Marketing and engineering roles dominate the tech industry, but that’s all they have in common

Engineering and marketing roles are among the best jobs in America, according to trend data from Glassdoor, which scores careers based on the number of current job openings, average salary, and a career opportunities rating that’s calculated using anonymous reviews.

The current top spot on the list belongs to Data Scientist, and engineering and marketing jobs make up 11 of the top 20, with roles like the in-demand Mobile Developer coming in at number five.

And while competition for these roles is fierce, nothing prepares either side of the engineering/marketing divide for the internal competition that exists once you have your feet under the table.

Engineers are great on the supply side of the product equation. They know they can produce something interesting, maybe even revolutionary, and they want to change the world by pushing their creations outward. Marketers are great at the demand side. They know they can create interest in what is being offered, and they want to change the world by getting these innovations into the public’s hands.

Engineers plan work in two- to four-week sprints. Marketers are always on, ready to react to customer demands as quickly as possible. Engineers think of the future in terms of risk, resources, and feasibility. Marketers think of the future in terms of opportunity, audience, and reach. One is the introvert in this equation, and it isn’t the marketer.

That said, engineers have been moving toward a marketing mindset over the last two years. Engineers now take into consideration areas formerly under the marketers’ purview, driven somewhat by the celebration of the “entrepreneur engineer” and the realization that in a world where 2,300 apps are being launched every day across the two largest app stores, you need to know how to get your work found.

And marketers are moving more toward the engineers’ way of thinking, too. The explosion of marketing technologies over the last two years has been incredible, with the sheer number of solutions growing at triple-digit rates, year over year. To survive and prosper in today’s data-driven world, marketers need to understand technology and data like never before.

Above: Here’s how it should look, according to stock photography

Image Credit: Shutterstock

Just look at the big marketing technology trends for 2016. Hyper-personalization — which is driven by data, especially those signals gleaned from mobile devices — is not easy, and it cannot be achieved without engineering and marketing teams working in tandem. Mobile marketing automation will never succeed without harmony across the two departments.

At the VentureBeat Mobile Data Strategy Roadshow, we’ll be exploring the right way to bridge the marketing and engineering gap, with a strong focus on mobile data strategies. That’s where the future lies, and we invite you to join us to discover effective, innovative tactics from expert speakers who will put you in the driving seat — because right now, any company that gets its engineering and marketing teams in sync is likely to be in the top 5 percent.

Register now.