2013 - Ten Tech Skills Heading the Way of the Dinosaur

Sponx

Thought this was interesting and I would share...

IT is a very fast changing industry - what is hot today may be a tiny niche market in only a few years and things that few have heard of may be huge trends in the same timeframe. There are many new technologies on the way, and that means opportunities for those who watch the coming trends, prepare themselves early on, and thus have experience when the demand picks up. There are many articles devoted to what is hot in the IT industry today, so we won't rehash them here. Instead, we will focus on skills that are going away. If these skills are all you have, you may soon find yourself in an unemployment line. If these skills are the most recent ones you have, NOW is the time to update your skill set and prepare for the future.

This year's top 10 skills that are going the way of the dinosaur (in no particular order) include the following:
10 Tech Skills Heading the Way of the Dinosaur - 2013 Edition

N2IT

No complaints with this list. I personally have seen 8, 9, & 10 already trending downward. Not to hip on Lotus notes or Novell, but those 3 are going away for sure. At least in a solo type function. It will probably just role up into another role, especially system administration. I've seen that happening in several environments and have read about it in several articles.

veritas_libertas

No surprise here...

N2IT

Sponx do you think the service desk will look for mobility to replace the conventional desktop techs or will this be outsourced just like the rest of the support jobs.

On a side note, I made a conscience effort to remove myself from support years ago. I saw the business trending this way and ran like hell. I keep thinking about TV repair men.

Hypntick

Working for an MSP, I don't see #1 or #9 going away anytime soon. But then again since SMBs out source their work to us, that would make sense why I don't see those going away. #9 is mostly just shifting from the local IT department, to the outsourced IT department, but I agree the definition of a level 1 tech is going to be a good bit different. You'll need to know a lot more for the position.

Sponx

N2IT wrote: »

Sponx do you think the service desk will look for mobility to replace the conventional desktop techs or will this be outsourced just like the rest of the support jobs.

On a side note, I made a conscience effort to remove myself from support years ago. I saw the business trending this way and ran like hell. I keep thinking about TV repair men.

I don't necessarily see Mobility to replace the conventional desktop techs but I see it being integrated with Level 1/2 type positions. I think the "average desktop support technician" will need to know more to either enter into/sustain their current position. I haven't personally been seeing Mobility support (for BYOD type positions) being out sourced as of right now; however, I am sure that can change with time - though I hope it doesn't.

N2IT - May I ask what you do for work right now when you left the average support role?

danny069

Will cherish my A+ cert forever!!

vCole

My company is holding tight to staying on Lotus Domino - so I don't see that going anywhere for us anytime soon...or ever. Just like the 15 NT Domains still in use.

thegoodbye

#7 will still continue to be used for alarm systems and faxes, though I agree it's rarely used for normal voice communications anymore.

nosoup4u

We use VOIP for our alarm and a cell backup at most of our field sites, same with my house tbh

thegoodbye

That's interesting. A lot of home monitoring systems that my other coworkers have looked into (e.g. Verizon, Comcast, ADT) required a POTS connection to establish their services.

tpatt100

thegoodbye wrote: »

That's interesting. A lot of home monitoring systems that my other coworkers have looked into (e.g. Verizon, Comcast, ADT) required a POTS connection to establish their services.

I got a cellular box installed for 80 bucks that they provided that allowed me to turn off POTS.

I agree with 8-9-10 on the list though.

networker050184

I never put any weight into what technologies are hot or not from a company who wants to sell their training. All the courses they offer are hot and the ones they don't aren't? What a coincidence!

tpatt100

Netware Server epic up time.

So long to a valiant companion - Ars Technica OpenForum

Of course it probably didn't do anything but still.....

Mrock4

networker050184 wrote: »

I never put any weight into what technologies are hot or not from a company who wants to sell their training. All the courses they offer are hot and the ones they don't aren't? What a coincidence!

THIS! I agree with most of them, but you really have to take it with a grain of salt at the end of the day.

ArabianKnight

So it seems that it is going to be even harder for entry level people to break into the IT field through help desk/ desktop support.

I see mobility certs becoming the new trend here soon.

N2IT

Data Analyst - I transitioned out of support about 4 years ago, however we moved to a different location which required me to pick up a level 3 support position by title. Essentially I was a consultant, creating how to documentation and assisting with multi million dollar grants, databases, statistically data, etc. It was a short term engagement until the users felt comfortable with the 2010 office. They went from 2003 - 2010.

A lot of the job was requirements gathering as well like a business analyst due to the nature of the Win 7 Office 1010 roll out.

I had a 11 month stint with support in 2010 and 1 3/4 years stint in 2008 - 2009. Other than that I really have never done a lot of support. My first position was reporting analyst for the USDA, I forget the real title. I essentially reported on soil and meat, woohoo fun. Then transition into the government as a HR generalist and then moved into supply chain (logistics), this is where I learned A LOT about MS Access. I spent 4 out of my 8 hours buried in Access and other enterprise database systems. Eventually moving onto IT and now transitioning into the business side. After spending a few years on the "DESK" I knew this wasn't a log term solution for me, but I love IT. So my ideal position is what I am doing now. Data analytics and architecture, however more on the analysis side, although I am getting a TON of experience working lock step with the architects.


The other position I just interviewed for just recently is another data position. More business focused but essentially reporting on transactional data and creating reports in BOXI, COGNOS, PowerPoint, Excel, Access ETC.

Sponx I think you are right on the money though about support techs needing to know more and more.

WiseWun

networker050184 wrote: »

I never put any weight into what technologies are hot or not from a company who wants to sell their training. All the courses they offer are hot and the ones they don't aren't? What a coincidence!

