What IT Jobs will still be viable and what jobs maybe eliminated in the future?

TrunksXV

Hey guys here's a general question. What jobs do you think might still be viable in the future, and what positions do you see maybe eliminated?

I've heard that low skilled jobs are always either outsourced or eliminated since those jobs like say working at a restaurant don't seem as skilled as say a Brain Surgeon would. When it comes to IT, I'm scratching my head a bit over what could be eliminated. 

Any ideas on what those jobs  that might bite the dust, and what might stick around long term? 

SteveLavoie

I would say that many position will not be eliminated, but their focus will change. Hardware endpoint support will decreased as endpoint are going to a close garden (Windows Store, Apple Store, Play Store by example). Many lower IT jobs in SMB market will evoluate to an integrator of cloud service and how the cloud service will influence the internal process of the company. Traditionnal IT jobs will still exist in larger business, with an emphasis on security. The only place where there will have growth is in dev/programming position.  

NetworkingStudent

TrunksXV said:

Hey guys here's a general question. What jobs do you think might still be viable in the future, and what positions do you see maybe eliminated?

I've heard that low skilled jobs are always either outsourced or eliminated since those jobs like say working at a restaurant don't seem as skilled as say a Brain Surgeon would. When it comes to IT, I'm scratching my head a bit over what could be eliminated. 

Any ideas on what those jobs  that might bite the dust, and what might stick around long term? 

I see more automation. In the past one guy would manage a few servers, but now they manage 100s of servers ( I think this is called dev ops).  

I don’t think jobs will be eliminated, but it will take less employees to complete the same task.

TrunksXV

I think that project and service management positions will always be around. There's not much point in having robots or automated machines do a process if nobody is in charge of them, to make sure that these machines work properly. Think of a car assembly line. Sure they have automated arms do a lot of the frame work, but it takes people to watch those machines to make sure they are up and running and maintained. So I'm pretty sure project and service management, as well as programming and development and deployment as well as spotting problems and maintaining uptime will always require people. 

I just don't see how you can eliminate people from any kind of job that involves automation to a degree. The jobs will certainly be different and they might pay differently as a result. But the kinds of people with certain types of skills will have to change over time. Its been that way with every industry. 

Jon_Cisco

I have spent years working in the printing industry and while is has been downsizing for the last twenty years the big trend seems to be less people to do the same thing. What was once a manual process became computerized so you went from 20 workers to 2 or 3. Then the programs became more efficient and you went from 3 to 2. Later plants merged but the computer work was only done at one location so you went from 2 each to only 2 in one location.

Over 15-20 years the same job went from 40 people to 2.

I see virtualization and the migration to the cloud having similar effects.

The key for me was to stay ahead of the curve and be one of the two people left. Now I moved to IT so I can start the process again. Work will always change but you need to change with it. The good old days of doing the same desk job for 45 years are probably gone for good.

TrunksXV

Jon_Cisco said:

I have spent years working in the printing industry and while is has been downsizing for the last twenty years the big trend seems to be less people to do the same thing. What was once a manual process became computerized so you went from 20 workers to 2 or 3. Then the programs became more efficient and you went from 3 to 2. Later plants merged but the computer work was only done at one location so you went from 2 each to only 2 in one location.

Over 15-20 years the same job went from 40 people to 2.

I see virtualization and the migration to the cloud having similar effects.

The key for me was to stay ahead of the curve and be one of the two people left. Now I moved to IT so I can start the process again. Work will always change but you need to change with it. The good old days of doing the same desk job for 45 years are probably gone for good.

I agree. That's why I've tried to look at DevOps, ITIL, Lean, Agile, Prince2, Project+, and other management principles that deal with workplace culture and I'm trying to combine some of those frameworks, with the IT stuff I'm learning. 

The real question is, if the production or development is constantly being reduced in scope and scale with fewer positions needed, what would be the ideal place to migrate to next? Programing and Development and Deployment are pretty much the three things that I see as viable long term. 

The jobs I have in my mind at the moment that will be available long term in the IT Field currently:

1. Programing and Development
2. Project and Service Management 
3. Security Management 
4. System and Network Administration 
5. New Hardware Deployments 
6. Website Design 
7. Computer Forensics for Law Enforcement 

That's about what I got in my mind that will be around for awhile. Any other areas that you might see open up?

si20

I honestly think people (not in this thread, just in general) underestimate just how powerful machine learning is. Not only that, but automation itself. Where I work, at least 8-10 digital security roles could be lost to automation tomorrow if they wanted. Automation is possible now in some cases. In the future.... like some of the other posts say, management and more specialized roles e.g infrastructure engineer, developers, ethical hackers etc. You'll still get the 1st/2nd line support roles and law enforcement roles. It's hard to say what will be there in future, but if your job is repetitive and a script could do it - you're going to be out of a job in future.

