[EndOfGrowth]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Jotapay', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('EndOfGrowth', '
')or outsourcing?

[Jotapay]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('vision-master', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Jotapay', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('vision-master', 'T')his whole IT stuff has gotten out of hand. All IT did for the business I was in was complicate things. What a joke. REALLY.

[cube]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Jotapay', '.')..
I don't think that is an accurate assessment. I think the current state of information technology is not like a "bubble". Most companies that I know have a bare minimum of IT staff to run their current operations. There are no more catered free-lunch Fridays, foosball tables and refrigerators full of Snapple in the break room.

[Jotapay]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('EndOfGrowth', '
')Things like "efficiency" and "problem solving speed" take a lower priority when compaines are struggling to survive.

[vision-master]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('EndOfGrowth', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Jotapay', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('EndOfGrowth', '
')or outsourcing?

[EndOfGrowth]

And so it begins..

Link

[drgoodword]

Here's a couple of articles from last week related to this issue:

To Survive, Net Startups Slow Their Metabolism

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'T')o preserve cash, many tech start-ups are rushing to lay off employees and cut expenses. They are shelving their dreams of Google-size riches and getting small, humble and thrifty, all with the more modest goal of surviving the coming economic winter.

[mos6507]

Remember that the dot com bubble completely decimated the IT workforce. People moved away from IT in droves because they no longer saw money in it (maybe they went into real estate...). Now you have companies that are whining that there aren't enough programmers and they need more H1B visas and such.

Really, while we get paid more than we probably should, as a career it has its downsides that eventually drive people away. You put in lots of unofficial overtime, for one thing. Even though you are just moving bits and bytes around, one really bad line of code in a critical chunk can have terrible ramifications. So the stress level can be very high and people are constantly burning out. It can take a toll on your health. Insomnia and addiction to caffeine and nicotine are commonplace. And there is a strain of ageism because this is a very youth oriented profession. It's the young kids right out of college who are hungry enough and unencumbered enough to shine. But once you get older and you want to balance work with family, you're SOL. If you haven't graduated to middle management by your thirties you start to feel like Rodney Dangerfield in Back to School. So there is a lot of pressure to get out of mainline coding, thus requiring constant new blood to replace the turnover.

[galacticsurfer]

http://chronicle.com/wiredcampus/articl ... since-2000

The latest Taulbee Survey—set to be published in full by May—says that in 2007, undergraduate enrollment in computer-science programs had fallen to half of what it was in 2000 (15,958 to 7,915, to be exact).


The comments under the article are much more interesting.

[vision-master]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('galacticsurfer', 'h')ttp://chronicle.com/wiredcampus/article/2799/computer-science-enrollment-is-down-by-half-since-2000

The latest Taulbee Survey—set to be published in full by May—says that in 2007, undergraduate enrollment in computer-science programs had fallen to half of what it was in 2000 (15,958 to 7,915, to be exact).


The comments under the article are much more interesting.

[Jotapay]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('vision-master', '
')How anyone can stay sane being chanined behind a desk in a windowless room with fluorescent lights beating down on ya is beyond me?

[frankthetank]

Vision-

I've got to agree. I guess i've watched "Office Space" about a 100 too many times.

Although i'm guessing a lot of IT people travel and don't some work from home?

[nobodypanic]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('vision-master', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('EndOfGrowth', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Jotapay', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('EndOfGrowth', '
')or outsourcing?

[Ainan]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('vision-master', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('galacticsurfer', 'h')ttp://chronicle.com/wiredcampus/article/2799/computer-science-enrollment-is-down-by-half-since-2000

The latest Taulbee Survey—set to be published in full by May—says that in 2007, undergraduate enrollment in computer-science programs had fallen to half of what it was in 2000 (15,958 to 7,915, to be exact).


The comments under the article are much more interesting.

[EnergyUnlimited]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Ainan', '
')Also, what advice can the more experienced give to a young pup just entering the industry?

[pedalling_faster]

Dreamworks Animation has about 35 job openings split between Glendale & Redwood City, so i guess there's still a market for visual effects skills.

what i hear from computer people headhunters is things like "worst i've seen it (the economy) in 25 years".

[Falconoffury]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'R')eally, while we get paid more than we probably should, as a career it has its downsides that eventually drive people away. You put in lots of unofficial overtime, for one thing. Even though you are just moving bits and bytes around, one really bad line of code in a critical chunk can have terrible ramifications. So the stress level can be very high and people are constantly burning out. It can take a toll on your health. Insomnia and addiction to caffeine and nicotine are commonplace.

[frankthetank]

My brother in law was going to school for computer animation (Minneapolis), but didn't care for what he was doing so dropped out and went into a different field, different school.

SO once you are over 35 your no longer wanted? What about Best Buy's "Geek Squad"...can a 36 IT person get a job there?

[retiredguy]

I worked in the IT industry for 32 years before retiring. The last 15 years I spent doing systems work.

As I got older, the stress started really working on me. When I was younger, it was exciting to get those 2AM phone calls telling me one of my systems was down. Not so after I turned 50.

The other reason I retried is the trend which devalued work in-house employees did over that provided by consultants and packages. When I started, we wrote and maintained all of our own software. In the 90s, senior management got what we called "airline magazine" disease where they believed they could reduce costs dramatically by buying packages and outsourcing labor.

For the most part, the packages they bought didn't fit the institution's business model and were hugely expensive to maintain and run. Since we didn't have access to the source code, we were totally dependent on the vendor for code support. If their code sucked, we had to struggle to make it work and got the blame.

The trends in the 90s sucked the creativity out of my job. I'm very happy to be retired.

[Jotapay]

Since we are on the subject, I'll be honest and say I drink about 3 times more than I would otherwise, if I did not have this job. Lots of exercise or self-medication is needed for this job unless you just don't feel any stress. I don't do any drugs, so alcohol it is.

I think the worst thing to happen to an IT person is for the IT person to take the time and care, to work hard, code and implement a system that works very well, does it's job, and requires virtually no maintenance. The system runs like a swiss watch, notifying the IT staff the second a problem happens with all the information needed to fix it, thus ensuring continued smooth operation. BUT, then management gives responsibility of those systems to a programmer with less experience, and places you on one of the most important but most problematic and headache systems in the company for you to babysit. Absolutely maddening.

It sucks and can drive you bat shit insane, but I'm not complaining since the pay for that sort of work can be more than what 95% of the households in the USA make. But it can drive you crazy and make an alcoholic out of you.