Choosing a New Career Path

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"The Pessimist's Guide to Impending Doom and Gloom"

Chapter 1. What's Wrong With Everything.

Chapter 2. Nothing's Right, Everything's Wrong.

Chapter 3. Playing the Blame Game.

Chapter 4. Oh Whoa Is Me.

Chapter 5. Avoiding the Unlimited Possibilities.

Chapter 6. Focusing on the Limitations.

Chapter 7. The Art of Wallowing in Self-Pity.

Chapter 8. Making Everything Worse.

Chapter 9. Making the Wrong Mental Choices.

Chapter 10. The Power of Negative Thinking.

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......................... Or not.

and you are undoubtedly going to be prepared for them. When things work out or go well then you'll be pleasantly surprised.

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The Department of Homeland Security is looking for just about anyone with any IT experience at all. Their needs run the gamut from one extreme to the other - from simple PC support, to networking, to programming, to security. If you can pass a drug test, and if you can pass a security check, a job is waiting for you.

I recently turned down an offer for a job interview with one of their regional directors. He was searching high and low for good people, and he can't find them fast enough. (My sense of patriotism almost made me consider the job. But my life's priorities made me decide otherwise.)

As a career technologist, one who earns more now than in the boom - I have been doing this since 1987 - I'll offer a slightly different perspective.

Back in 1992 I wrote a piece titled "Welcome to the Information Age" where I responded to several articles touting the "computer age." I placed the emphasis squarely back on information (its access, analysis, and automation) not on the box. In 1999 and then again in 2001, I wrote "Why Technologist Must Learn To Speak Business."

Owning a consulting company (not a systems integration, programming, or web development company - although we often did all those things) I found technologists in general to be highly focused on technology for technology's sake. This was largely corroborated by a study that KPMG & Computerworld put out where they asked Executive Management how they felt their I.T. dollars were being spent.

The majority of respondents indicated the following:
* IT practitioners, staff or consulting, do little to speak to business the way business speaks about business
* IT spends too much time focused on internal functions and not on business model automation
* Many expressed a distrust in their IT professionals ? indicating that they suspected they padded budgets and timeframes to pursue their own pet interest.

While I bring this up to technologists, the first reaction I get is this ?not me, not me!? But this is about understanding the industry and how to fix it. I spoke to one executive who asked me why he shouldn?t send his IT work overseas when he received little understanding here in the U.S. His feeling is that if I am going to deal with a language and culture barrier, why not do so at a third the cost.

Remember the Saturday Night Live parody of the computer guy, Nick Burns? He was arrogant, did not communicate well, and looked down on his customers ? the computer user. And yet, I still here users spoken of as though they are a nuisance and just mess up the network. While funny, parody is usually truth born of frustration. Even if it is not you, your objective is to dispel that perspective. If you do that, your career has a much more dynamic life.

I write a career development blog for IT Toolbox (it is not a paid gig) and am writing a book which has now been picked up by Cisco Press (release to occur in January of 2005).

You can pick up the blog by going to:
http://blogs.ittoolbox.com/pm/career/

Let me know whether you agree, disagree, or want a specific topic covered..

Hi there (sorry I do not know your name yet)

I am currently working as an IT Consultant in the Netherlands. Beside that a am a practitioning Philosopher. Maybe I can give you some new idea's.

I was technically skilled well some years ago, but noticed people having big trouble working together, respecting eachother, even seeing eachother as a human being.

World wide projects have started to enclose a 'warm' side into the rather cold IT Sector. I use my skill as a philosopher (think and talk) to get people understand and respect eachother. I that manner projects work much better and faster and people feel much better too.

I can tell a lot more, just let me know if you are interested.

kind regards

Leks

Since I reconfigered 'my own attitude' about IT, I haven't looked back!

My mission is now:
'To empower users to best use the tools given to them'.

Now I am knocking back work!

Cheers,
Kenn

Perhaps start consulting IT pro's on what they should do in the future with their skills.

Yes - IT is heavily populated with an influx of staff, courtesy of the Internet and more accessible IT Training in schools, colleges etc. For staff thinking about leaving IT - before doing so consideration should be given to taking one's talents off to some far flung reaches that are activley nibbling away at the West's IT job market. Just from a language viewpoint you would hit the ground running.... you don't necessarily have to up root to another country as some companies hire in country...remember if you can't beat em - join em!
Beyond working in IT - go self employed and search the market for areas where IT is lacking or needs to be enhanced. There are still an abundance of entrepreneurial ideas out there begging. Such as small corner shops without no automated way of doing order management of stock.
Or on a bigger scale - when the sorting office sorts letters, parcels etc - at which point they are sorting for individual city / town / road / house delivery - what if this was linked to a universal / generic mail system and notifies the recepient that they have a physical delivery scheduled.
My point is - IT is where it is at....

You could consider an "IT-dependent" option where doing the thing runs on an IT platform (your own).

For instance, I am in translation, which is 100% Internet/IT dependent and install and maintain my own system and network. Not a specially lucrative activity, but you could possibly think up something better.

Basically, do X plus IT in such a way that the IT gives you a unique competitive edge.

competition is surely adding pressure to everyone, not to mention the continuing improvements on the learning institution to produce quality "learned job hunters".

nonetheless, it is but necessary for all of us to continually equip ourselves, either mastering your career or trying to develop new ones - which of course, must be closely complementing your skills you have now,--- say, project management???

