What will the IT job Market look like in 10 years+ +

Discussion in 'The Lounge - Off Topic' started by rockstar6181, Aug 1, 2010.

  1. rockstar6181

    rockstar6181 Byte Poster

    101
    1
    22
    IT workers seem to be getting paid less and less these days and the departments have fewer people due to better systems etc is anyone else worried what the job Market will look like in 10 years?
     
    Certifications: A/N+ MCSA 2003
  2. ChrisH1979

    ChrisH1979 Byte Poster

    225
    9
    37
    Competition will be fierce with the saturation of IT workers available. The only people who are going to do well are the real high end people. The lower end people will be expected to know so much, for little. If I have children I will be encouraging them to something other than IT.
     
    Certifications: MCITP:SA, MCSA, MCTS:Win 7, Application Infrastructure
    WIP: MCITP:EA
  3. Kitkatninja
    Highly Decorated Member Award 500 Likes Award

    Kitkatninja aka me, myself & I Moderator

    11,139
    555
    383
    There are currently 3 trains of thought of what the IT field is going to be like in 10 years+ time:

    1. Stay the same as now
    2. There will be less need for IT professionals or
    3. There will be an increased need for IT Professionals.

    Alot of it depends on how the IT Profession develops (eg if it get regulated like other professions), how technology develops (increased complexity, reliability, etc), investment into IT, plus input of end-users/consumers (off-shoring vs local support and cost savings vs consumer complaints/confidence).

    Am I worried? No, maybe a little concerned every now and again. But as long as I keep on developing myself, even if it's not good news for the IT industry, I know that I'll land on my feet :)

    -Ken
     
    Certifications: MSc, PGDip, PGCert, BSc, HNC, LCGI, MBCS CITP, MCP, MCSA, MCSE, MCE, A+, N+, S+, Server+
    WIP: MSc Cyber Security
  4. michael78

    michael78 Terabyte Poster

    2,085
    29
    141
    I have a son and agree that I would rather he did another profession other than IT. I think there are better careers out there with less stress for more money. Sometimes the level of pay is boardlining on day light robbery by employers just taking the piss for what is a skilled profession.
     
    Certifications: A+ | Network+ | Security+ | MCP | MCDST | MCTS: Hyper-V | MCTS: AD | MCTS: Exchange 2007 | MCTS: Windows 7 | MCSA: 2003 | ITIL Foundation v3 | CCA: Xenapp 5.0 | MCITP: Enterprise Desktop Administrator on Windows 7 | MCITP: Enterprise Desktop Support Technician on Windows 7
    WIP: Online SAN Overview, VCP in December 2011
  5. Phoenix
    Honorary Member

    Phoenix 53656e696f7220 4d6f64

    5,749
    200
    246
    glad you all seem to be recommending your kids career paths based on financial merits
    to most geeks, salary comes somewhere between 6 and 10 on the list of 'whats the most important thing'
    geeks are geeks, and its not all about the money

    if your NOT a geek, you should probably stay out of IT :)

    from the perspective of this post, the industry will look exactly the same from a job hunters perspective
    there will be more IT people, but not as many in the various areas there are today, and the bar will become a lot higher, this may force actual training and accreditation standards like the medical and legal field, because if nobodies doing desktop support but your expected to look after petabytes of SAN and servers running thousands of workloads, yeah, you better know your **** :)
     
    Certifications: MCSE, MCITP, VCP
    WIP: > 0
  6. michael78

    michael78 Terabyte Poster

    2,085
    29
    141
    I personally think the IT jobs market will shrink. The reason being as technology progresses and gets more and more reliable and fault tolerant there will be less of a need for support personnel to look after those systems.

    I can see the future moving to a datacenter and cloud computing model once the technology matures enough. The day of the onsite support will be a thing of the past or at least won't exist as it does today. I really hope I'm wrong but that is why I'm starting to study Citrix and virtualisation technologies as big as they are now I think the demand for skilled professionals in that field will grow and grow.
     