Spot on! What if one was to focus on the actual technology rather than the vendors products? Maybe this is one way of staying relevant.

joemysterio

sucks if true, especially the last few... I have no IT experience whatsoever... I'm currently working on getting A+ certified so I can get into WGU. by the time all is said and done, who knows how long it'll take me to get a job in IT. =\

NetworkVeteran

joemysterio wrote: »

sucks if true, especially the last few... I have no IT experience whatsoever... I'm currently working on getting A+ certified so I can get into WGU. by the time all is said and done, who knows how long it'll take me to get a job in IT. =\

You mean this one?

Silly Article wrote:

9. Help Desk Technicians / Level 1 Support

Don't worry. Until we build a better robot, there will be always be a demand for someone who knows little about technology but can ask, "Are you under warranty?" and "Did you rememeber to turn your PC / tablet / cell phone on?" It's simply not cost-effective to have experienced / well-certified people do this level of work when it's something a newbie could do.

Silly Article wrote:

Those working as help desk technicians (especially those in level 1 support roles) will see less and less demand for their skills

The above skills have never been in great demand nor paid particularly well, but they're out there, and stepping stones to more. Many of the acclaimed engineers of today had humble beginning in just such a position or worse.

Silly Article wrote:

primarily due to outsourcing to other companies

That just means you're hired by company A instead of company B.

Master Of Puppets

veritas_libertas wrote: »

No surprise here...

Yep, same here.

puertorico1985

networker050184 wrote: »

I never put any weight into what technologies are hot or not from a company who wants to sell their training. All the courses they offer are hot and the ones they don't aren't? What a coincidence!

Exactly! A VMWare Instructor saying that everything is going virtual, and one should learn and study virtualization? While I do agree with most of that list, please take it with several grains of salt.

No need for Helpdesk techs? I'll hold my breath on that one.

Sponx

As long as we have ignorant users, we will have help desk technicians... But, I don't believe it will be the same breed of "help desk techs" as we have now. So, I don't see them going away, but I see them shifting into something else.

dmoore44

I was rather entertained about the nod to VDI and dumb terminals... We've come full circle. Everything old is new again.

Drackar

Nice post! Do you have any lists for PHDs, by chance? lol

N2IT

Sponx agreed about the technician shifting or morphing into another type of position with some of the same responsibilities but shifting into others.

Obviously smart devices will become a big piece of that, it already is in some environments.

Just recently a former employer nabbed 2 deskside techs and converted them into full time smart device and iPad support tech. They are now working in a business unit/team as technical support. This is really good for them, because now they are considered part of the business and can convert into fulltime employee, which pays ~ 60,000, deskside makes ~40,000.

If you are "on the desk or deskside" you are an internal contractor with no chance or promotion. I have seen this model in a lot of organizations. Fingers crossed that this shift benefits the tech.

pcgizzmo

puertorico1985 wrote: »

Exactly! A VMWare Instructor saying that everything is going virtual, and one should learn and study virtualization? While I do agree with most of that list, please take it with several grains of salt.

No need for Helpdesk techs? I'll hold my breath on that one.

I agree and disagree some what. One example is certain school systems. They can't afford a large amount of IT people and they are spread out over multiple campuses throughout the district.

One change I've seen toward getting rid of the traditional IT tech is going to VDI. If there is a problem with the OS or some application on it you can blow away the current images and put a new one out in minutes. All the data is stored somewhere besides end point or PC.

There's not need for a traditional tech in this type of situation. It can all be done remotely by a network admin that is capable of more than just doing a tech job.

If it's a hardware issue then I guess you could have a tech trouble shoot it but with VDI you just need an end point which is a box with memory and video capability. They don't have any moving parts. Also if your using a PC then SSD is becoming very reasonable so hard drive failures will become much more uncommon.

veritas_libertas

@PCGIZZMO: Yup. It's the future and it would be foolish for us to ignore it. There will be situations where standard laptops come into play, but I believe desktop support roles will be less common with time. Why have a desktop support team when the problems only occur every once in a while?

puertorico1985

I do not disagree with what you are saying PCGIZZMO, and I can definitely see jobs becoming much less specialized. Unfortunately, there is one variable of the equation that can never be removed, the end-user. A scenario like the one you stated makes a perfect example of a workplace that does not need a full-time IT staff. Lucky for us is that this scenario is not the norm. Helpdesk personnel will always be needed for businesses, and end-users who struggle in knowing the difference between a computer and a monitor.

it_consultant

We are quite a few years away from traditional digital PBX's going they way of Novell. In fact; with few people coming up into traditional telephony and most new people being trained in SIP, regular style phone guys do really well. Remember, old school Ma'Bell systems have a lifespan of like...20 years and they are compatible with handsets than can be used on modern IP based PBX's like the Avaya IP Office, which is a combination IP/digital depending on the cards and software. That guy looking to upgrade his old Avaya will be drawn to a system that can still deliver on a digital cable plant (to protect past investment) and service newer IP phones. In that case you still REALLY need to know traditional telephony.

the_Grinch

I think they are dead wrong about Fortran. Every year they say it is going away and every year I still see a number of job postings for Fortran. I actually just saw a company who was looking to train people in Fortran and pay $20 an hour once you were done (only a high school education required). I don't forsee the level 1 tech going away completely, but I see the role changing a bit. I've worked with two companies who were doing a version of VDI and both were still using full blown PC's to do it. I haven't seen a company willing to make the infrastructure investment to do VDI. That could change, but right now level 1 techs and PC repair people will be just fine. Everything else appears to be correct to me.