Both big and small tech companies in California’s Silicon Valley can’t seem to hire to fast enough. Salaries are soaring, and the perks are impressive. We’ve all heard stories about the working environment at Google, where fun stuff around the office includes bowling alleys and giant climbing walls. Among the other perks on offer at Google are free gourmet food, on-site medical care and travel insurance, even for personal vacations. And why not? In 2012, Google earned about $900,000 in annual revenue per employee.

So, who can blame jobseekers for trying to break into the tech industry? A recent report by the Bureau of Labor Statistics confirmed that Silicon Valley employees are among the highest paid in the US, with the average worker in San Mateo County earning $3,240 per week, which is more than three times the national average and $1,100 more per week than the average employee in Manhattan. However, many tech companies say that finding excellent engineers is one of the toughest challenges in the ongoing war for talent, and the competition to hire in-demand engineers is greatly inflating some pay packages.

There are certainly are large number of jobs available and Silicon Valley is awash with cash, but there is a problem in that tech industry outsiders are trying to get involved without any realistic expectations when applying for jobs. This greatly reduces the hiring pool and means that there is intense competition for the candidates who actually have the skills required by tech companies. Google gets 2 million applications for jobs every year, but only 5,000 to 7,000 are hired.

In response to demand, Silicon Valley has seen the rise of tech boot camps. These vocational schools for the coding-inclined offer nine- to 12-week accelerated programs. Such schools as Dev Bootcamp, Hackbright Academy, and Hack Reactor, arm students with the fundamental skills needed to compete as engineers, and no previous coding experience is required. That, coupled with the enormous demand, is why program applicants come from all walks of life. But the programs don’t come cheap. The cost of a 10-week accelerated software development program at the Hackbright Academy is all of $15,000!

The high cost of acquiring tech qualifications creates a significant barrier to entry in the industry. Then, the high salaries that can be earned exacerbate the difference between the have and the have nots. According to a 2011 study by the Public Policy Institute of California, the state of California could boast in 1980 that some 60% of its families were middle-income, but by 2010 only 48% of California families fell into that category, and the income gap between the state’s highest and lowest earners had doubled.

In the UK, the technology sector has outperformed the rest of the UK private sector in terms of employment growth over the last ten years, according to a new joint report by KPMG and Markit. The report also shows that UK tech companies are more confident about the business outlook than firms in other industry sectors, with growth expectations at tech companies well above UK private sector average, underlining the impact the sector has on the country’s economic performance and the important role tech companies play in the burgeoning recovery.

The growth of technology clusters in the UK is fuelling a rapid growth in jobs, intensifying competition among those looking to hire people for jobs such as software developers. A total of 4,753 positions were on offer in technology start-ups across the UK in September 2013, 44% more than September 2012, according to figures compiled by Silicon Milkroundabout, an east London recruitment event for tech start-ups, and Adzuna, a search engine for jobs. Software developers were most in demand, with 1,473 positions vacant, an increase of 31% on September 2012.

It’s not impossible, however, for non-tech folks to make the transition and get jobs in the tech industry. To compete with graduates sporting computer science degrees from prestigious universities or candidates with mega-expensive bootcamp qualifications means that jobseekers must immerse themselves in the tech world. That includes keeping up with the start-up news and attending tech meetings. It could also mean creating a project for a desired employer and sending it to the CEO or founder. You never know, it might pay off!