    Certifications: A+ | Network+ | Security+ | MCP | MCDST | MCTS: Hyper-V | MCTS: AD | MCTS: Exchange 2007 | MCTS: Windows 7 | MCSA: 2003 | ITIL Foundation v3 | CCA: Xenapp 5.0 | MCITP: Enterprise Desktop Administrator on Windows 7 | MCITP: Enterprise Desktop Support Technician on Windows 7
    WIP: Online SAN Overview, VCP in December 2011
  7. michael78

    michael78 Terabyte Poster

    2,085
    29
    141
    At the end of the day he will make his own decision but yeah I stand by my comment. I think when I look at all the ****e I've had to go through and the long hours of study and cost I think bollocks should of been a train driver as I would make more money with a hell of a lot less stress. I enjoy my job most of the time but the sifting through agencies who mess you around is one of my biggest gripes with the industry and the constant goal post moving of what employers demand is ridiculous.
     
    Certifications: A+ | Network+ | Security+ | MCP | MCDST | MCTS: Hyper-V | MCTS: AD | MCTS: Exchange 2007 | MCTS: Windows 7 | MCSA: 2003 | ITIL Foundation v3 | CCA: Xenapp 5.0 | MCITP: Enterprise Desktop Administrator on Windows 7 | MCITP: Enterprise Desktop Support Technician on Windows 7
    WIP: Online SAN Overview, VCP in December 2011
  8. zebulebu

    zebulebu Terabyte Poster

    3,748
    330
    187
    Like every other industry, IT will change as it matures. Some of these changes will mean extra opportunities, some will mean job cuts. That's just the way of the world, I'm afraid.

    Desktop support will be less important as virtualisation kicks in - self-healing operating systems, sandboxing, parallel copies of the O/S running, VDI using VMView/XenApp etc - will mean large-scale cuts in this area as companies make efficiencies. However, although some will use it as a means of cutting headcount and salaries, there will be definite expansion in the tier above (systems admin type roles) - at least for a few years - as this is implemented.

    IT will inevitably end up with a greater presence in the boardroom (as it has been doing over the past fifteen years) as even in the SME market, people will realise the need to make sure technology is leveraged (God I hate that word) to fit the best needs of the business. Plenty of opportunities at senior management level for people with a brain, business sense and good communication skills.

    I see the senior engineer sector (my current area) as remaining pretty steady. The nonsense of five/seven years ago (a sector over-populated by muppets who managed to con their way into it) has largely been eradicated. I'm meeting far less people at my level who don't have a Danny what they're doing than I did a few years back. I think they've either been pushed into project management roles (where they can't do any real damage - unless you count the hurt they inflict on 'real' engineers :biggrin) or have left the sector altogether to become car salesmen or some other equally worthless job. This is great for me - because it means that, when I choose to move on, I'm less likely to move into a job where one of these fools has run a company into the ground. There is enough cool stuff around at this level (Storage, Virtualisation, VoIP etc) in both the large-scale and SME markets to keep the decent people fat & giggly for some time.

    The largest sector I see being adversely affected is the server/desktop hardware sector. As virtualisation really kicks in, the server market will be decimated. As desktops are replaced by thin clients running remote desktops, the need for large-scale hardware rollouts will be equally squashed. Anyone working in a datacentre doing server installs and the like better upskill or retrain, because sooner or later they'll be ironed out.

    Perversely, I believe first line support will make something of a comeback over here in the next few years. Since large-scale offshoring of mundane support was done in the early part of the decade, businesses have at last begun to realise that they haemorrhage customers when they implement it. The big players (10,000 seats plus) will never return to the UK for support, simply because their stock price will dive too much if they start spending money on it. Smaller companies, however, are already starting to realise that having people who not only understand the language here but speak it natively is a massive benefit to them. Couple this with the economy's obvious need to get people off benefits and into the workforce and I think you'll see initiatives part-funded by the government to incentivise companies to bring their support back to the UK.