TrunksXV

si20 said:

I honestly think people (not in this thread, just in general) underestimate just how powerful machine learning is. Not only that, but automation itself. Where I work, at least 8-10 digital security roles could be lost to automation tomorrow if they wanted. Automation is possible now in some cases. In the future.... like some of the other posts say, management and more specialized roles e.g infrastructure engineer, developers, ethical hackers etc. You'll still get the 1st/2nd line support roles and law enforcement roles. It's hard to say what will be there in future, but if your job is repetitive and a script could do it - you're going to be out of a job in future.

 What are the limits of automation then? First off, even if you could run a script, that script will need to be updated over time. I don't know how much stuff you can automate without someone else eventually having to update or repair it, or else competition will come in and make whatever automated process you have obsolete. Think about how the automobile replaced the trains for example. 

si20

TrunksXV said:

si20 said:

I honestly think people (not in this thread, just in general) underestimate just how powerful machine learning is. Not only that, but automation itself. Where I work, at least 8-10 digital security roles could be lost to automation tomorrow if they wanted. Automation is possible now in some cases. In the future.... like some of the other posts say, management and more specialized roles e.g infrastructure engineer, developers, ethical hackers etc. You'll still get the 1st/2nd line support roles and law enforcement roles. It's hard to say what will be there in future, but if your job is repetitive and a script could do it - you're going to be out of a job in future.

 What are the limits of automation then? First off, even if you could run a script, that script will need to be updated over time. I don't know how much stuff you can automate without someone else eventually having to update or repair it, or else competition will come in and make whatever automated process you have obsolete. Think about how the automobile replaced the trains for example. 

I don't know what the limits are, but yes, even so. In my team, you could get rid of 10 people, replace them with a single developer keeping an eye on the script and only updating if necessary, or fixing any issues which require debugging and you've saved yourself around $300,000+ per year. It really is that simple and it's actually beginning to happen in my workplace. 

TrunksXV

Well its good that you see what could be done in the short term. As for long term, what roles couldn't be automated? Anyone have any ideas?

The only jobs I can see that can't be automated, are the security, service and project management positions as well as future developments. 

DZA_

This website will predict the future: https://willrobotstakemyjob.com/

UnixGuy

I'm a bit cynical when it comes to this topic, I personally believe most jobs will be replaced in the future, not just by automation, but the technology itself will be better and you won't need as many people to manage it

few jobs that will stay longer:

- Consulting

- Sales

- Management

- Software development (to an extent...)

- Product development (more marketing oriented)

who knows though..

NetworkingStudent

I remember the Walmart here in town was  remolded not to long ago.  The big change was adding 8 + plus self out registers.  They already had 8 self checkout registers before the remodel. 


As far far as IT goes, i think there will be a big push to add more duties to persons role

Everything seems to be simpler than when I graduated from college. Office 365 seems to be easier to manage, than office 2010.  Also, Windows 10 runs better than Vidta or Windows 7.

scaredoftests

I think that is why you should have a well rounded skill set, that way you don't become irrelevant.

JDMurray

This thread is only looking at the very maintenance-minded operations job used to keep the systems running. There is plenty of future work in creating new systems for architects, designers, and programmers for software and networks. 

TrunksXV

I agree with your assement JDMurray. We don't know what types of networks or services will be created in the near future.

paul78

meh - I'm too old and stupid to try to predict the future. If I held onto the 100 shares of MSFT when I first bought them, it would be worth over USD$8MM today. Trying to career plan by guessing at the long-term job market is fruitless. Just do what you enjoy and be flexible. Look at tech in 2 - 3 year horizons and most tech careers will be fine.

PeriodicInsanity

I think that IT work will always be around, but that the people saying that automation will remove the amount of jobs are correct in a sense.  As automation increases you will see less jobs based solely on straight IT lines, and more that blend other fields with IT.   Learning another language or trade on top of IT work will likely net you further job security.  The issue with going straight IT and avoiding other things is that one of two things will happen to you.  You we either be relegated to work that is mind-numbingly dull and repetitive, banked with a bunch of other people doing the same thing, and eventually it will be replaced by automation, at which point you are out of a job and forced to retrain, or you will compete for fewer and fewer higher skilled jobs that, due to automation creating scarcity, require you to be more and more professionally trained, creating a similar yet different problem where you compete with a smaller and smaller pool of individuals who are smarter and smarter as time goes on and the weeding of people continues, at which point you find out why the phrase above average exists, because if your not above average your either average, or below average, and not qualified, which means you are then forced to retrain.   

