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Home > Archive > Certifications and IT jobs/Salaries > October 2005 > IT Field - Longrun
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IT Field - Longrun
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| Psugak 2005-08-09, 11:17 pm |
| Any of you wonder how long you will be in the I.T. field? I am 26 and I fear by the time I hit 50, that I will be undercut by some young whippersnipper fresh out of college or by mexicans who finally went to college and work for cheap. I feel that I.T. is only for the young and naive. Beware people. Go into a field who respects and rewards people of all ages. Such as medical field  . Any of you think the same thing>? Or do you think your company is so loyal to you that they would never let you go for someone who will do the same job for less pay. BEWARE BEWARE BEWARE, its a doggydogg world. I am reevaluating my options and if i do stick it out with I.T., i will try to geton at N.A.S.A or with a federal agency. Anywho, best of luck to all of you! | |
| acruth7284 2005-08-09, 11:47 pm |
| Well if the IT industry stays the way it is, requiring many years of experience for the good jobs, age shouldn't be a problem. You can't substitute book knowledge for experience. As long as you stay current, there should not be a problem. Certifications are a good way to do this. | |
| Psugak 2005-08-09, 11:54 pm |
| Thats assuming the company really needs an expert because overtime, you will want more money to compensate you for your experience and "uptodate" certifications. Once the company realizes that its all about the bottom dollar, not about experts, then say goodbye. For instance, the company i work for pays our best programmer 34k a year, what a joke. Doesnt matter what kind of experience he has or education. The company is all about the dollar , profit. The more they pay you, the less profit they make. I admit though, most youngsters will not be able to compete with the experience, but that also might mean we might have to settle for less because of being overqualified. | |
| curiousgeorge 2005-08-10, 12:54 pm |
| Older people with a lot of experience face the threat of being replaced by younger people in every industry.
The key is to keep up your skills. You always want to prove you know just a LITTLE bit more than the young guys. And that you are always eager to learn new things.
That's the downfall of many older, more experienced people. At some point they feel they don't have to learn new things. And that's when hiring a young kid who is eager to learn looks like a good option. | |
| Psugak 2005-08-10, 11:58 pm |
| Well put. Thanks for your response! | |
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| IT is a young industry, it requires more passion to keep your attention and more energy to keep your activity.
It's lucky for a guy to get a higher position after several years, most of the IT workerscontinue their overtime work even they have a family.
The best for you is to get a higher title or turn to other fields. So good luck!
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| npo3po 2005-08-12, 12:36 am |
| Last time i checked there's nothing better than being your own boss.
Cheers
Amir | |
| walterbyrd 2005-08-28, 1:21 pm |
| IT is probably the least secure of any career field. You can get dumped at the drop of a hat, for no good reason, and finding another job can be very difficult.
Age matters in IT more than other fields. Many companies consider a programmer to be washed up at 35.
Employers are exporting IT jobs as fast as they possibly can. Going into IT now would be like going to automobile manufacturing, or the steel industry, in the 80s.
I am 46, and have worked in IT since I was 20. If I could turn back the clock, I would stay as far away from IT as possible. The period from 1995 - 2000, was extremely unusual, there is no reason to think it will ever happen again. Now there is a huge glut, and there will be for quite some time.
JMHO. | |
| johnaspen 2005-10-11, 9:10 pm |
| Necessary appology for reviving an old thread. Sorry!
Now that that's out of the way, I'd like to interject some of the statistics I've seen since this thread became so negative. I've also thought about the age factor and will likely look at post-secondary teaching positions when I get "old" (who knows when that is). But for the mid-term outlook on IT, the overall US job growth is projected at about 10% over the next 5 years. In comparison, job growth specifically in the IT field is expected to grow 50% creating a shortage and we all know what that means. High schoolers are not choosing the IT field right now because they're scared silly from all the bad press. I live in Sioux Falls SD were Gateway closed a huge call center last year, and no body wants to get into IT here for that reason. But, ADP is building a brand new hot-standby facility here and eventually I expect my city and the US to see some major improvement.
We never know for sure what the future holds, but it's always good to do what you enjoy so stick with it! |
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