IT Employment
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I remember a time when it was thought that the implementation of "technology" was going to overall cost people their jobs. It didn't happen.
Now people are afraid of losing their "technology" jobs.
Did you know that 95 percent of "technology" workers can find a job without any problem? (And 3 percent actually don't want a job.)
Are you in the top 95 to 98 percent of your field?
Then what's the problem?
by sleepin'dawg
by sleepin'dawg
by deusbelli
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If you want employment type numbers, go to the US Department of Labor Web Site.
http://www.dol.gov/dol/audience/aud-workers.htm#wagestats
Then, depending on the conclusion you want to draw, find the numbers to support it.
by jamesrl
I was laid off in the fall of 2002. It certainly didn't feel at that point like the top 95% could find a job without a problem - at least after a couple of months of looking.
When I left I was rather optimistic - I felt like you fell Max. I'd always had good and sometimes great reviews - president's award from a fortune 100, good track record, great references. I was a little amazed when I went to some seminars and found old friends from a previous employer had been out of work for some time. These too were what I considered to be quality people.
There has been restructuring in the IT field. Outsourcing has lead to fewer jobs - not just offshoring , but North American outsourcing has consolidated a number of jobs. Many companies slowed down their project workload, laid off IT staff, slimmed down.
I felt lucky to find some contract work for 6 months. Then after a three month interval, I finally started a permanent position.
During my job search, I discovered that hundreds and sometimes thousands of people would a apply for a job - does that sound like the near zero unemployment that you mention? I was congratulated on coming second in a competition of over 500 people - but that didn't put food on the table. I went to networking groups, and met lots of quality IT people who also struggled.
I would suggest that things seem to be getting better - most of my friends and former collegues have found jobs in the last six months. I recently posted a job on a job board and got almost 200 applications, many of them highly qualified or even over qualified.
I would agree Max that a positive outlook is essential - if I interview someone with a negative attitude, its not helping them get a job.
And to go along with that - you have to work hard and smart to get a job - if you resume isn't getting results - improve it, if you aren't hearing about jobs, network more.
But Max, I wouldn't be so dismissive that anyone with a good tech background can pick up a new job like buying a new car - its still challenging out there.
James
by pgm554
Last month California created 1200 new jobs.
This includes places like the Silicon Valley and Orange County.
If there was high tech job creation anywhere in the country ,it should be here.
So take it for what it is.
by jimhm
Sounds like you want to start an argurement about something - Say the outsourcing of IT jobs to India? or That you can't find a job because of foriegn outsourcing. And are looking for a justification to be unemployed.
First - you could be in a depressed market area - and you will have to relocate to a better market city... I have lived in a number of different cities - there is nothing but yourself holding you in your current location.
Second - If you wanted a job in IT - there are thousands of unfilled positions out there, again may not be in your city - may not be the salary you want - but there are jobs out there. Or is it You really don't want to work and are looking for excuses to justify why you haven't found anything.
If you look at the government site one of the fastest growing job sections is in IT.
by deusbelli
I'm really just trying to size up the situation. I want a measure of the supply and demand for IT pro's. I would also like such a measure for other fields. This way I can make more educated decissions about my future. I've been trying to avoid sifting through the tons of data on the US Dept of Labor site, but I guess it's about time to just do it.
I'm not interested in proving a point; I want to know what fields are stable and have a few numbers to watch for re-entering the technology field when the time is right. I like IT work, but it is the bottom line that I am really after.
by jamesrl
What you love to do, and do it.
The money will follow. When you have passion and drive for something, you will reach a level of excellence and acheivement, and the money will follow.
Every field undergoes change, and they are hard to predict. As quickly as IT has gone down, it may go up. Its a fools game to try and predict trends - few brokers make millions in stock trades.
James
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Although California does indeed have one of the highest unemployment rates in the country, currently at about 6.2 percent, it's almost a full percentage point better than a year ago. However, you should also consider the impact that illegal immigration has on California's employment woes. Moreover, a lot of companies have bailed out of California in recent years because of the unfriendly business environment. Perhaps Californians should "follow the jobs" to Nevada, Arizona, Texas, Colorado, and other states to which many of these businesses relocated.
On your 1,200 "new jobs" number, a quick glance at California's Employment Development Department Web site shows that employment in California grew by 23,600 jobs over the month (June 2004). Moreover, the number of Californians holding jobs in May 2004 was 16,511,000, a record high for employment in the state. This was an increase of 36,000 from April, and up 258,000 from the employment total in May of last year. The number of unemployed also saw a decrease of 11,000 over the month, and it was down by 100,000 compared with May of last year.
I'm not sure where you got your 1,200 number from, but I might verify the source of your information.
by pgm554
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2004/07/10/BUGGF7JG4P1.DTL
Job gains in construction, professional and business services, and education and health services were nearly negated by drops in government jobs, manufacturing and INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
Statewide, the big winners over the previous year were construction (up a husky 3.6 percent), professional and business services (up 3 percent), and educational and health services (up 2.1 percent year over year). The losers were INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (down 1.5 percent over a year ago), manufacturing (which slipped 0.7 percent) and government (down 1.8 percent from June 2003).
We're in the IT biz and it is still sucking here.
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