Disillusionment in the IT Ranks
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On the heels of a survey of released in May by the IT Job Board that found that three-quarters of IT professionals surveyed said they'd recommend a career in their industry to their offspring, coupled with a Bureau of Labor Statistics prediction that the job market for computer professionals will grow at a record pace through 2016, we asked readers if they themselves would recommend a career in IT to their children. Though answers fell on both sides of the fence, the negative responses brimmed with anger. One commenter who identified himself or herself as CIO said, "I would not recommend it at all. We work the hours of doctors and get less respect than the trash man." Other IT professionals who commented also mentioned long hours, as well as citing deferred and interrupted vacations and being "tethered to the office" by being on call 24/7. Another issue was salaries, with one commenter saying wages had stagnated or devalued for nine years, with little comp or overtime for all of those weekend and evening hours. But it was job security that was the sorest point among commenters. Commenter James Igoe warned against working in the infrastructure aspect of IT unless one is involved in the higher-end design aspects or design security, as most infrastructure jobs have been "dumbed-down and cannibalized." Commenter Sam had another take on IT job security: "IT in general is one of the fewer industries, when you have the right skill sets, in which there is relative employment security. Note I didn't say job security. There is no such thing. And if all a person knows or does is Windows administration or desktop support, they will likely not make as much money and probably wouldn't recommend IT." Yet not all news was bad news. "I have and will continue to recommend to people to go into the IT field. In my opinion where I have lost employees to competitors for enormous salaries ($90K with 1 year out of college), we need a bigger and better talent pool for this field to continue to prosper," wrote commenter Rob. |
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Comments (9)
If you think IT salaries are good then you should check what your plumber is being paid. The salaries haven't gone up at all in the past 15 years in IT and I wouldn't recommend it to anyone.
Posted by Gary | June 10, 2008 2:50 PM
Yeah, we are part of the globalization race to the bottom thing. I'm surprised we don't see H1B plumbers yet. Bet it won't be long. And yeah, I wouldn't recommend that my kid go into IT either.
Charles
Posted by Charles Flitcraft | June 10, 2008 5:09 PM
I'd never ever recommend IT to my kids. I'd rather they either got a trade or became doctors or lawyers but never some low rent crap career like IT.
Posted by Vince Yellden | June 14, 2008 4:06 AM
I wonder why the CIO's haven't looked to outsource upper management? Just think what a company would save if it didn't have to pay it's highest management a yearly, multi-million dollar bonus! I, personally would see no problem with this. The men and women in the trenches, fighting fires on a daily basis with a shrinking budget and the spectre of dismissal always hanging over their head are not the ones that are causing the company to bleed money and resources. That is done at a (usually much) higher level. Yet there is no thought of changing to a flatter management structure or to put some effort into trying to innovate instead of immitate what's happenning with the company next door. It feels like the country's entire ecomomy is being mis-managed right into the ground. I think I'm going to open a small, local grocery store. People will always need to eat.
Mike
Posted by Mike Krisanits | June 17, 2008 11:27 PM
Ouch! That IT Job Board survey is not going to make hiring new talent any easier. I can understand the angry folks -- it sure feels like there has been too much change in too short of a time. However, change is one of the reasons that I got into this field.
I can only speak for myself, but I know that I need three things from any IT job: (1) recognition that I'm doing good work, (2) feedback that tells me that what I'm working on is useful to somebody else, and (3) a constantly changing challenge so that I don't get bored.
When I realize that I've gotten myself trapped in a job with long hours or one which is a grind, instead of complaining too much (I do complain just a bit) I polish up on my IT soft skills and move on. Ultimately that's the nature of this career.
- Dr. Jim Anderson
Blue Elephant Consulting
www.blueelephantconsulting.com
Posted by Dr. Jim Anderson | June 18, 2008 9:32 PM
As a woman in IT I might recommend that men go into the field, but definitely not women. I have been passed over for promotions when I was better qualified, had better credentials, and had more education than the people that were hired from outside the company (men, in both cases). Did I mention that I had been filling in at one of the jobs for three months without additional compensation and received a glowing review from my supervisor? It was far cheaper to hire an unqualified man from outside at a lower salary and continue having me do all the work that he is unqualified to perform.
This is one of the few fields left (outside of maybe construction and coal mining) where women are still actively discriminated against. We receive lower pay and fewer chances for advancement than men with the same credentials. I am searching for a new job, but IT employment is hard to find in our state right now, and I cannot move due to elderly family.
Posted by Jennifer | July 15, 2008 4:35 PM
No, I would not recommend IT to anyone. The constant learning and recertifying takes its toll. Even doctors don't need to relearn the human body. The on-call, night/weekend work, the never-ending learning, the disrespect from the ranks...no way would I do this if I had to do it over again. Oh, and did I mention the layoffs? First it's we're hiring contrators "it's cheaper". Then we're hiring regular employees "it's cheaper" then back and forth again. Now it's offshoring. There's absolutely no stability.
As an aside, people are passed over for promotions and hiring regardless of their sex. I see many, many successful women working in IT.
Posted by Phil | July 22, 2008 2:20 PM
my question is do i get an IT degree? or do i go for a programming degree? (maybe gaming) I'm disabled so in my case i want to telecommute. Both degree's will let me do that, but i don't want to go the IT route and then find myself with a piece of TP on the wall.
Posted by david | July 30, 2008 1:57 PM
Right now, I wouldn't recommend anything in IT, except maybe government jobs.
Salaries are down, outsourcing is up, plus in a lot of bigger cities there's a glut of IT workers, so if you're an older person you're screwed.
I looked through some job postings recently, and if you have a CCIE, CISSP, know PCI compliance, know 4 different programming languages and don't want more than $50k a year you're in. Seriously, I interviewed for a job and they gave me those requirements right out if the gate. Toss in what others have said about stability, on-call and totally messed up schedules, and being a cab driver would be better....
Posted by Mike | September 8, 2009 3:52 PM