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Greg Neilson
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This Is Really Starting To Hurt |
| Go ahead and get angry at the way the IT job market is today -- but don't let that stand in the way of your future. |
| by Greg Neilson |
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4/7/2003 -- Last month, fellow CertCities.com columnist Kevin Kohut covered the issue of braindumps, Robert Keppel and restoring the value of certifications such as the MCSE. I agreed with some of the things he said, but what really struck me was the negative and aggressive tone of many of the comments posted by many of you at the end of that article.
Don't get me wrong: After many years of hearing how a career in IT was a great future, the tables have really turned on us. And it's really starting to hurt. We used to get the big bucks to play with cool technology. It's not much fun now: Many have been thrown out of work, and those left behind are keeping a watchful eye over their shoulder. With little investment in new projects, we're mostly left working on the same old stuff. With employment demand dramatically decreasing along with salaries, things now are not as rosy as we had all been led to expect. At the same time, work is increasingly anticipated to go offshore to low-cost countries, which even further reduces the size of the local job market. There is certainly a shakeout going on right now, and many that had been in the industry before will now likely need to find other career options.
I'm not sure that Kevin was totally serious when he suggested some people hand back their MCSEs, but judging by the feedback he received, that statement sure hit a nerve. My personal view of the worth of MCSE is that it is steadily increasing after being so debased by having so many NT 4.0 MCSEs with little experience with the product. But I don't think it will ever reach the same heights it had in the mid-90s, and the same is certainly true for the CNE as well (although I continue to value holding both for myself). But as I've said before, the value of any certification isn't just about the certificate on the wall, it's all the good stuff we've had to put in our heads to get it in the first place.
I don't think that any of the contributors on this site are reveling in the current situation. It sure doesn't bring me any joy. I'm just as confounded as anyone else and am trying very hard to stay both employed and employable. However, I can understand why some feel infuriated now at how bad things has become in a relatively short space of time. So by all means, call people names and lament how our future is nowhere as bright as we originally hoped it would be. But don't let that anger consume you since it won't actually solve much.
Much of the marketing about certification products (courses, books, etc.) in the past has been to people intending to use it as a shortcut to enter an IT career from other fields. "Use [insert name here] for an exciting $70,000 job in IT," we were told. Today, as even new college graduates are finding it hard to get hired, those with only a certification and no experience are finding it extremely difficult. So no wonder these folks feel cheated and want to scream out loud. Has it really been a couple of years since industry groups were lamenting the skills shortage in IT and the negative effect that this would have on economic growth?
Over time, I do expect things to improve, but until then we've got to do our best to perform each and every day, delivering real business value. Keep our increasing our skill levels and keep up to date. The IT bus is moving on to new destinations. It's our choice: We can either get on it or watch it run us over.
How are you dealing with the stress of today's IT job market? Post your thoughts below!
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Greg Neilson, MCSE+Internet, MCNE, PCLP, is a Contributing Editor for Microsoft Certified Professional Magazine and a manager at a large IT services firm in Australia. He's the author of Lotus Domino Administration in a Nutshell (O'Reilly and Associates, ISBN 1-56592-717-6). You can reach him at Attn: Greg.