You may think of making career in Marketing IT Products & Services. This could be your own Business. Further you can upgrade your education to MBA in any appropriate field Marketing or Finance.

Wishing you good luck in your career.

I'm 56 and after 30 yrs in the work force in manufacturing and having 2 long term jobs be exported, I turned to the IT field for a "future". I went back to school, earned a degree and joined the IT field just as the job market turned sour.
After 2 years of schooling and two years working in IT, I'm still not making near the money I was 'earning' on UNEMPLOYMENT, let alone what I earned in manufacturing.
The really bad news about changing careers is that there are precious few to turn to.
There's WalMart and the " Do you want fries with that?" jobs. Or some other part time, low pay no benefits 'career path;.

Only one out of seven people are hired to a job the individual is best fit for. The other six are either relatively good fits, average employees, or underachievers.

Just because you have a resume in a particular industry does not mean you are best fit for the jobs on your resume.

You would be best served by KNOWING what YOU are best fit for and DEMANDING one of those jobs bringing the proof, your enthusiasm, and your occupational interest. You can KNOW exactly what, and how many, jobs you are best fit for by completing an employment assessment. NOT A PERSONALITY test or an interest inventory, but a VALID assessment that considers your cognitive skills, behaviors, attitudes, and occupational interests. There are some you can take for free, some for less than $100, and MANY that are useless or a "crap shoot" at best.

I was "cast adrift" into unemployment two years ago (October 2002). Hundreds of IT job leads later with thousands of IT professionals still out of work in my area, I am entering a new career in healthcare administration where my IT skills will be an added benefit. I must complete a nine month training program, national and state exams but my assessment says I am better fit for this than my 23 years in IT. I was fairly well fit for IT.

The 90's are GONE. Game over. Thousands of individuals have resumes that look real good and many are willing to remake their resume into exactly what is being asked. How will mine be picked? Only by the grace of God. And if one does not believe in a powerful God? How can one go on for months? Years?

God has led me safe thus far when I did not know how we could make it through six months of unemployment. It has taken me two years to get to the point where I am READY to change careers in THIS way, and all the other things that needed to be ready for me are arranged. If my interview with the state board goes well in two days, I begin my training Nov. 1.

Godspeed to you, Deusbelli, and everyone else who is looking and considering a new career.

Because of so much outsourcing the demand for IT savy project managers had boomed (just check out your favorite job site). A great majority of these openings require the same type of analytical skills and a knowledge of software and and the software development process.

Yes you are correct, relying purely on technology skills is risky. I have interviewed 20 SQL DBA's over the past two weeks and not one of them was the kind of person I could put in front of the client. Gone are the days where you can sit behind a monitor and just program. You need to have sales skills, tact, be strategic, etc. You have to be both a back room person and a front room person. It's a well known fact that the interviewer knows whether or not they are going to hire you within the first two minutes of the meeting. The rest of the interview is spent qualifying your skills etc. Are you the kind of person who elicits confidence and competence? That is what is separating the wheat from the chaf for us. Someone who is willing to take an active role in our business. So yes, if you're looking to passively camp in a back room program all day and collect a paycheck,that'll be a problem.

I've been hearing the same thing since the early 80's -- that there's a glut of IT folks in the marketplace. It wasn't true then, and it's not true now. Granted, jobs might not be as easy to come by as the spike during the .COM boom of 1996-2000, but one only has to look at the Dept. of Labor Occupational Outlook projections (to the year 2012) to see that software-related occupations are still at the top of the list.

My advise is for D to go for Accounting. My wife (has ACCA)works as an accountant for the Pru in the UK & earns almost double my salary as a network admin. I am planning to become a Lawyer and have two more exams to complete the switch over, in the hope that I'll be able to use my IT skills in that profession. I can tell D that accountants(with prof accreditations - CIMA, ACA, ACCA) are in high demand and he'll never regret it. He could be a SAP accountant, for instance. D, you will excel provided you're focused & determined to make a go of it. I don't see a rosy future for IT, except in areas like SAP. Time will tell.

Suggest that basic IT capabilities are a crying need in the fields of major construction and engineering. Most of these companies need to be brought up to date with today's (aand tomorrow's technology. The major thrust should be in project and construction management/scheduling/communication with the field forces.

Work is miserable if you don't like it. Life become miserable since so much of it is defined by your work. If your technical skills aren't carrying you far enough, work on your management skills (NOT being the best techie around, but being the best at communicating and dealing with people; propper speling helps two). Get a general degree if you need to beef up your resume ( a liberal arts bachelor degree or an MBA). Find a management position that is loosely related to IT. After all, IT is what you like.

From there, you've just opened many other doors. I graduated with a degree in finance, then started my career as an accountant. From there I became a software consultant, then a consulting manager. Now I work as a business analyst in a completely different field. I've gone from manufacturing, to software, to the public sector. Your imagination and motivation are your only limiting factors.

Go for a BA in MIS, Management Information Systems. It takes advantage of your IT skills gives your a nice cross over path to almost any business management postion and always keeps you in the field you orginally choose.

