Your Opinions

coryfletcher

As you know there are hundreds of forums for every subject imaginable, but one that is close to 95% of the people that visit this site are the projected growth/decline of IT related jobs in the U.S. over the next 10 -15 years.

I am a systems technician for a medium size company in Frederick, MD and I have taken a great interest in this topic. I have read countless forums and have honestly become quite confused. Some say that there will be a steady decline in "highly technical jobs like computer operaters/administrators" by 2012 , some say IT jobs will be increasingly outsourced, others say that the IT field will be one of the fastest growing fields over the next ten years. I am constantly studying to get more certs month after month to try to stay with or ahead of the next guy, but one has to wonder, is it worth it? I mean, I love what I do, I love the IT field, I love my paycheck now, but in 10 years, love wont pay the bills. Sometimes I bury my face into the books, and the practice tests and so on and so forth, and other times I just look at the pages with a blank stare and wonder if I should be focusing more on getting into another field.

No one holds a crystal ball and Im sure in 10-15 years, hindsight will still be 20/20. What Im simply asking for are some of your valued opinions on this subject. What do you all think, or believe will happen?

garv221

I don't know I will let you know in 2012. I wouldn't worry about the future to the point you give up 20 some years before it happens or bury your head in the sand. 40 years ago there were no IT jobs. 15 Years ago there was no wide spread demand for IT security positions. 15 years ago VCR sales/repair was in demand now it is DVD sales/repair. The more we move foward, the more things change but if you keep up to date and stay motivated you will always have a job. IT is going nowehre. Those who were aces on MS 3.1 now are update aces on 2003/ Cisco gear.

Webmaster

garv221 wrote:

IT is going nowhere.

That pretty much sums up my opinion as well. If you want and love to work in IT, you can. And if you don't expect to find gold, you probably won't be dissapointed with the pay either.

Danman32

DVD repair? I figured most people would throw away that $50 unit and get another.

Anyway, like all things, IT changes. I doubt it will go away, but simply change. CNE was hot, now its not. Its a shame too, as I find Netware much easier to troubleshoot.

W2K3 is the hot NOS now, in 10 years it might be Linux. One never knows.

ESOK

IT is not going anywhere and I think it will continue to grow.

Just about every business needs computers. Therefore, most need networks. Thus, they need network admins, software training, and/or help desk support.

You can outsource some aspects of a business's IT function such as software development, some elements of help desk support, but you can NOT outsource all of it. The only way you can outsource all of it, is to outsource that entire function of your business.

As long as businesses inside the U.S. will need to use computers to do business, than IT people in the U.S. will have a job.

For IT people, its more a matter of what you will be doing as oppose to if there will be any jobs. Now, Windows, Cisco, and security are really hot. 10 years from now Linux/Solaris and wireless could be the common thing to use (or not). As aN IT person you have to be willing to continually learn and train on what is in demand. If you do that than you will not have a problem finding work.

garv221

Danman32 wrote:

DVD repair? I figured most people would throw away that $50 unit and get another.

It was an example, and I wouldn't toss my Bose out.