Stat of the Day

Jobs Available for 'Ninjas' Up 2,505% Since 2006

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Dino Grandoni 1,215 Views May 18, 2012

Need another confirmation that the world of programming is as nerdy as you suspected? Well, today we learn tech employers want recruits to think that they'll be hired as ninjas or Jedis, like we're all living in Kill Bill or Star Wars or something. Just take a look at the 2,505 percent overall increase in the number of jobs described with the word "ninja" since May 2006, according to job site Indeed.com. Similar rises in the number of job listings with "rock star"/"rockster" (810 percent) or with "Jedi" (67 percent) happened since then too.

What's happened here, clearly, is not an increase in demand of the throwing star- or lightsaber-welding set. As The Wall Street Journal notes, this tracks the popularity of buzzwords companies like to use to brand themselves as "cool." Microsoft, for instance, apparently has a soft spot for hiring "evangelists."

Well let them describe their open positions as they will. But still, despite all the Wiis and foosball tables these tech firms keep around the office, a newly-hired coder will be spending their days in a chair in front of a computer all day just like the rest of us paper pushers and spreadsheet monkeys.

Image via Shutterstock by pics721 and Morgan Lane Photography

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