I had over 22 years of IT experience, a CS degree, and 11 years as an engineering manager. But after 2 layoffs in a 3 year span, and given the massive exporting of IT jobs offshore, I decided it was time to move on. Unless IT workers in the US are willing to work for around $10/hour, there's no way they're going to compete against India. As to what field to go into? I guess that depends on how much time and money you have available for re-training. The medical field, for those specialities that require 1:1 presence, i.e. they can't be outsourced, is a good choice. I would be cautious about Accounting because that's another back office type job that's being outsourced. In fact, anything that can be performed alone with a computer is a questionable choice because of its outsourcing potential. Also, you might need to give up on the expectation of receiving an equivalent salary in your new profession, whatever it may be. Be prepared to accept less, and in some cases, far less.

I am one of the few that see IT from a poetic point of view as "an infinite canvas " where you can continue painting until you stop being creative.

First, I see IT not as an end but a means to an end, i.e IT is a means through which businesses could be enhanced and done more efficiently and optimally.
In short IT is a TOOL in the hands of businesses and as long as businesses require a competitive edge, the IT sector must remain relevant, hence you will still have a job.

Are you a creative IT person who is always searching for newer ways of solving current and ever-evolving problems of businesses or you are an IT professional who is content with routine?

if you are the later, then you will get bored easily and will be bothered about the so-called "bleak IT future".

If you are the former then you will definitely stay ahead and will remain relevant even when the forcast is so bad.

Staying ahead means acquiring newer/contemporary problem-solving skills as well as identifying business needs to be met even with your current skill base.

If the forcast is bleak for IT in Europe and the US or the West as a whole as you seem bothered, Question is, is it same in Asia, Africa and the rest of the world?

I am an IT consultant and Systems Integrator for the Telecoms,Banking, Oil & Gas in Africa, and I tell you something, maybe new; long term multi-million IT projects and Networks are being built here.
It definitely will take some donkey years for IT professionals here to start getting bothered of a bleak in the industry. Infact this regions of the world are now a "mecca" of some sorts to IT pro's from the West.

Like the average "lagosian" will say in pidgen enlish, "Shine your eye well well..."

While there are so many different views on this topic, the bottom line is that everyone from tech support all the way up to the IT executive level needs to at least pay attention to this un official threat. While many of you will debunk the credibility of a lot of those individuals that are now flooding the market, (i.e. the late 90?s issue of ?paper CNA?s and MCSE?s?). The fact remains that they (we?) are still here, and its causing a few minor problems. The lure of going to school for less than 2 years and coming out making 50K+ is the new American dream. While quality and legitimacy isn?t even apparently the issue, face it the market is flooded. Job security for some is the false sense that tenure and certification means everything. But how many of you are tired of constantly re certifying yourselves every year just to keep your position? How many new areas of IT have been invented in the last few years that are really old positions with an IT moniker placed on them? How many of you are tired of doing piece work only to fear that every so many months you will be looking for a new job again? Please don?t take this post as pessimistic stance. Economy, budgets, and management (mis-?) seem to determine the future roles of IT professionals. My suggestion to anyone that has thought twice about his or her career security is that a ?back up? career or application of current skills would be a wise investment.

I am a DSL Tech. working at a college for well under the median. I am now looking at going into managemnet. I am going back to my roots, that was sales for me. I enjoyed it then and still do. For you, you might look into Human Resourses. You can offer a solution for how the company hires the tech people. You can still use your skills only you will be the one saying who gets the job. Good Luck to you.

Stacy
Oh by the way don't over sale the tech. talk. The company will be wanting someone who can explain the why's to them in plain english.

Hi. I have to agree with you. I was made redundant recently when my company was taken over. I applied for about 100 jobs and only got calls on a few. These pretty much panned out in just a few days. I was lucky - a job I went for and could have got easily was not paying enough, so I knocked it back. The owner of the company called a few days later, and because of industry and IT knowledge I am now his Client Relationship Manager. To be fair I have been a customer service manager a few years ago. Many companies like to have IT skilled people in that sort of ro,e. Good luck.

Get with a career counselor- someone who does this sort of thing for a living? Sort of like the ones you go through in high school & college entry- but, of course, much more tuned to your current circumstances.

Nothing wrong with wanting to "branch out" & add some extra knowledge to your resume. It could be that the tech down-turn is temporary & that at the time it snaps back, what you've learned in the meantime will help secure a job, as well.

Good luck!

Tracy ;^)

The problem is not the IT market - The problem is YOU my friend. If you really have all the qualifications you listed above:

"BBA in MIS, ASP, VB, VBA, TCP/IP, Access, SQL, MySQL, HTML, Web Developer for 1 1/2 years, consulting (PC maintenance and custom Access programing) for about a year'

and you can't see a future in IT?

Then I don't think any suggestions in a Tech forum is going to help you. You have to WANT to work in the IT field and you have to WANT to see a future. All I have is military experience in communications and I have self taught myself the past 10 years. Now I am a Network Administrator and I run my own computer company on the side. I don't have a certificate or degree in anything. What I do have is the desire to learn and succeed and the willingness to make that happen.

Sounds to me like you you want an easy path. Accounting sounds like a good choice.

This is the same question I asked myself in the early 90's. It is probably the same question that veterans from the 70's asked themselves when the 80's came along. It may even be the same thing that Eckert and Mauchley said 10 years after they started this mess in the 50's. Our industry is constantly changing and we need to find ways to change with it... like I did in the 90's... like those other guys did in the 80's... and like you are finding you need to do now. It's not easy because you just don't know how the industry is going to change. Doing allot of research helps. Look at trends in the industry. Look at what is important to IT users, and watch how IT companies adjust themselves to meet those needs, then adjust your skills to meet those requirements. 20 years ago while I was setting up MICR and OCR readers in Burroughs check sorters I never thought that I would be a communications expert, but here I am taking apart TCP/IP packets and chasing spanning tree loops. So, to answer your question: Be ready to adjust your career to the changing landscape, but don't walk away from it all just yet. Cheers!

