Why is the supply of IT workers higher than the demand?

It just does not make sense to me why this is.

I recently graduated college with a degree in Computer Information Systems and there were only nine CIS students in my graduating class, and there were not many Computer Science students either. From articles that I've read, University's across the nation have not been able to get many students to enroll in computer related cirriculums. Now, I know that you don't have to have a degree to get into IT, but still, based off this, one would have to believe that the supply of IT workers entering the workforce is not that high.

Furthermore, everybody is so dependent upon technology these days that shouldn't every buisness need people to keep their computers and networks running well? If every business needs people to take care of their computers then that should provide a lot of IT jobs, right? For years I've been reading articles about how many of the fastest growing fields are IT related.

So, if the supply of new IT workers entering the workforce is low, and every buisness needs people to take care of their computers, and many of the fastest growing fields are IT related, why does it seem that the supply of IT workers is so much higher than the demand? Whenever I tell people about how hard it is to get an IT job they are shocked and just cannot understand it; they think that with society's dependence upon computers that people with IT skills should be able to easily get a job with a high salary, but as we all know, that is not the case.

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Comments

rwwest7

IT services are easily outsourced, so a company can pay for computer services only when needed and not keep someone on staff. And a larger company can charge said company lots of money for said services and pay some worker crappy wages to actually do the work.

dynamik

Why are you saying that the supply is higher than the demand?

Tony138

dynamik wrote: »

Why are you saying that the supply is higher than the demand?

Well, I don't see that many company's looking for IT workers right now, I know many people that are having an incredibly hard time getting an IT job, and I've also seen many people on message boards also post that it is difficult for them to find an IT job.

buchatech

Tony138 wrote: »

It just does not make sense to me why this is.

I recently graduated college with a degree in Computer Information Systems and there were only nine CIS students in my graduating class, and there were not many Computer Science students either. From articles that I've read, University's across the nation have not been able to get many students to enroll in computer related cirriculums. Now, I know that you don't have to have a degree to get into IT, but still, based off this, one would have to believe that the supply of IT workers entering the workforce is not that high.

Furthermore, everybody is so dependent upon technology these days that shouldn't every buisness need people to keep their computers and networks running well? If every business needs people to take care of their computers then that should provide a lot of IT jobs, right? For years I've been reading articles about how many of the fastest growing fields are IT related.

So, if the supply of new IT workers entering the workforce is low, and every buisness needs people to take care of their computers, and many of the fastest growing fields are IT related, why does it seem that the supply of IT workers is so much higher than the demand? Whenever I tell people about how hard it is to get an IT job they are shocked and just cannot understand it; they think that with society's dependence upon computers that people with IT skills should be able to easily get a job with a high salary, but as we all know, that is not the case.

I don't see the same at least in my city I don't. It sounds like you have just finished school which is a good thing in IT if you want to move up to management some day. I am not sure if you have IT experience or not. Keep in mind that there are allot of people trying to get into IT that do not have much experience. In my opinion this is where it can appear as if there is more supply of IT talent vs. demand for it. As you go further in your career and go after certain jobs or specialize in something you will notice the amount of IT talent go down.

dynamik

Tony138 wrote: »

Well, I don't see that many company's looking for IT workers right now, I know many people that are having an incredibly hard time getting an IT job, and I've also seen many people on message boards also post that it is difficult for them to find an IT job.

I think that's just the economy, not an overabundance of IT workers. You probably just hear from the IT people on message boards because few others are as technologically savvy to use that medium as an outlet

As noted above, most people are hitting a roadblock because of a lack of experience.

tpatt100

In my neck of the woods companies are consolidating positions. Sometimes this makes sense but many times they are saving money but IT workers are neglecting certain tasks due to not enough hours/people.

brad-

Big companies outsource.

All companies condense responsibilities into fewer positions with the economy.

One company with a few reliable people can service many different company's needs...not each company needs a full time IT guy/staff.

Turgon

tpatt100 wrote: »

In my neck of the woods companies are consolidating positions. Sometimes this makes sense but many times they are saving money but IT workers are neglecting certain tasks due to not enough hours/people.

Spot on. We will see more of this in the years ahead.

Turgon

brad- wrote: »

Big companies outsource.

All companies condense responsibilities into fewer positions with the economy.

One company with a few reliable people can service many different company's needs...not each company needs a full time IT guy/staff.

Yep seen that everywhere the last few years. More of it to come I think.

mikej412

brad- wrote: »

a few reliable people

It's been like that since I started in IT... uh, a long long long time ago.

You want to do the things -- certification, education, people skills, experience, etc -- that makes you one of those few reliable people.

You don't want to be one of those people who got laid off from their warehouse job and took out the $30k student loan and became a A+ Net+ CCNA MCSE certified noob in 6 months so that you can "earn the money you deserve."