One must know how to join the dots to move ahead. There are many dots to be joined to climb the technology ladder. One dot that has caught every software professional’s attention is .NET (dot net), the Microsoft technology that has a wider reach today. One tech job in demand these days is .NET specialists in the U.S.

“The market has been very good for the last few years in the area of .NET development, as companies step up investments in this area. The market is very good for all .NET professionals, especially those with domain knowledge in areas such as finance, banking and healthcare,” says Ashish Bhatia, a Dallas, TX based .NET expert.

Companies that were using ASP based systems found a great deal of benefit in moving to the .NET framework. The .NET framework allowed them to increase performance and do more transactions or orders every hour, and it also provided a bunch of very sophisticated tools that enable development. Currently, .NET is being used on a gamut of devices ranging from mobile phones, tablet PC’s and desktops.

Right now there is a demand for .NET Architects, .NET Developers, .NET Designers and .NET Testers in the U.S. and with the shortage of workers, Indian engineers can plug the gap.

The U.S. market demands .NET architects to have a domain expertise as well as programming expertise between 5-10 years that includes 2-3 years in .NET and a solid understanding of the framework concepts. .NET developers require 1-4 years of programming experience in .NET, depending on the level of the position. “A computer science background always helps, and professional experience with a few years of hands-on .NET development helps in getting a new position,” says Bhatia.

Shubhdha Kanoongo, Consultant at Ma Foi Management Consultants Limited says U.S. based companies look at skills like ASP, .NET, C++, VB.NET, ADO.NET and the hiring is done across all levels. Majority of the hiring is done for people with 3-9 years of experience.

Engineers who are expert users of .NET can make between $75,000 and $85,000 a year in major cities. If they pursue a job at a company that seeks someone with a background in a given field they might snatch a salary hike of 15 percent or more when they switch jobs. Those who work in software quality management, meanwhile, might make $75,000 to $85,000 a year and be able to negotiate a 10-15 percent jump in pay if they switch jobs.

Bhatia says contract workers can earn anywhere between $50-70 per hour. Ma Foi that has been hiring .NET experts for their U.S. clients puts specific salaries for .NET Architects at $61,000 per year while .NET Designers can earn about $48,000 per annum and .NET Developers and .NET Testers can earn $70,000 and $67,000 respectively per annum. So connect the dots and make hay while .NET jobs shine.