If you mean just messing around with computers, you are probably correct. Businesses are interested inmore value from IT, really true Information Technology that supports and forwards business goals. Have interest or skill in security, take an industry Security Cert, combines with some accounting/financial skill - look for jobs in business process management, security/systems auditing.

Skilled in storage and databases? Look towards Health Informatics, hospitals need technologists that are ready to understand the healthcare business not just throw technology at things.

After 9/11 I was let go from my previous position with a regional ISP in Technical Support. I was working for myself (if you call it that. Actually, I was barely etching out a living) until May of this year when I was the victim of a nasty car accident (had me laid up for 2 1/2 months)I lost all my clients as they wanted someone they could depend on during that period of time (well, business is business...) and so I am now going to have to file bankruptcy.

I've been looking into other career options that would use my technical skills in some capacity, either sales, or real estate and even trying to use my technical knowledge in music.

Good luck. I'll let you know what comes of it.

I have been in the IT industry for around 10 years. I hold BBA, MBA, MCP, A+,Network+, CCSA, MCSA 2000, MCSA2003, and MCSE2000.
With all the skills and experience, I can't land on a job that pays more then $55k in GA,I've never gotten an interview, all i have always heard back is: "Over Qualified" or your skills don't match bla bla..
While working for a software development company, I'm starting my own electronics/computer accessories selling business, Currently I sell in the flea markets, computer shows, ebay ( i hate it, too many sneaky buyers buy the product, swap the parts and try to send back for refund), but soon I'll be putting my own website and sell through pricewatch/pricegrabber/froogle and all other available search engines.
Bottom Line:
Job: Live pay check to pay check.
Your own business: Work twice as hard, but win the Freedom.

I'm sorry if my comments hurt anybody's feelings, this is only my perspective on the issue.

I've been at my current school for 10 years now (virtually unheard of in the IT industry!) and I don't plan on going anywhere. You may have to take a pay cut, but you have job security and usually great benefits. Plus my contract is 226 days per year. Christmas and Spring Break are great, especially when my other IT buddies are working during that time! However, you MUST have people skills when working in education. You cannot sit behind a computer monitor in a server room all day. In fact, you are usually expected to train teachers as well. And that does involve people skills!

IT market saturated - NOT A CHANCE. However it does depend on what you do in the IT field. Master a general area of IT along with specific niche and you should be fine. Just always have aspirations for improving your career in some form or fashion - That's a must for everyone depsite the industry they are in.

You obviously have skills, and experience. Those are things that, if you have communication skills, make for great teachers - in any field. The one good thing about teaching is the satisfaction in seeing a job well done. And we certainly need teachers -- Though the pay is pretty terrible for the first few years (not unlike our current business). But there is no shortage of need.

The high growth fields today are nursing and fast food. You mention accounting, those jobs are also pouring off shore. Any well paid professions are now targets. You could get into sales of off shore services, that will work for about 4-5 years.
We have trade agreements for steel and airplanes but no one knows how to protect us from unrestricted import of services. Further companies lobby congress to protect themselves from cheap imports of steel, airplanes, etc. but they also lobby to protect their ability to import cheap professional services. I'm looking for ideas too.

I have been researching this avenue for myself, and am curious about the market for this. Thanks for posting the website!

I think pessimism is the wrong word. Its not like he is complaining about having no chance at winning a beauty contest. He is accepting the face of IT as we know it today.

Anyone that buys a wireless router at Best Buy now is a network admin. It's just the facts.

You have to know when your skills are no longer required in existing markets. Its not pessimism. Its reality. If there is a glut in your field then maybe it is time to move on to something else.

If you can stand it I recommend something in the health care related field.

I'm not sure what business sector you are currently using your IT skills to support, but healthcare is starting to go through a serious technology revolution. Soon the way hospitals and doctors get paid will be tied directly to how much they use IT to make their operations more efficient.

Everyone knows that the U.S. healthcare industry uses state of the art technology for the treatment of patients. However, medication despensing, patient charts, and billing are still paper based throughout most of the industry. Providers are looking for skilled IT workers to help transform operations to help reduce costs and provide improved patient safety. Healthcare IT consulting companies often have openings with your skill set posted on their websites.

The only downside to healthcare IT is that we get paid a little less on average than most other IT workers. Why? Most hospitals are not-for-profit facilities that get most of their revenue from government programs such as Medicare and Medicaid. However, once you get into the healthcare IT niche your career is a lot more secure than most other IT workers. Privacy laws make most providers weary of outsourcing to overseas companies.

If you like travel your best bet is a consulting company that specializes in healthcare. If you want a steady but rewarding "long term gig" find a hospital that is moving toward an Electronic Medical Record (EMR) where you can really make use of your talents.

I work in a small community hospital that serves a rural area of North East Texas. The work I do helps improve the health and well being of thousands of people every year. The people I help are my neighbors and my family. I never expected to be in healthcare IT, but it's been more challenging and rewarding than anything else I've ever done.

The future is bleak, but not because there are too few jobs and a market flooded with skilled techs. It's a market flooded with worthless techs.