    The main point, of course, is to understand that what Phoenix says above is the absolute truth. If you love IT, you'll succeed in it. If you don't, you;re better off doing something else anyway.
     
    Certifications: A few
    WIP: None - f*** 'em
  9. LukeP

    LukeP Gigabyte Poster

    1,194
    41
    90
    Edit: Pre Zeb's post so might be not relevant as much. Should have refreshed.

    Personally I think exactly opposite. I think there will be more and more technology around and more things to support. I think there will be a lot more data centres and data centre work and less in house support.

    To be honest I can't wait to see all the new toys 2020 will bring. Also I wouldn't worry to much about being unable to find work in the future. More and more businesses are actually deploying some sort of infrastructure as they grow and big players build their own data centres.

    In general I think IT is quite future-proof career as opposed to many other professions which can be easily replaced by machines (which in turn need support).
     
    Last edited: Aug 1, 2010
    WIP: Uhmm... not sure
  10. ChrisH1979

    ChrisH1979 Byte Poster

    225
    9
    37
    I will welcome the accreditation standards, as has been said previously there has been many people in the job who have bluffed there way into a well paying job and not come up with the goods and have given the the rest of us a bad name. Qualifications like MCSE that are still well regarded but not as much as they used to be because of "paper MCSEs" braindumpers etc. Employers are now wise to these things and employ other essential methods to identify the real pros from the pretenders.
    This hasn't stopped the lower end from suffering though where low level IT jobs pay the same as someone who just answers phones with no knowledge. This is where our recommendations come from at this time. I hope that this will not be the case in another 10 years.
    Like many others on here 11 years into the game I am still studying and and training hard because of my passion but like you say it isn't for everyone.
     
    Certifications: MCITP:SA, MCSA, MCTS:Win 7, Application Infrastructure
    WIP: MCITP:EA
  11. rockstar6181

    rockstar6181 Byte Poster

    101
    1
    22
    Thank you for all the replies, I would class myself as a geek and I do love IT. My main worries are the competion and not enough jobs to go around.

    The take home message seems to be learn as much as possible and know your role (as the rock used to say - wwf joke).

    Can I run something else by you guys - In the past I have got sidetracked trying to pass an exam. What I mean by this is I would spend months stufying one topic so I know it well when maybe I could have put exam passing to one side and learnt a bit of everything so that I had good knowledge how everything works together (but maybe not enough to pass an exam on it) - whats peoples views on this?
     
    Certifications: A/N+ MCSA 2003
  12. Darkfunnyguy

    Darkfunnyguy Byte Poster

    195
    3
    22
    My view is general all the big companies who uses many server will be using virtual software such as VMware and Citrix but not small and some medium business companies as they will still be using one or two servers and desktop support work which IT Solutions providers to look after they computers and networks.
     
    Certifications: A+, N+, MCP, MCDST, MCSA 2003
    WIP: Server+, Vista,
  13. ChrisH1979

    ChrisH1979 Byte Poster

    225
    9
    37
    Do you still know these subjects well? If so then I say that is fine. It all comes down to quality over quantity. You could have crammed in a lot more but would you still remember it all?
     
    Certifications: MCITP:SA, MCSA, MCTS:Win 7, Application Infrastructure
    WIP: MCITP:EA
  14. michael78

    michael78 Terabyte Poster

    2,085
    29
    141
    I think small to medium sized companies will embrace technologies such as cloud technology as it will save them money on big costs such as hardware and salaries.
     
    Certifications: A+ | Network+ | Security+ | MCP | MCDST | MCTS: Hyper-V | MCTS: AD | MCTS: Exchange 2007 | MCTS: Windows 7 | MCSA: 2003 | ITIL Foundation v3 | CCA: Xenapp 5.0 | MCITP: Enterprise Desktop Administrator on Windows 7 | MCITP: Enterprise Desktop Support Technician on Windows 7
    WIP: Online SAN Overview, VCP in December 2011
  15. Darkfunnyguy

    Darkfunnyguy Byte Poster

    195
    3
    22
    Slypie about the Citrix CCA what exams and training you need to get to become a CCA?
     