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More articles by Greg Neilson:
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There are 20  user Comments for “This Is Really Starting To Hurt”
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Page 2 of 2
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| 4/15/03: Jamie from Alabama says: |
Note: The IT bus has already ran most of us over, and smirking lectures by the Neilsons and Kohuts of the world isn't going to help matters! |
| 4/17/03: Anonymous from Old Timer from FL says: |
I have an MCSE (NT & 2000), MCSA, and CCNA. I even have MS Premier Partner training on Win 2003 Server but I've been out of work for nearly a year. There is literally nothing out there even at half what I used to make. While the Admin area is vastly over-manned, all the way up to CCIE, most programming has moved to India. I can't even get a low paying govt. job. I've never seen anything like this in 12 years in the IT industry. If things don't turn around by this Fall, I'm going to leave the work I love and am really good at forever and do something else, just to get by. What a waste! |
| 4/18/03: Anonymous from Chicago says: |
I'm a systems administrator in Chicago. The Chicago area has lost more jobs than any other city during the last year. My salary and benefits are good. I have an MCSE (NT 4.0), which in my opinion, gave me the theoretical knowledge to deal with practical technology situations. I also have 2 more tests to pass to get the CNE certification. I was a CPA for 7 years before moving into technology---and have an MBA. I'm not terribly worried about losing my job because I'm in a good industry, and I have several other strong skill sets to go with technology. My advice to those who are looking for tech jobs is to supplement it with another base of knowledge. I strongly recommend accounting and tech, legal and tech, or medical and tech combinations. With respect to advancement in a company, I tend to think that while certifications are desireable----there are quite a few things more important. The ability to manage and lead projects both related and not related to technology is important. Being able to communicate verbally and in writing is important---and presenting yourself as a professional, rather than presenting yourself as the steriotypical tech person with a ponytail is more impressive. Companies can choose to be selective now. Realizing that technology is an ancillary function rather than a primary function of a company is a reality check that alot of people in the tech field need to look at. |
| 4/18/03: Cliff from Tucson says: |
If you think getting certs or a degree is tough, try getting decent work without it. You've got to keep pushing. Always learning something new is the key to making it in IT and certifyng that you have at least been exposed to the technology is worth something. Everybody wants to work at the same crap job for thirty years and hope they never get laid off. If I don't get fired or laid off after being on a job six months, I'm doing something wrong. I love being fired or laid off. I like looking for a better job and having the opportunity to improve myself. Listen to what I'm about to tell you: I wouldn't take a goverment job in IT for blood or money. That has got to be the greatest waste of time in any IT career. But I don't have to take a goverment job, cause I'm the hottest thing in IT. Always have been and always will be and I'll let you in on a little secret how that happened; I've worked and studied, got more certs then Mr. Gates, more experience than any lame system or network administrator I've ever met. And while all you network admins and goverment employees, (can anyone say "network administrator"?) sit around wringing your hands and crying about the lack of value in you college degrees and your MCSE, you should be trying to funnel that energy into something more productive such as learning something new. Wow, there's a concept. And since when did a cert ever determine the worth of an individual? Never. You make the cert work for you. Now here'e another idea if your lame and can't get work. Find a military post anywhere in America; get in with the good'ol boy click, get a network administrator postition and watch the loading dock at the IT buliding for the next thirty years and then retire and after you retire, do us all a favor; make believe you were never in IT. Oh and by the way, I love braindumps and I love TestKing and as soon as they come out with the new 70-292 study guide I'll be all over it like a goverment employee at a chinese banquet. That'll be my third MCSE and my second MCSA. Now how you like me? And just like Microsoft says, "Where do think your going today?" and all the lemmings reply; "Nowhere Mr. Gates! No Where!" |
| 4/19/03: Anonymous says: |
someone has been doing a bit to much acid, no? remember, make sure you know where the pretty stamp came from BEFORE you lick it. *SLURP!** |
| 4/26/03: Anonymous says: |
I'm an MCSE on NT 4 and W2k. I hold CNE on 4.11 and 5. I'm preparing for upgrades on both. I'm still employed but looking for work. My job is stable; they want to keep me, but not badly enough to offer any pay raises. That I could live with but now they're refusing to pay for training. I applied for tuition reimbursement for a Bachelors in CIS and never got an answer. I thought it was a standard corporate benefit. I've been getting straight A's while working an average of 50-60 hours a week. I'm dropping out of school because I cannot see going into debt any heavier than I already have. I want to finish school. I NEED to keep learning. My manager says I know enough already. My team lead says I'm the most technically competent on his team. I work for an international corporation and am assigned full time to one of our largest accounts. Still, I need a job. |
| 4/28/03: marty from yonkers says: |
okay, last poster, I'll tell you what... as soon as you get a new job, tell me because I'll be glad to take your old one! Thanks! |
| 4/28/03: Anonymous says: |
To the poster about needing a job. Dude you got a job. Be happy with that and dont worry about getting re-embursed. Whats worse not getting re-embursed or getting layed off? No company is going to offer to pay for your schooling if they are cutting hundreds of thousands of jobs left and right. They figure if you want, you pay for it. Seems you are ok in your situation with a few drawbacks but still have 1) a job and 2) income. IS there more you can honestly ask for at this point and time?? |
| 4/28/03: Anonymous says: |
Well, job or no job, just remember that Jabba the Hut used to be a network administrator and where did that get him??????? That's right, it got him a luke skywalker jedi knight lightsaber sandwich, that's where! gwahahaha! Long live sci-fi and long live the Star Wars gang! =-) |
| 12/7/03: Anonymous says: |
Company re-imbursements for training/education Companies would be more inclined to pay for education/continued training if they had not been burned by so many people during the heydays. So many people stuck their employer with a cert bill, then bailed out to another company that would pay them more for that cert. |
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