Posted on 10/06/2004 6:14:14 AM PDT by jb6
Friday the jobs numbers will include an UPWARD revision for the last year. EXPECT good news on Friday, just b4 the next debate.
I hope so, but do those numbers mean anything to IT? Sorry to be biased, but that's my field. If everything else is growing but my skill set in demand, that leaves me and my family in the funk.
I've been in the tech sector for 15+ years, and the last three have been devastating. But, I am now working, and at my company there is actually some movement (people leaving for better offers.) I haven't visited the job sites in quite a while, but my feeling is that things are continuing to improve. Also, many of the lemming VPs are finding out that outsourcing is a very foolish practice, and that work is starting to stay home.
Yup. Here too. It would be interesting to somehow compare layoffs of tech workers in high cost states compared to low cost states.
Another silver bullet that turned out to be lead. They will never learn. Remember xtreme programming? What a crock. Lets screw planning and engineering and just write code, yeah, that will solve everything. Why waste time figuring out what you want to do and how to do it, just throw code out. When I was searching for a job, I spoke with several Russian companies (I'm rather fluent in the language) and they still use this idiocy. I told them that this was a pipe dream concept. They didn't take that to well.
Ssssh, not so loud, people will call you an "isolationist" and not a "global thinker".
New Labor Department Report Reflects Bush Administration's Lack of Seriousness...
Jobs worth $ 210 billion to be outsourced to India in 2005
EDS has been poorly managed for the last decade and is now paying for it.
Right On Brother!
Interesting article you posted. We were just chatting about this jb6 on another thread. I hope that some of the tech people now in school also are taking general business courses. The software guys don't understand deadlines or a necessity to make a profit. Having some business education as to how a company operates would be a huge cross/selling plus. I now look for resumes with these combined skills and it is VERY rare to find but to me, worth its weight in gold.
It's a free global market economy. Any buyer of anything is going to look for the best price for the best service, period. The prices in India and China are still low enough for companies to see value in sourcing tech. However, this has begun changing and the pricing over there is going up at a quick pace. As it does, companies here in the States will see less value of dealing with the headaches of it over the savings and a balace will be acheived, then a regrowth of this sector. I would say we are about two years away from tech jobs really beginning to be in demand again.
A lot of guys I know who are programmers who worked during the boom and were use to six figure salaries and being catered too are not use to working for half the amount and being put under tight deadlines. As the owner of a tech business I also have to work harder and smarter for less money, so we are all in the same boat.
I respectfully disagree. If you are flogging commoditized skills, then yes, demand is slumping and will taper off for the forseeable future. If you are adept at continuously finding a niche however, then breaking $100-150K gross including benefits per year is reasonably feasible. I'm at the upper end of that range, and fully expect to gross significantly more next year in my business.
As a general rule of thumb, as long as you let someone else do the selling and marketing for you, you are a commodity. That includes going into the contracting market and working through recruiting firms.
Before firing off retorts, hey, I don't make the rules, I just play by them. You want to complain to someone about this, complain to Mr. Market.
If you want to learn how to sell and market your skills, start by offering to help your company's sales teams with their pre-sales work. You can learn a lot by putting together presentations, proposals, and project plans. Read up on sales and marketing. Start making pitches yourself if you can, on "throwaway" deals that are too small for the sales team to spend time upon. Network, and keep a systematic record of who you meet, what they do, what they are interested in, and keep in regular contact with them.
In the IT world, the one position that will never be outsourced is sales. Even in the depths of the Depression, great sales people were still pulling down great comp plans. If you can cut code, design software systems, and sell, you can not only start your own business, you can practically write your own ticket in many big IT firms.
Wake up WG, doom and gloom just isn't the same without you.
The "light" is now located in Red China and India, sorry.
What do you mean upward revision for last year? Do they revise for the entire last year in their October 2004 report?
I'm still not sure what kind of news to expect for the October numbers. A solid 100,000 and a steady 5.4 percent would help the "optics" of the situation.
"If you can cut code, design software systems, and sell, you can not only start your own business, you can practically write your own ticket in many big IT firms."
Exactly. That and have an attitude of helping grow revenues, not simply write your own code and treat a business like a project. People like you with the above mentioned understanding and attitude are worth 6 figures. Problem is, your amoung the rare 5% of the I.T. population who share this sentiment.
I know what you mean. I lost my IT position of 12 years back in 2001. Making only about half of what I was making back then. Do I blame the government? No! It's part of life I am working my way back up in another career. Great thing about this country is that you can do these type of things and make it.
Numbers or not the IT field is still hurting. I have seen a mrked decrease in jobs out there and have more then a few friend either out of work or underemployed. One is a MCSE with CCNA and all he has been able to find in the 4 months since his layoff is a Service tech at Best Buy for $11 with no benefits. It is ruff out here.
Also have an organizational awareness, know how to make things more efficient at lower cost. Know how get the most out of your existing product/service lines. Know where to innovate smartly, and where/why the pain threshold is for company investment toward this. Share. These things will keep you employed.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.