    Certifications: A+, N+, MCP, MCDST, MCSA 2003
    WIP: Server+, Vista,
  16. michael78

    michael78 Terabyte Poster

    2,085
    29
    141
    For CCA you don't need to attend an official course so it can be self studied by passing exam 1Y0-A05 at a Pearson VUE test center. Also you can download a 1 year developer license of Xenapps 5.0 from their website to have a play around with. Look at Craigie's post for more info HERE.

    The biggest problem is that Citrix closely guard their study material hence the lack of books if you look on Amazon. I downloaded the study guide from Citrixxperience which is free and the Administrator's guide from Citrix's website which is very helpful (sorry can't find the link but do a search of Citrix website for it and it's freely available in PDF format). I've also heard the CBT Nuggets video's are good and might buy it if I feel I need to.
     
    Certifications: A+ | Network+ | Security+ | MCP | MCDST | MCTS: Hyper-V | MCTS: AD | MCTS: Exchange 2007 | MCTS: Windows 7 | MCSA: 2003 | ITIL Foundation v3 | CCA: Xenapp 5.0 | MCITP: Enterprise Desktop Administrator on Windows 7 | MCITP: Enterprise Desktop Support Technician on Windows 7
    WIP: Online SAN Overview, VCP in December 2011
  17. BosonMichael
    Honorary Member Highly Decorated Member Award 500 Likes Award

    BosonMichael Yottabyte Poster

    19,183
    500
    414
    Zeb and Phoenix are spot on.

    In any case, there will always be jobs available for intelligent people who are willing to adapt and learn.
     
    Certifications: CISSP, MCSE+I, MCSE: Security, MCSE: Messaging, MCDST, MCDBA, MCTS, OCP, CCNP, CCDP, CCNA Security, CCNA Voice, CNE, SCSA, Security+, Linux+, Server+, Network+, A+
    WIP: Just about everything!
  18. onoski

    onoski Terabyte Poster

    3,120
    51
    154
    I think everyone so far has speculated as no one knows or can predict the future:) well at least we can speculate. I personally think things would go the virtualised way as it's currently moving with things like green IT, reducing TCO etc.

    I work in the health care business and from working as a server support person we have recently started porting all our hardware servers to VM's via VMware ESX servers hostings etc.

    The IT business is forever changing and constantly means anyone serious about IT would have to move with the times by retrainig and constantly learning new technology.

    I don't know if this would mean less need for IT workers but believe there would be opportunities either way.

    Just my opinion and observation:)
     
    Last edited: Aug 2, 2010
    Certifications: MCSE: 2003, MCSA: 2003 Messaging, MCP, HNC BIT, ITIL Fdn V3, SDI Fdn, VCP 4 & VCP 5
    WIP: MCTS:70-236, PowerShell
  19. Phoenix
    Honorary Member

    Phoenix 53656e696f7220 4d6f64

    5,749
    200
    246
    Disagree
    small companies are some of the most agile and forward thinking outfits out there, they were some of the first to embrace virtualization, they are the first to embrace the cloud, and i imagine the day will come where they have no servers, and no hardware other than zero-clients with everything in the cloud, that way they concentrate on their business, not the business of looking after their infrastructure
     
    Certifications: MCSE, MCITP, VCP
    WIP: > 0
  20. Asterix

    Asterix Megabyte Poster

    515
    11
    52
    I think the job market will be pretty similar to now.................. either that or swing full circle and IT Engineers will need to support Novell systems and don BNC and coax skills!
     

Share This Page

Loading...
  1. This site uses cookies to help personalise content, tailor your experience and to keep you logged in if you register.
    By continuing to use this site, you are consenting to our use of cookies.