years?
• What other similar occupations could I consider?

Career Profile is actually a mashup of data from DEED’s Labor Market Information Office, U.S. Census Bureau, Bureau of Labor Statistics, and other federal and state agencies that helps students and job seekers learn about wages, educational requirements, job opening projections and other details related to hundreds of occupations.

“One of the best parts of developing this tool was talking with people about what they need,” said John Clay, DEED analyst and project lead. “Job seekers, students, career counselors, business counselors all contributed great ideas, and that made our job easier as our team built Career Profile.”

How it works

Career Profile users can conduct occupational searches for any one of Minnesota’s 13 Economic Development Regions from a dropdown list, a clickable map or by entering a ZIP code. Once a user selects a region and occupation, an overview page will provide a description of the occupation, typical job titles, typical wages, current demand, expected 10-year openings, education requirements and top industries for the selected occupation. A menu at the top of the page links to details on wages, demand, education, and more.

A link at the bottom of the overview page will connect the user to Minnesota job openings for that occupation listed on us.Jobs from CareerOneStop. Another link will help users find assistance at their local Minnesota WorkForce Center.

Circling back to our application software developer

But you wanted to know about application software developers. The Career Profile tool shows that demand is high in the metro area, with 2,450 openings expected in the next 10 years. Professional and business services is the industry that employs the most application software developers and pays the highest wages. What’s the minimum educational requirement? A bachelor’s degree. And only a quarter of people working in that occupation reportedly have more educational credentials than this.

Get started using the Career Profile tool.