suvh8r

Who else is getting frustrated by the current state of the IT industry and thinking about a career change?

Right now few companies are hiring, and those that are hiring are paying considerably less than they paid years ago. Pay increases are frozen and jobs are continually shipped overseas to workers who are willing to work for 1/5th of what they would get paid here. It's frustrating to think that the only pay increase that I may see for the forseeable future will be in the form of the monthly payment I save from selling my s2000.

Yes, I understand there is a market (and there always will be) for highly skilled/specialized workers, but not everyone has been able to get that experience and training. And in the current state of the industry, if you don't have proven job experience, regardless if you can do the job or not, you will not be hired. Companies are not looking to train people they hire, they want to hire people that have done the same job in the past for less money which makes learning new skills or moving up difficult or impossible.

Has anyone else that is also in the IT industry thought about switching careers? I would like to have something more stable with a future to look forward to, not worry about. Does anyone have any suggestions of hot fields for the future? I am currently finishing up a IS degree and switching would not be out of the question.

cashout

suvh8r, I am currently taking some time off after 9 years of 12-14 hour days with only 4-5 vacation days per year.

I have been pondering the same about switching careers. Now that I have had some time to do other things I keep coming back to the fact that IT is so demaning and not physical at all. I keep thinking of a more physical kind of career.

You will always have to worry about your future and save money regardless of what you do. You never know when you will be disabled or there is a recession. So I think you should not be switching because of job security alone. If you were doing IT just for the money you would be sick with it after a few years anyway.

Ash

I'm kinda in the same position as well.... I think what I am going to try to do is move closer to the business... I've done engineering support in the past, I think it's important to learn more of those skills than support services...

IT is removed by at least 1 level if not 2. If you figure that in orgs usualy it's the support which goes first... then either sales/engineering followed by the other.. and I'm not willing to be a sales guy.. moving closer to the core competancy of the company is more of a move...

IT, especially with a weak top(which was probably the first to be targeted by the cuts) is usually viewed as a cost center, and not a contributing part of the company. Its a hard line, but it needs to be changed... technology is too often run by the engineers who many times don't understand the longer term or support aspects of a technology.

eSeM

I am also taking a bit of time off between contracts.

For the last few years the IT job market in London has been depressed but things are starting to pick up again with some of the big financial institutions greatly increasing their IT budgets to implement the projects that were shelved a couple of years back.

I will start looking for work again in a few weeks time but dnt really want to start anything before April.

Nin009

I left the industry about eight months ago. I now sell wax. www.detailersparadise.com

MsPerky

This is a tough one...and I know it's no consolation to have lots of company. As someone who's been in IT for many years, the industry has definitely changed. There is no question that many of the jobs are going to foreign contract workers. I see it my own office. But I wouldn't advise trying to anticipate the next hot industry. Sit back and think about what you really enjoy doing and what your strengths are and try to play to those in your job search. If it's still IT, perhaps a different area of the business. Also, network, network, network and build up those personal contacts. Those are invaluable in finding a new job. Good luck!!

yobri

Switch your IT focus from programming into positions requiring physicality, that is, requires you to be on US soil. Networking is a good IT field. The computer security field is a good sector to persue also, as the bulk of IT security will be kept within the confines of the US as opposed to risking security breaches via utility of outsourcing.

Another avenue (that I currently happen to belong to) is the small to medium size business sector. Most businesses of this size will require IT help (even depts for rapidly developing companies) and outsourcing the work would not be advantageous for companies of such sizes.

Stick with it (although I probably should be saying, "Leave, I need the work and the less talent around, the better "), that is, if IT is your passion. I've seen people that left the field, and one of the most notable characteristics that the bulk of them share is that there wasn't a genuine interest in computers/computer development... non-enthusiasts, if you will. Most were in the field for the [once great] paycheck.

Wish you luck in your decisions, and BTW, I'm still working on completing my IS degree also. I've felt like you have noted earlier, but talking with many of my IT friends and acquaintances has given me the optimisim that I need to endure the strain that our sector currently demonstrates.

SierraC3_S2000

I am in the communications field and do some IT work but I work on military contracts overseas. I know of one contractor right now that is hiring for Iraq paying desktop analysts $235,000.00 a year. If you are a single guy this might be something you should look into.

suvh8r

[QUOTE]Originally posted by yobri

whitepony

Look for jobs/careers that are IT work at a company not affected by the IT business world. Like Healthcare, Finance, and others. Those jobs are are usualy independent to the IT boom and off-shoring, since the Business makes its money in a different sector.

Also, depending on your interests, business vs. technical, consider project management and other management level jobs in the tech field, even with all the outsourcing, companies still need internal employees to understand what is going on.

I am one of the lucky few who have retained my IT job, only because I was cheaper than my peers, but it is still a day to day adventure. I have considered this question probably everyday for the last 2 years, and it really comes down to the fact that a) this is something that I love to do, and b)I cannot find anything else that interests me.

I agree with Security and Networking being in High demand, relative to other IT jobs. I also expect Project Management as playing a big part in the futrue. One of the biggest problems with the last IT boom, was the fact that most projects just threw money at projects without achieving a good ratio between cost/benfit.