These clowns lie about their abilities, worry only about how much they make (which is never enough for them and way too much in reality) but never concern themselves with increasing their knowledge and to top it off: provide *CRAP* customer service. You'd think it would be a no brainer, but nobody wants to be the bad guy and voice their complaints, so their managers are none the wiser. If another IT guy complains, well, he/she is a troublemaker and therefore must be killed. (Our admin wont even clean the filthy servers that were rained on when our roof leaked (looks like mud), even after being told multiple times that it is corrosive to electronic components....4 weeks and counting....and he still has a job? Eph that!

As a 12 year network and security admin...I'm looking elsewhere.

Whether you are a pessimist or not is irrelevant. Those who can't do, teach!

I have been in the same situation before. It is hard to be positive when your company is purchased and you are laid off. It happened to me in the 1990-1991 recession and jobs were hard to come by. I started my own business, because there was nowhere else to go. Sometimes you have to do risky things to get out of the doldrums. That business didn't survive past 1992, but I did find a good job thru my business contacts. That job was exciting and lasted 11 years until that company was bought. The guys who bought it, burned up 100 million dollars and the company went into bankruptcy and this time I made it out to work for another good company. I believe the point of all of this is, you must be looking for opportunities at all times, not to just job-hop, but keep in mind where your next job might be if your current situation turns ugly. All of my jobs in 30 years of IT have come from people I knew, not necessarily what I knew. IT is a great field for people that always want to learn new things. If you decide to stop learning then go to a different profession.

There are a ton of opportunities in every sector, but you MUST enjoy what you do, otherwise you will continue to look for something else.

If you are no longer interesed in what you do, there are other avenues for IT pro's, one that is most exciting and leveraging from the current shifts to offshore outsourcing.

If you look at www.cio.com/offshoremap (explore their map) and you will see how the different countries measure up to their outsourcing abilities. The great news about all of this is you can still be apart of this rush. -- One example is becoming a Project Manager on Elance.com - you can provide the same services as a full service IT firm, while re-contracting the work to the lower-bid talent. You just have to make an arrangement with a solid offshore firm to feed them work and get a priority return on the work you are providing them. Anyone of these firms will work with you as a parnter who acts on behalf of them as a referral\project manager because they want business from the US.

Someone who is in the US can act as an ambassador to these firms which works quite well because there is still a small barrier between US and these offshore companies as you will be able to see in the Offshore Outsourcing assesment provided by CIO above. Just find an area that is lacking and capitilize on it.

The amount of money that goes through Elance and the other talent procurement marketplaces online are phenomenal.

This way you can have all the benefits of working online (24x7 biz - global - home - on your own time). And the beauty of it is, if you are dealing with clients in the States and you have talent working on your projects in other countries, like India - you can wake up and review the work that was done while you were sleeping and submit changes in a normal 9-5 work day and have your changes re-submitted on your next business day. - -These firms are fantastic, organized and in most cases utilize some of the best of breed contact\project management online share portals.

Something to think about if you are looking for a change.

Many IT professionals like yourself are questioning their career path choice. A lot depends on your motives for being in IT. If the driving force was financially based, then I can see how the recent state of IT would have you concerned. If the reason you are in IT is because you love the challenge and personal satisfaction of solving a problem for users through technology, then I believe you should think twice before changing paths. The benefit of loving what you do escapes many people within the workforce and often outweighs the financial side of the equation.
There will always be a demand for good IT professionals. If you decide to stay in IT because you love it, I suggest you continue your education in order to stay abreast of the latest technologies, in your case possibly .NET. You may want to also look at improving any weaknesses in communication skills, which improves an IT professional's value.
No matter what career path, there are always opportunities for those that work hard and demonstrate that they love what they do.
Good Luck, whatever your decision.

I agree with something rclinto2 said, do something you really enjoy.

Create an inventory of the skill sets you have and prioritize them by how much you enjoy doing that thing. Then compare and contrast your list with skill sets and the job market.

You might also consider taking some aplitude tests that can show you into which job areas/classifications/categories you have a match. This can be a real eye opener, especially if you answer the questions on the surveys with an authentic presence of yourself rather than how you'd like to be or what might give you the 'right' results.

I also suggest you consider hiring a personal coach. This is someone that will assist you in seeing what possibilities will work best for you and do so with complete neutrality; that is they will work with you from your agenda and not bring in their own. (At least a certified, quality coach will.)

If you'd like more information about personal coaching, drop me a personal email and I will share my experience with you in deeper details.

Greetings fellow Technicians,

I am the owner of a small business in Charleston, South Carolina. I have been in business since 1998 and have seen many technicians come and go.

The grass is not always greener on the other side of the fence. I think that highly skilled service engineers are still in great demand. We are turning work away because we have a shortage of skilled engineers that can and are willing to do the work required to resolve complex site issues.

The problem is that there are a lot of engineers that have had cushy jobs at the big fancy buildings and have forgot what a real hard (but rewarding $) days work consists of. There are no quick jumps to the senior engineer position. It takes lots of hard work and the stuff you learn at 3am means more than any instructor, exam, college or university can teach you.

I am constantly looking for good feild engineers so if anyone is trying to find work please come visit our beautiful town and talk with me to get started.

Roger Swanson - CTO & President
Computer Network Enterprises, Inc.
Charleston, SC
843-8210-4356
www.cnentrp.com
rswanson@cnentrp.com (for comments)

I deeply share your frustration.

