Executive Summary:
The information technology (IT) job market is experiencing rapid growth, and skilled IT professionals have their pick of employers. Yet some IT professionals say that they would advise their children to avoid a career in IT. IT careers, such as network administration, systems administration, and IT management, feature frequent job stress, long hours, and challenging work environments. Windows IT Pro readers, industry recruiters, employers, and analysts weigh in on the pros and cons of a career in IT.
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Although parts of the US
economy may be in the
doldrums, you can’t
say the same about the
thriving IT industry. IT
spending bottomed out after the Internet bubble popped a few years ago, but
lately the technology sector has experienced a remarkable period of expansion-
and not just in the United States. Gartner projects that worldwide IT
spending will surpass $3 trillion in 2007 and foresees the growth to continue
into 2008, when worldwide spending could top $3.3 trillion. You’d expect that
the IT job boom would give IT folks a rosier outlook on
their profession, but for some IT pros that isn’t the case.
Recent news about the decline in computer information
systems (CIS) majors at US colleges and mixed news
about IT job satisfaction led us to wonder how our readers
actually feel about their IT jobs, as well as some causes of
and ways to address job dissatisfaction. Let’s take a look at
the state of the IT job market and a sampling of opinions
from industry pros about the state of IT as a career.
Employee-Driven Market
An IDC study sponsored by Microsoft also
points to a dramatic increase in IT spending
in the near future. IDC projects that this
increase will create 100,000 new businesses
and more than 7.1 million new jobs by 2012.
IDC’s research finds that Microsoft continues
to be the most significant company in the IT
industry, as Microsoft is directly or indirectly
responsible for 14.7 million jobs out of an IT
industry total of 35.2 million people in 2007.
In a statement announcing the IDC research
results, Microsoft’s Chief Research and Strategy
Officer Craig Mundie said, “IDC’s research
quantifies the enormous power of software to
create local jobs and grow economies around
the world, in both developed and developing
markets. Millions of people are employed globally
in Microsoft-related activities, generating
more than a half-trillion dollars in taxes in 2007
for governments worldwide.”
The boom in IT spending correlates strongly
with ongoing demand for IT professionals of all
skill levels. According to John Estes , a vice president
at IT recruiting firm Robert Half Technology
(www.rhi.com), the explosive growth in IT
makes the industry a good one for job seekers.
“It really is an employee-driven market
right now,” said Estes. “I’d say that nearly everyone
that wants a job in IT is working now. If
they’re not, they’re either between projects or
simply choosing not to work. According to all
the CIOs that we survey-and from my own
personal experience-demand for all types of
network administration is way up there.” Estes
pointed to several roles that his company sees
significant demand for: Network administrators,
network engineers, and network support
staff are three of the roles employers request
most. Mobility administrators, who specialize
in the management of mobile devices such as
laptops, Palm Treos, Research In Motion (RIM)
BlackBerrys, and other mobile assets, have also
been increasingly in demand.
When it comes to training and certification,
Estes said that the requirements from specific
employers vary greatly. “Some clients really
place more importance on work experience
than certifications, while some clients want
the opposite.” Estes mentioned that applicants
with Microsoft Certified Systems Administrator
(MCSA) certification are usually in demand,
and employers also request Cisco Certified
Network Administrator (CCNA) and Cisco
Certified Networking Professional (CCNP)
certifications.
Recommend IT to
Your Children?
Because IT is booming and jobs
are plentiful in most markets, you
might think IT pros would be
happy in an industry where their
skills and services are in demand.
For the most part, you’d be correct
in that assumption, but not all IT
pros feel positive about their industry.
Earlier this year, Windows IT Pro associate
editor Caroline Marwitz blogged about IT
career concerns. In her August 2007 post (“Are
IT Pros Steering Their Children Away From
IT?” InstantDoc 96904), Caroline asked IT pros
whether they would recommend their current
IT jobs to their children. Several responses
highlighted concerns and frustrations with IT
careers, citing work schedules, management’s
limited understanding of IT roles, and concerns
about outsourcing.
Some readers criticized companies’ reliance
on IT recruiting firms. ROGJR, a windowsitpro.com forum poster, wrote, “[Companies should]
do their own recruiting.” ROGJR continued,
“That means staff development for existing
employees versus throwing them out on the
street, and [companies] taking on the recruiting
job themselves … companies are losing out
on good employees because a large percentage
of the salaries are siphoned off by the recruiters.
The salaries through recruiters are often so
embarrassing that it drives off good candidates.
Eliminate the recruiter and offer a decent salary,
and the candidates will come.”
Bill Hubbard, a forum pro and veteran
IT administrator, suggested that the odd
and extended hours an IT pro is sometimes
required to work could be another source of
job frustration. “In pursuing a career in IT, you
must be willing to work some odd hours, nights,
weekends, holidays, all-nighters when a server
is down, being on 24-hour call,” wrote Hubbard.
“Not all the time, and not in all positions, but if
one makes a career out of IT, they will experience
all of these at one time or another.”
IT professionals in Europe face many of
the same issues and challenges as their US
counterparts. According to one UK-based IT
consultant, the current outlook for IT careers in
Britain also seems strong, but he still wouldn’t
recommend IT as a career for his children.
“At the moment it seems good. There is the
usual bleating about skills shortages, but when
you look at the unrealistic demands in some job
adverts, it really suggests that [the skills shortages
are] not as bad as painted,” he wrote.
The same consultant also took issue with
increasing specialization in some IT job roles,
a development that leads him to discourage his
children from following in his footsteps in an
IT career. “The IT today is so different from the
one I entered more than 20 years ago,” he said. “I
wouldn’t recommend it. I had an opportunity to
experience many different roles [over the years],
but these days, it seems that it’s much more difficult
to move out of the pigeon hole you’re in.”
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