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Is IT going to be the next career flop????

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by rascal1981

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Has anyone noticed the dramatic increase in people wanting to get into IT? Old, young, experienced, non-experienced, certified, etc?. it?s HUGE right now. People are literary leaving jobs that they have been at for 10-20yrs to get into IT and for what? I have a hard time believing that it?s ?for a change? that, ?I need something different?. More-so I believe that we are about to witness the re-birth of the engineering boom in the 80?s. People are hot on chasing the tail of an imaginary ?get rich quick in IT? trend that is long since gone due mainly to these people (yes, I know Bill Gates and Michael Dell did it but so did Ray Crock and Bill Thomas so lets not hear ?well I could be the next Bill?).

What I guess has disturbed me the most about this is the aftermath that I am seeing; IT is suffering due to ?paper cert? people (or even those that have just a degree and no real knowledge of the work environment) wrecking the field by getting good jobs and then burning the employer. What does it take for people to realize there are no ?get rich quick in IT? jobs? I mean, it takes more then a piece of paper from an engineering school to make a part right? Then why would people assume a piece of paper is all it takes to run a corp. infrastructure?

Am I just a little off on this matter or do you think I hit the nail on the head? I am interested in hearing from all walks of life here; good posts or bad, let?s hear it.

20 replies

by thelastword

Well, I think it WAS true a little while around the dot com crash but I thought this had faded out by now. Maybe not though. I think a lot of people have lost their heads in IT over the internet and its endless possibilities, that made worse an already bad situation where people had to struggle to make efficient use of technology, now its just over the top all the time with the technology and the competition so realistically there may appear to be more opportunities then there really is. Ie. the IT project HAS to be tied to a business project or goal at some point to make it profitable.

by callctrmgr

One of the benefits of the IT industry is that almost every large company has an IT organization or has outsourced their IT to an outside company.

This creates a lot of opportunities. The field continues to grow.

Many companies are beginning to outsource oversee and that cuts down on many jobs, especially those for people that do not have enough experience for middle to upper managment and paying jobs.

People did go crazy a few years ago trying to get into the field. There were more jobs then people and people were getting crazy money and perks since companies could not find people.

The hiring is picking up a little, but there is a glut of people that say there are IT people.

by admin

Whats the difference between those that say they are IT people and those who really are?

I have my opinion, but I am curious about your comment. :>

by hardy11

It's interesting reading all the responses, and the funny thing is...everyone's right.

There is money in IT, now and going forward, you just have to pick the 'right' area to be in.

Companies are holding out (some anyway) for profits to come back before inventing in new technology. Good news though, those in the IT field with 'experience' and a little business sense will reap the benefits when it happens.

Outsourcing is the next 'hot button' for mamagement. But, I've worked overseas, still do with some companies. The work ethic, thought process, and commitment to product is simply not on par with US companies in a lot of areas. While you see a lot of companies moving support, etc. overseas you're seeing a number of early adopters moving back to the US.

There's always a place to make good money in IT. But, it's not at the swap and replace level. In fact, a lot of people that are doing development for infrastructure right now are trying to make the base process more 'swap and replace' as someone alluded to.

Also, take into account new SOX auditing, etc. for larger companies and a lot of us are trying to turn IT more into a 'manufacturing' process to place product (i.e. pc's, applications, storage space, email, etc) into end consumers (read: Users) hands.

In the long run I see a lot of need for those people wanting to get into IT on a base level. But, I have a feeling that a lot of people will be feeling the glass ceiling pretty quickly that don't have all the pieces to play with (training, appliciable experience, thought process, degrees (where necessary), and excellent communication skills.

Also, while a lot of these new people (over the last 5 years) are all 'into' being in IT, when they realize the intelluectual investment is something that they have to do again and again....roughly every 3-5 years per OS, messaging system, application cycle...most people don't want to 'reinvent' themselves that ofter for a career.

Fun stuff though.

by onbliss

..that people are attracted to IT. It has had the Celebrity status :-) in the last few decades.

Some come for the work satisfaction, some for the money, love for the technology and maybe there are other reasons as well.

We, the people who are already in the IT, should not chastise people who come in for the money. Let them give it a shot, if they succeed well and good for them. If not, tough luck.

And, if you think it is just going to dilute the intelligence, glamor, ethics, efforts that is part of the IT industry, nothing much can be done. The bees do get attracted to flowers that have nectar, right?

Just hang on...be happy and keep smiling :-)

by hal 9000

I see a lot of so called professionals who are running IT sections in business and most of them don't have any idea. They rely on their underlings to make things work and because the people lower down the food chain are capable they do make their superiors look good.

But I haven't seen a lot of people rushing into IT as a means to "Get Rich Quick" but then again maybe I only see the ones who actually pass the Certs with a reasonable level of skill and are interested in the work. Of course I do not do any Government work now days so maybe I'm missing a whole side of the industry. But I can live with that!