I've made several "in-your-face" comments to CIOs over the past year regarding the Outsourcing of IT. After a very successful 14 years of Senior Oracle DBA / Architect experience with Peoplesoft and Oracle Financials and a great resume -- I found myself out of work! After looking for work for the better part of 2 years I've learned that the politicians really are wrong! Unemployment rate falls when either A) the worker finds work!! or B) the worker exhausts their unemployment benefits. The actual unemployment rate is usually 2 -3 x the 'reported'. Anyway - I digress.

I found a few solutions:
A) Sarbanes Oxley Act has created a huge unfilled void for people who know how to document business and IT processes and controls. The pay is usually pretty to very good. For me the real perk was being able to go home at night and NOT have a pager. I can really have a life!!!

B) Think of your career as a long string. Technology is on one end - Business operations on the other. The closer you/I/We are to 'technology' -- the more disposable we become. (CIOs are not the sharpest tool in the box). Yes that includes "development". Advice: Move your knowledge and skills closer to center. Business Analysts, Database Analysts are two skills that will be slow to see outsourcing. (they need people who can verbally engage the client)

C) consider taking your existing skills and create a true eCommerce website. A buddy of mine just started his in January. Working smart and hard he's now grossing well over $80K/month (yes it IS verifiable). My wife and I are now in pursuit of similar success. We'll be going live before year end.

Bottom line?
- Education won't fix your woes.
- Better economy-- won't
- Different President -- REALLY won't (pardon my...)
- Inspiration and hard work -- will

You have the 'smarts'. Look at your skills! Personally - I'd opt for option C above.

Just some neighborly thoughts. Let me know if I can be of further help.

Mark Kishbaugh

deusbelli,
Career planning is a continuous process. Since the average 'job' lasts three years or less, you must continually look to who/what/where you WANT TO BE NEXT! Finding an opportunity where you are valued is work. Fantasizing about being 'discovered' is a waste time, and hence your talent as well.

I have survived and fallen victim to corporate 'staffing strategies'. My advice to all is simple:
1. Continually update a comprehensive resume with accomplishments and skills inventory. Try to segregate industry and technically specific items that have limited transfer value.
2. Research to find companies (all sizes) that you would like to work for. Consider everything except job opportunities in your analysis. Most important, develop a point-of-contact if they look interesting.
3. Perform the same analysis using the company where you work today.
4. Craft a letter and brief resume to the companies that interest you. Use the POC from step 2 as a gateway.
5. Now that you 'own' your career, start acting like the position that you have is the best deal available today!

Here are the results that I have witnessed:
The fear of being 'right sized' goes away because you are doing everything you can, both internally and externally, to further your career.
You will find a position that interests you at a company you have confidence in (promotion or whatever).
Your day-to-day work life will improve because you are continuously assessing the value of what you are doing (not relying on your boss to do it for you).

By the way, your chances of being 'discovered are greatly enhanced by the preceding.

I came out of Commercial Banking to IT so I can understand the how and why of career changes. I'm concentrating now on a move to Heathcare either as an extension of my IT skills (application programming or sysadmin) or as a technician (XRay, CAT, Blood, etc.).

Do some research and you'll find Healthcare is one of the only growing career fields.

Like a lot of people, I picked up my IT skills on the side. My formal education is in Health Education and Epidemiology. While working I started to attend night classes and eventually left my chosen profession to pursue the field of LMS development. For a while I was doing work in the insurance industry with on-line training development.

I finally decided to come back to Public Health and now I work at a State Agency where I have been hired to provide research in the way that we can utilize all the data that is collected surrounding Communicable Disease Control.

One problem was that I had to move. I still am in the same state but I needed to relocate to where the job was. Luckily my wife was willing to change everything for me.

So I guess what I am saying is that you should look at what you are really interested in, which in my case was the use of informatics in
Public Health and just start looking realizing that your dream job will require some effort on your part.

I have gone from writing code every day to more of a program manager.

I see that you have a degree that includes some training in BA. Are there other areas of business admin that you are interested in besides finance?

Additionally, there are a lot of jobs starting to open up in public health arena. I am not sure where you are located but look at your local jurisdictional health department.

Since coming back into Public Health I have been involved with the IT infrastructure surrounding Maternal and child health issues, SARS, Avian flu, as well as a whole host of other topics.

But you do need a plan and start on it sooner than later. It took me over a year to get hired on in the position that I currently have but it was worth the wait.

I'm sure there are many options for people in the IT industry who are technically inclined to move into other industries to use their skills. In the early 90's I was a Senior Systems Analyst and felt that I needed to get out of IT. After doing a couple of years in internal Audit I realized that I enjoyed helping solve problems with technology and people. I chose to move in the direction of PRoject Management and since then have managed project raning from multimillion dollar revovations to business process and downsizing projects while continuing to implement software solutions. From what I can see the IT industry is in need of people who can get people to solve problems collectively and those with a strong inclination to the tech side of the business can contribute significantly in this venue...

Well you have to ask yourself - is it the career or the lack of facing the next level - I disagree that the Tech Sector is lacking as you state - there are many other aspects of the "Tech" Sector - which part are you in? With all of the emerging technologies out there, something has to peak your fancy. Alot of stuff is old to some, new to others, but there is not a lack of jobs - just a lack of people that want to work in those areas. For instance - Nanotechnologies is starting to really build and take off. But is that something for you, look around more before taking on something that doesn't make you happy.

