The future of the IT field.

I noticed in the past few years that becoming a computer tech is becoming a very fast growing field which is great because the more competition the more technology gets better. But the problem I see now is that too many people are going to micky mouse vocational tech schools and are just getting certificates in the IT field without really having much of a passion for computers. (Hence Microsoft dropping the mofo hammer on these book techs and rewriting alot of certification tests so that people actually know the hands on work then to be a book tech.)

How can I say that these people arent as passionate about IT as me? Well I met a few people in the past year and they same to not really be passionate about learning and advancing technology and more of making money (which am guilt of also) but for example there this guy at work that for the past ten year was a transporter at my hospital and was recently was going to school for dental hygiene and then switched to computer networking. And he came off as his just try to learn some thing quick rather then to truly have a passion for it. He kinda came off as its more of a job then a hobby like most very good techs that I have met before and are very interested in computer as I am.


I truly hope few people like these get knocked off the IT field because I rather work with nerds then guys who just need to learn a "trade".

 

The cream will rise.

 

please elaborate. :devil:

 

in other words, the people who have a passion for what they're doing win in the end.

 

I have to say that i fully agree with machinist but i also understand your concerns Let's say it like this.. it's easy to get the basic certifications in the field but only those who show passion will actually ever advance! Many of the people who get into the field don't realize that many of these certifications have to be renewed on an annual basis! Also many people think that they can learn the basics and then everything will go from there.. as a tech like you properly already know it takes work to keep yourself updated on a pretty much daily basis about new systems coming out etc etc.

If you have no passion for this field, keeping up to date will get old real quick and nobody will give you a chance as a tech who doesn't keep up with problems that may occur. Keep your head up, study and then let those newbies fix windows 95 errors at some other job.

 

this should be natural for the elite and not for the book techs.

 

Haha you are right but you know why its natural? Because when you are a tech those news will just blow your fucking mind lol Its about the same as if I would try to read a report about splicing atoms together.. sounds kinda cool and i can pretend to understand it but in the end i have no freaking clue whats going on xD

 

IT is in trouble for the future.

You are seeing massive consolidation in the field. I work in an IT department in a law firm. We have about 1/3 fewer people than we did a few years ago. We have 3rd party companies that are specializing in offering services that used to be required in-house.

We used to have one senior and one junior Exchange Admin. Well now most of those services are being run by a 3rd party company. One Exchange Admin can really take care of many companies at once. Backups are done off-site. Many of our servers are now off-site. We now have just a Junior Exchange Admin.

I comment to people in my department why do we have a tech department here and the law firm next door has their own tech department. We are both doing the same things. If they combined us they could get rid of 1/3 of us.

The high-paying jobs are the ones that are going away. They are still here-but there are a lot fewer of them.

 

IT is such a broad spectrum and constantly evolving field. If there's any passion it's usually narrowed to one aspect. I'm a hardware guy myself, software annoys the shit out of me. I only migrate to a new OS when I absolutely have to, and I hate ever minute of it. I was top of my class in hardware and also programming. The hardest course for me was CCNA, Cisco exams are very tough. To suggest you need a university degree to have passion is absolute bullshit. I took my courses at my local community college and there were many very passionate, very professional students and instructors there. After I graduated I worked as tech support for a web hosting company with another guy who DROPPED OUT of community college, and this drop out could run circles around me troubleshooting complex e-commerce sites with huge databases and users.

If you find work in the area you are most passionate about then consider yourself lucky. For most of us passion fades. Get yourself a corporate job in a cubicle troubleshooting the same FTP/Cpanel/POP mail accounts for 3 years and see if you don't want to jump off the nearest bridge.

 

The IT development of everything we own is also making a drastic change. Machines are building everything now days. From your car, to your computer, to even the couch you sit on. IT development of this technology is perfect in terms of making the product. It can run 24/7 with no flaws.

This is good in the sense that one day everything will be built for us and we can focus more on our lives. The problem is that the turning point is going to be tuff due to the fact of how many people need jobs.

60% of all US jobs are costumer service in the food industry. This will only continue to rise.

The IT field as a whole it seems is at a certain turning point already.

A lot of money is to be made on big chain websites. My cousin works for Zoosk In San Francisco, he does very well. He says its becoming harder and harder to get a job. He is doing fine but he said the numbers have gone. If I had them i'd share.

http://www.zoosk.com/d/dating/35/?from=A3_S5_WW_1E_US_p_onlinedating

 

Dangerous as a career choice, your whole career, years of experience can be wiped out in an instant

 

not really.....I mean come on ......most true people that are passion about computers just dont get a complete zero chance of ever getting a job in IT again becuz they got replaced by software or machines. You just got to be innovate.

 

it will go the way of virtualization and data centers i guess

 

I think these skills will be more applicable to day to day life, and less necessary for a career, a la monks being the only people able to write 500 years ago.

 

The I.T. field was good to me. Gave me a career working with puters (which I liked very much) and now, a decent (tho far from rich) retirement.

The 90's were a boom time for I.T. There was a lot of what you describe now happening then - lots of folks just getting into it for the money. The "certs" you had were seemingly important; so I "racked up " a ton of them in addition to just having a lot of experience nad years in the field. That apparently helped keep me "relevant" when going up agsint "younger whipper-snappers" whose main "claim to fame" *was* just those same certs.

Over the years I occasionally saw collegues that were well-qualified for positions lose them to same younger folks because the "seasoned" I.T.'ers often scoffed at going to get "papers" (the certs). Sometimes a human resource dept. doesn't really "know the field" and thus those paper certs become more important than they should.

So, don't balk at getting some certs to "protect" yourself from those that have them but may not be as qualified. It may be better in some cases to have both certs *and* experience; because certs "alone" might beat out "experience".

 

I disagree with the op, I dont think that the computer industry is recruiting more techs. The collapse of the banking system threw so many people out of work and so many companies collapsed that the technicians are becoming more numerous while the number of jobs available is becoming less. Also in real terms the wages have dropped dramatically over the last two years. Support companies are undercutting each other left right and centre to go after IT support contracts and are hardly making a profit, if at all. The computer industry in my opinion is in a pretty bad way right now. Not sure what evidence I would back these statements up with other than my own experiences though

 

I liked computers until i began working with them full time. I honestly can not stand to see them anymore. IT is almost a lifestyle, not a career. It is one that will follow you home and doesn't take holidays. I came out of college 6 yrs ago ready to go and now, well, i am trying to change fields. There is so much competition that you have to have a leg up, which means constantly learning and updating your knowledge. I have a wife, a house, and a life, and not to come off as condescending, but i don't have time to read computer books when i get off of work. I have read the average lifespan of an IT professional at 1 job is 3 yrs, and i believe it. Simply too high of a burnout rate. Things constantly changing which forces you to keep up.

It is very cool that someone people engross the lifestyle, and they can have it. Want to live a longer life, get out of the high stress IT field.

Example, 4 yrs ago our exchange server crashed 8 PM on Christmas eve, so the lucky on call tech "me" got to leave his family and go to work to fix it. I am sorry but nothing is more important to me than my family. I have 100 more examples and they come from everyone i know in the field in various positions and companies.

/end rant