Col

by tigers7612

I don't have any certs or papers under my belt. I love the IT field but i don't consider myself as a professional but I do consider myself an IT technician for I can fix and maintain computers and operating systems. I am no where as good as some of the people on this site. But I am learning new things on a daily basis. From what I have seen is that most places take in experience over paper now a days but I have yet to find the business that will take me. As for IT going to flop I would say no way on god's green earth. Everything is going computerized and someone has to be there fix them.

by sleepin'dawg

You can't sit still and hope you'll catch up or catch on. It's not going to happen unless you are prepared to make it happen. You have to be absolutely ruthless or you're going to spend a long time on the outside looking in. It becomes a matter of identifying and living within your limitations. It requires some very tough choices being made and if you aren't prepared to make them you probably won't make it as an independant. They say it s never too late but that's really a crock and they always point out Col. Sanders of KFC fame who didn't start KFC until he was 67. What they never tell you is that the guy was damn near a millionaire from a successful business career and it was more of a hobby for him than a new career. That it became a career is undeniable but it was more by accident than design. If you aren't on the road to being financially independant by the time you're 35 it's probably not going to happen. An example would be if you are still making excuses for not filling out the forms necessary to get any business off the ground. Then you're just dreaming in technicolor and will never make the required sacrifices. You cannot sit and wait for it to happen. You have to go out and make it happen and be absolutely ruthless in doing so. :O

by rascal1981

I am not saying that IT will flop (I should have made that a bit more clear in my statement) but I am saying that if you get enough people claiming, "I can do that, yeah I got a piece of paper or a degree that says I can" in search of riches it will flood the market thus ruining it for the rest of us who genuinely love IT. So in terms of your "experience" what do you count as experience? Is it professional or is it more akin to fixing a friend's pc (I am not attacking your credibility, merely querying your logic for a definition of "IT Technician")?

by nicolehernandezdyer

If that is happening right now, then I'd definitely say its not so smart of those people. The IT market is absolutely lousy. US employees and consultants simply cannot compete with oversees outsourcing prices. Also, a lot of companies here have put their major software upgrades and other development on hold until the economy goes into a full upswing again, and they can feel confident that whatever they invest in IT will be gained back in business. Alot of businesses are scared of the market right now, and just holding onto what they have, sort of the 'if its not broken... ' syndrome.

Now is not the time to try to leave a career and get into IT. As someone who is very experienced, degreed twice over, and cannot find an IT job... I think these people are insane.

-Nicole

by rascal1981

I agree with you Nicole; The scary thing to me is that people are jumping from one stable ship and swimming as hard and fast as they can to a sinking ship! I'm not saying that the IT field is dead or drying up but I am saying that the IT field has no room for those trend riders that are fresh out of college looking for the big bucks.

by clindell

to jump ships or start a new career, DON'T!

That's right I don't care what you are told or what you wana hear but the fact of the matter is if your not actually working already or have made IT a career for the last several years it is not time to change! The job market is over saturated with wanabe's that don't have enough experience and lower the working wage for skilled and qualified workers and lower the value of IT to the employer.

In the last year I applied for 3 different positions where the employer liked me enough to tell me that they had over 300 resumes submitted for the positions offered.

Go find something else to do and don't make it any harder for those of us who made the choice to work in IT long before it became an employer's market.

Go fix cars or something.

by ssangodare

Rascal1981,

I agree with most of what you said. One fact still remains that without a degree or certification, it is hard to convince IT employers to even look at your resume, talk less about hiring you. Of course, I agree that experience is till the most important, but how on earth do you acquire the experience when you can't get your foot in the door?
As for those folks thinking of getting rich quick, I couldn't agree with you more, it is just not going to happen unless they win a lotto.

Sam S.

by hal 9000

Volunteer work in the IT Field for some charity. At least it will show you are willing to work and learn at the same time.

I'm supposing you are in the US so I'll leave it to someone who lives there to offer some ideas of where to start as anything that I could offer just would not apply as I come from AU and things are different over this side of the pond.

Col

by admin

The boom is over and the hype is at it's highest point. The schools and educators don't want to downsize so they market more aggressively.

If ya like IT, stay in it. If you want to do it for a living get in it too. You might only make as much as a fry cook at McDonalds and have less opportunity for growth as a bench tech, but its still more fun than flipping burgers!

Networking is getting easier and parts are replaced instead of fixed, so the skill levels needed are diminishing- it's next.

There will always be a need for programmers, help desks, tech writing and people with skills that continue to learn. The paper is about gettting your foot into the door though.

In IT more than almost any other field there is no real entitlement in it's nature. It's about quick change and adaptation. Well, I do hear some government jobs are full of incapable people with tenure, but hopefully someone will figure out how to stop wasting my tax dollars on them soon! :>

by hal 9000

Recently over here there was one junior Public Servant who blew a 12 month budget by 400% in 3 months. The result was she was promoted to a higher paying job and removed from the problem which then had to be fixed by others.

I'm sick and tired of seeing incompetence in Government employment rewarded. Or there was the person who decided that a color laser printer would be better off in another office so they arranged to have it moved, the person delegated to move the thing proceeded to pot it on a trolley and take it down several flights of steps but because it wasn't strapped to the trolley naturally when it went down the first step it left the trolley and bounced down 3 flights of steps injuring people on the way not to mention destroying itself as well. Naturally the department didn't have anything left in the budget for a replacement so they got it repaired at 4 times the cost of a new one. Apparently they did have maintenance costs allowed for so that was how they got the printer repaired instead of replaced.

Col

by admin

Yes, I hear the stories about government IT being a whole different ballgame all the time.

Crazy.

Especially from a country dedicated to free enterprise and capitalism it is a wonder that this is not only allowed, but encouraged!

by toucan

Similar to telephone systems of the 70s and 80s, technicians will be swapping components by the book. We see it already with the massive outsourcing trends.

Be where opportunity is, most phone systems will be reaching EOL by 2006. Packet based communication systems will be hot, those that can master the feature programming and integration with data systems will be on the wave.

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