I live in the US that the world envies.

Big business isn't our biggest problem. The spreading of socialism and making people who have worked hard to get where they are feel guilty for having what they have is a bigger problem.

Our country has survived many dying industries. Look at what automobiles did to the horse trading industry, or the current changes in the steel industry. You have to be able to adapt to stay competitive in the market. Instead the unions fight progress and protect poor performers... all costing the company huge amounts of money and making it hard for the company to compete against foreign competitors. Then the unions give all your dues money to the Democrats who tax the hell out of the company until they have to close their doors.

But it's all the evil corporations fault!

The good news is the American spirit and the entrepreneurs keep this county moving. Opportunities are nearly endless if you have the will to work hard enough to achieve your goal.

In 1998 Clinton had hard evidence of Osama Bin Laden's location and decided not to bomb the building. He knew Bin Laden was responsible for the 1993 World Trade Center Bombing!

He was too busy running our highest office through the mud because he couldn't keep it in his pants.

You have listed only your technical skills. Do consider also your soft skills and pick what you enjoy doing or spending most of your time. Why go into a field you are not excited about to begin with? Do things you enjoy and do it well. With a little bit of luck, money will come in later.

I arrived back in the UK after 21 years in Australia at the age of 50. Nobody is going to employ you at that age much anymore so the option was working for myself.
15 years later I have had a really good income from finding (in IT) what people did not want to do themselves and being the best at it. I took on a new Accounting and Business system, sold it, installed it and supported it for 6 years and then took on another and did the same. I am now at retirement age and having sold off my clients just do contract work for a daily rate that is prettty good. My advice, work for yourself and be the best.

There will always be work available for those who have real skills and are willing to work. For practical reasons, it is always good to have a job, no matter how basic it may be and a business. The job will take care of your day to day expenses while your business - something you love to do and are extremely qualified for (because you love to do it)will take care of your future. Jim Rohn was correct in saying you work full time for your living and part time for your fortune until such a time that your part time work makes more than your full time work...
personally, i would work for a place that would provide the education I need for the kind of work i would love to do - even if the pay is low. i will learn it well, get promoted and maintain good relationships. when i move on to a new organization or my own business, the former job will become a consultancy base or client. Invest in learning and relationships. Many opportunities come from referals...

I too underwent a huge drop from an IT Manager to the ranks of the unemployed. Despite certain slanted posts from rabid Democrat-haters, I don't blame any particular administration or policy on this... in retrospect, it was bound to happen.

To pander to the charge of "pessimism" some have made towards the original poster, I also agree with that "the times, they are a-changin'...": More and more jobs are going overseas; IT pros are in vast overabundance; pay scales are nowhere near where they were just 4-5 years ago; the technology changes so fast nowadays that even a few months out of direct contact with the field makes you essentially "unemployable" unless you keep up with schools and new certs; and of course after the dot-com crash there are a lot fewer employers out there.

However, on the positive side, and despite anemic job and economic growth, there ARE jobs out there, even in IT. Sometimes it requires a willingness to relocate, or take a huge pay cut, or retraining in some related field to "fit" into an inexact match, but they're there.

In one of my previous incarnations, I was a career advisor. The advice I gave (in the late 1980's/early 1990's, one of our bigger recessions and job-loss periods prior to 2000) still applies today:

1) Reflection: Take a good, hard look at yourself. Not only your broad list of skills and experience, but perhaps most importantly your likes and dislikes, desires and dreams. It may sound silly, but it's really far more important to be doing something you're in love with than something you're trained to do. Are you HAPPY in IT? Do you wake up every day excited (or at least moderately pleased ) to get to work and do what you do there? If not, it's time to reflect on what your ideal line of work would be, within reason (although it may be nice to dream of making macrame laundry baskets all day long, will it pay the mortgage?).

2) Reality: Take a good look at your job, the job market, the industry, and this country's and the world economy. Do some research. Then face reality... is your job in danger, or is the outlook bleak for a long-term career doing what you're doing? If not, God bless you... you're among the lucky few. If so, you're actually amongst the majority. Current statistics show that the average person will change their CAREER (not just their job) at least FIVE TIMES in their lifetime. If your research shows that your job may be in peril, either immediately or long-term, then it's time to start considering a new path.

3) Re-Evaluation: a) Even if you find that the general trend in your career path is OK, it may be that re-training or at least a broadening of your skill-base would be in order to make your job prospects more aggressively marketable in the future. Consider completing that Bachelor's degree, Master's degree, or certification that you've been putting off. Even more, consider getting skills and education in a totally different area which complements your existing training, either by going back to school for that second degree or by asking for work or projects at your current job either in another department or otherwise outside your current "position description".

b) The other side of re-evaluation is on the home front. Make sure your current living style, family life, and economic condition are as lean and "portable" as possible. What this means is that despite having what may be a nice salary NOW, don't live like it. Rent, don't buy. Drive the old car. The washer and dryer still work, keep 'em. Eat out less. Save money. What all this prepares you for is the possibility of having to relocate (often with little notice), to take a lower-paying position without hardship, or possibly to reconstruct your entire career around a whole new paradygm... such as getting out of IT altogether.

