We in the field need to have our feelers out on where our careers are going. We need to continually earn our keep in this environment. This week's ComputerWorld has a Special Report on the IT Profession: 2010. It's worth a read. Here are some summary points I pulled from these and other articles.
· The IT worker of the future will be more of a versatilist. They'll need to know more and more about the business context. They'll need skills more than just those at the keyboard. They'll need to be able to develop relationships with business units, develop and communicate ideas, maybe present. They'll need to be active problem-solvers, individually and in groups. They will need to be perpetual learners. This isn't a career for wallflowers. We need movers and shakers. ITS students, heed notice. You, my friends, will be leading us in another decade or two.
Here's another quip:
Line Between Business and IT Blurs.
"The IT department will still exist, but the sharpest tech workers will move effortlessly between IT and business units.
As more CIOs move toward business and IT alignment over the next several years, the makeup and structure of IT will change. IT and business unit employees will work more closely together -- and in some cases, interchangeably.
But today's technology leaders say this trend doesn't signal an end to the independent IT department, which still plays a critical role in companies by providing the structure, expertise and continuity needed to build and maintain a strong infrastructure." http://computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&taxonomyName=careers&articleId=112368&taxonomyId=10 ComputerWorld July 17, 2006
Anyone interested in the future of IT in the USA should read Paul Craig Roberts's article:
http://www.counterpunch.org/roberts09302006.html
It is an antidote to the kool-aid that pours out from people like Tom Friedmann and that Dwight has bought into.
And if you don't believe what Roberts writes, then I have just one question for you: where are those good middle-class jobs going to come from in the millions needed? Remember, the USA hits 300 million people this month and is projected to add another 120 million in just the next 44 years. The message given out by the drinkers of the kool-aid ignores that and says: work real hard, accumulate a lot of debt in your continuous schooling, and you might be one of the lucky ones who has a good job in the future. At least until you can be replaced by someone cheaper, somewhere in the world.