I personally don't think this fact should be taken as a personal affront.  It's just the way of things.  Making yourself adaptable to different situations is pretty much the rule of success throughout history.  The good news right now in the IT field, is that there is enough stability left that you sort of have the luxury of choosing your other path, and doing the thing you love if you get lucky.

JDMurray

The more flexible you are geographically to new job opportunities the more likely you will be to find acceptible work. Being unwilling to relocate or wanting to work close to home limits one's opportunities.

Basic85

I've heard that many IT jobs will be off-shored for cost-savings.  

COBOL_DOS_ERA

Basic85 said:

I've heard that many IT jobs will be off-shored for cost-savings.  

Most of the big tech firms are outsourcing for ages. No disrespect, IBM is also known as Indian Business Machine just for the same reason.  So is CSC, HPE, and so many others.  As JD pointed out flexibility and adaptability are the keys to surviving in today's IT world; as we welcome more automation and AI-based services in our life. 

JDMurray

promethuschow said:

as we welcome more automation and AI-based services in our life. 

I, for one, welcome our new AI overlords! Now, if you will excuse me, I am packing my bags for India. 

DFTK13

@TrunksXV

Your list included programming and development, I believe that’s the key to holding down an IT job long term. Too many tech jobs are making it just about mandatory to know at least one programming language. 

@UnixGuy

I agree, although I don’t call it cynicism but rather, realism. The fact of matter is that the human element is being slowly phased out across the board. I think that TV show black mirror is right on the money with the way the future is headed at this pace. 

TrunksXV

That's kinda why I'm looking at project management and development frameworks, programing will factor into my studies in the near future after I finish college, and get a few more framework certifications. Its a bit of a bite, but I've got to finish college one way or the other first.

DFTK13

@TrunksXV

I know it’s rough, I’m in the same situation with college and trying to learn other specific technologies and concepts on top of that. I just keep telling myself that one day it’ll get easier. Good luck! 

paul78

JDMurray said:

I, for one, welcome our new AI overlords! Now, if you will excuse me, I am packing my bags for India. 

ROFLOL - Please stay and let's consider forming the new Luddite corp to topple the AI overlords!

@OP - fear of technological unemployment has been around since the 18th century and yes the industrial revolution in the 19th century did have tremendous impact on existing types of jobs. But ultimately, each technological change over the past hundred years have produced more jobs and improved humankind.

Glad that you found something that you like and you plan to go the project management route. Personally, I like hands-on work with tech so I would never want to be a project manager. As an aside, I work with a lot of tech companies that develop SaaS solutions - most do not employ project managers.

TechGromit

TrunksXV said:

 What are the limits of automation then? First off, even if you could run a script, that script will need to be updated over time.

I agree with this I recent saw a video where a robot assembled some Ikea furniture in record time, but the parts the robot used to assemble it "magically" appeared in the robots "hands". The robot didn't open the box, sort the parts and pick the correct part to assemble. There was some cheating going on there, that's not true automation.  

blargoe

Trying to stay relevant in the industry for another 20 years is tough when you are working in a legacy on-prem only infrastructure with legacy managers having a legacy mindset.

I have been trying to focus more on scripting/automation and security and the building blocks thereof.  I am also trying to divorce myself from being responsible for legacy style on-prem Windows operations completely. 

DFTK13

@blargoe

I completely understand, our systems we work on are over 10 years old. Software and hardware is next to impossible to find to repair it. The immediate management and IT workers would upgrade, but the existing infrastructure in which the systems support would also have to be upgraded as well. So of course, the more higher ups don’t want to spend the $ to fix this now, and just want to keep kicking the can down the road. So we’re forced to work with extreme legacy. It just amazes me that the realization can’t be made that if you spend money now and upgrade a little bit at a time, you ultimately save more in the long run across the board, rather than being forced to upgrade all at once...what a total nightmare. 

10Linefigure

+1 for designers, engineers, and planners. 

You might be able to automate a system, but someone has to plan it, design the layout, then engineer the final solution. Thennnn a cute robot can keep it humming along. 

I also think high end pen-testing / offensive security ( .mil related). And then maybe programmers for hire (freelance, or long duration custom projects / specialty solutions). 

There is also a ton of emerging markets that need to get the infrastructure levels up to par, so if you are willing to work internationally, there can be a lot of opportunity in install, design, engineering, etc.