4) Reformation: Finally, as the philosopher Ernest Holmes said, "Change your thinking and you'lll change your life". We IT people have come to believe (thanks to the hype of the 1990's) that we were indestructable, unassailable, and indespensible. Sadly, despite at least four years of evidence to the contrary, many of us still retain this shocking lack of humility. The truth is everything changes. There is no life without change... the alternative is death. What is true of our bodies is just as true of our careers... we must change to survive. This doesn't mean just learning new tricks and technical skills... sometimes it requires real change, including reforming our career paths (and lives) into a more flexible, attractive package for potential employers. This involves opening ourselves up to new opportunities, new paradygms of our personal lives, and new future-looking outlooks for our careers.

I worked in IT for nearly 20 years, off and on. I left my last IT job in 2002 to start up my own company, which didn't fly once I found out that two of my partners bailed with their funding (and trust me, I've learned from THAT little episode... like getting everything in writing ). I spent eight months basically unemployed, taking little IT contracts here and there to keep my car payments up. Finally, I followed my own advice and started the Four R's... to find, after facing the "reality" portion, that I don't really want to pursue an IT career anymore, not as my PRIMARY job anyway. I will always use my IT skills... but now I am going back to school to finish up a new Bachelor's degree in Sociology, which I plan to use in counseling and research. I also finished up my studies towards becoming an ordained minister, and have taken a full-time job as an Executive Assistant (with some Web duties) to get me through the schooling.

I am tranforming my life around a new paradygm, and I am happy. Perhaps the best advice I can give is simply this: Do what makes you happy, and don't look back. Every path we take in life is the right one, because every path teaches us something new, and learning is why we are here on this Earth.

Thanks for letting me contribute. I hope this helps someone in some way.

John Cline

Everything you have described as a skill has in some way to do with information/data management and access. There are a number of fields beyond accounting and finance that have to deal with overwhelming amounts of data. Many companies in a number of service industry sectors -- engineering, health care to name a few, have not made the complete shift from paper to electronic. They may know that they need to be more sophisticated with their data management, but they don't have any concrete idea as to what the end product looks like or even how to get there. And the idea about how their employees would use and access the data isn't even thought out. Someone with your background could be a tremendous help. The trick is to actually know enough about how the business works and competes in the market and how people use the data and why. This are the things that techs are weak on so they come up with a clean programming solution that does not in any way reflect the individual user's real world work i.e. not intuative. A programmer who knows the business can often solve the technical problem and improve the work process. That's why I think you should figure out an industry sector you would like to be in and then find out what what they do with their data and how it can be better.

I live in the US and I love my job and my country. What's ruined? Please be specific. If you are determined and willing to work hard can you not still make a great life for yourself in America?? I can and I have. I have no college education and I make enough money to comfortably support my wife and three kids. My wife does not have to work and my son goes to a private school. What's ruined. What's so bad. Why is everyone so hard on BIG business. I happen to work hard for a BIG company as Senior Systems Engineer and they pay me a BIG salary that takes care of my family. Please post some specific issues with related facts when you say our country is ruined.

I've considered the ramifications of outsourcing, etc. and settled on my need for an additional degree in Technology Management. Several universities across the nation are offering similar programs, most notably the University of MD and Marshall University in the east. One of the few constants in ANY career field is change and someone will have to manage it. I've found having a technical background in IT is a very real plus in pursuing a position in this "new" career field.

Here's a brief overview of the program:

The M.S. in Technology Management degree program is designed primarily for working professionals with both technical and non-technical backgrounds who want a better understanding of technological change and its relevance to competitiveness and business strategy. Program course work has a practical emphasis, with real-world projects designed to develop skills that can be put to use on the job immediately.

Areas of emphasis are:

M.S. in Technology Management with emphasis in Environmental Management
M.S. in Technology Management with emphasis in Information Technology
M.S. in Technology Management with emphasis in Manufacturing Systems
M.S. in Technology Management with emphasis in Transportation Systems and Technologies

The primary differences among the degrees are 3-4 courses in the area of emphasis, making the possibility of dual areas of emphasis a real possibility (most of the area of emphasis courses could be used to at least meet the "elective" requirements of another area of emphasis).

Following is a link to a more detailed listing on the program at Marshall University:

http://www.marshall.edu/cite/academics/programs/PDescTmGCur.htm

dta5811 was right and the best and most resent example is on he may have overlooked.

Okay, the democrats want to make things better and protect us, even from ourselves. All the while using more and more of our own incomes and resources to do it.

Many of us were just told that, once again, we couldn't get a flu shot because of a shortage. A contaminated batch in England. But what is supply so short that one contaminated batch is an issue? Why is the vaccine no longer made in the U.S.?

In the late '90's Clinton signed a bill that was pushed originally by a non elected person, Hilary. The bill was said to be for the protection of "the children and seniors" and would guarantee that they would, among other things, always have a flu shot. It capped how much the companies could charge (not how much they could earn) and left greater openings for law suits. The pharms couldn't afford it anymore so they had to turn over all manufacturing to non U.S. affiliates which can't handle the volume because they were already making vaccine for their own countries.

Now you know how the democrats want to make things better for everyone.

electprog

Have you thought of taking your skills to the clinical research arena? There is a demand for SAS programming and database skills. You may need to pick up or update some skill sets but there is a demand in that area.

It looks like you have a solid education. These days it seems the way to get ahead in IT is to be able to
handle more of what used to be management work and integrate your IT knowledge. There may not be a shortage of PC techs but there does seem to be a shortage of knowledgeable management especially when it comes to planning and implememting technology.