IT Industry question for you gurus
 

Long time member, using a different account because this stuff gets googled nowadays (when your profile is your name, that's not paranoia)

I am having a bit of a career reset moment in the IT industry, as I am moving and looking at job postings, and I was wondering what others in the field believe is the smart way to go... (the rest of you, you'll find this boring, feel free to move along)

It seems to me that while I wasn't looking, IT turned on its head:
Skills are becoming crazy specific. Just as an example, QA jobs (not my thing but a backup plan) now require high level C++ and/or Java coding plus 5 different automation tools (selenium python, ruby, you name it). IMO people possessing all those skills would take a programmer's salary instead. From past experience (3 times now), most IT functions eventually get outsourced to service providers (which provide crap service but are good for the bottom line), hardware infrastructure goes to big server farms (same rationale), and IT people get outsourced to India. "Agile" and "Scrum" have become code words for "sweat shops" now. Am I being negative ? That's just my experience in 3 big software development companies in the last 20y.

I let myself get painted into a corner by administering a "too specific" software deployment tool for too long, which was a fun job, but not super common, and therefore I gotta think plan B.. What do you IT gurus see as a stable, in demand Plan B in the industry, that allows you to at least pickup your kids after school now and then?

I think pure coding isn't my thing, scripting OK... Systems analysis seems to be more an art than a science, and they generally want architect level folks... Business analysts, I never really understood the need for, if the IT guys aren't complete nerds and can use their words. I am not terribly attracted to project management either because every PM I've dealt with made me want to rip my hair calling for repetitive meetings that advanced nothing... Then most support functions (from network, Server admins, Desktop admins) seems to recruit at lower levels now and have horrendous hours / midnight calls... I'd like at least to pick up the kids from school on a semi-regular basis (after 5, even if it means getting in at 6:30AM).

Just wondering what your thoughts are in general, on the industry, ideas, comments, whatever… Maybe it's just in my head.

No, it's not in your head. The industry has moved on. You might call it IT, but is it really? You were probably doing what is currently called DevOps.

Join some groups in meetup.com and join some tech groups in your area. Learn and network. If you stay static, you're going to get left behind as you have already realized. Get current and familiar with the tools and technology if you want to stay in the field.

Good luck.

I don't know if this suits you but I'm moving towards a training roll. I've been a tech then team leader for a long time and the writing is on the wall IMO.

Yes, Lots of off shoring and the guys in India (China for projects management) work hard but honestly at times you have to ask yourself if the whole off shoring thing is really the best way to go.
For day to day stuff then yes it works but when something breaks you always need a good tech on the ground.

I've been in the IT industry for 15 years now and have seen the industry evolve. Tools and technology are becoming so intelligent and advanced that in the foreseeable future a lot of the middle level positions (such as sys admin types) will be eliminated through automation. Their jobs will be taken over by high level enterprise architect types that will design and implement that automation. Our admins do not even create user accounts anymore as they are automatically created via an HR process. Our desktops are virtualized using zero clients so hardware is simple and refreshing the OS on all of the desktops is a non issue. Because of this simplicity that was designed and implemented by a high-level enterprise architect type you will see more unskilled and lower cost boots on the ground.

One area that is really hot right now is software repackaging. That is where you prepare software for deployment en mass and remediate OS compatibility issues. This skill is needed regardless of how advanced the infrastructure is and covers both virtualization and traditional installs and i don't see that going away ever unless every application went web based which isn't going to happen in my lifetime.

Modern IT professionals need to be well rounded so they can see the big picture and have that enterprise view. You need the network, virtualization(software and hardware), database, storage, application, desktop engineering, scripting, and in our environment active directory skills to be successful.

My highest priority from the business (as an architect) is to "automate" as much as possible, just as 930 posted above. About the only guys I see with a future proof job are security specialists since it can't be easily outsourced to another country.

You dissed the BA group but they don't get outsourced. Leverage your business-side contacts and get over to that side and help them bridge to IT. They rarely outsource themselves.

How much time have you been in with the same company? Spent too much time with Zenworks eh? Don't sell PM short. If they're all $chit PMs that you've encountered, think how good you could be now that you know what not to do.

It's what I do, make as much (or more) as the senior architecture guys and have never worried about being outsourced or laid off.

Private message me if you want to talk.

I've been in IT for almost 25 years. The only constant is change. You need to adapt, and realize that the hot skill you have today will be a commodity tomorrow. I used to be able to bill $100/hr just to do basic PC TCP/IP stuff - now it's all built-in and automatic. When I started my last job, I was one of 7 sysadmins. When I left, I was the only one. At the same time, we went from ~150 systems to 2500. Now I'm doing a mix of 'build engineering' and cloud stuff. Next year? Who knows?

I hear ya....
I've been doing IT for over 30 years and have had my own consulting company for the past 16. You have to find out what you like to do and what you want to do. Mobile is huge now and i have split my skills between Enterprise Architecture and Enterprise Mobility Management.

I love what i do but running a business and working with it takes its' toll.

I have had a few staff that got burned out and completely got out of IT and did something they wanted to try and never looked back.

Good luck in what ever you choose!

I'm leaving IT. Should be wrapping it up completely in 4 years, when the current owners of my biggest client retire. 18+ years. I've had enough. It's been a roller coaster of a ride.

My other source of income has been increasing from making the 917 inspired shift knobs. I'm much happier being alone in the workshop.

Good luck!

There was a joke 10 odd years ago. Something to the effect of:

How can you tell a good sys admin?

He's the fat one, leaning back in his chair (in flip flops), always napping. Why? Because he's automated as much as possible.

There is life outside of IT LOL. With all the good money made over the years your investments should be starting to pay off. I did 20 or 25 years of IT and don't miss it for a minute.

PM sent

That's ironic because that was 50% of my job(repackaging), and still I don't see tons of jobs in that field... But thanks for your insight, it seems to correspond to what I'm seeing.

Good point! I don't necessarily diss them, I just don't understand how there's a need for them if the IT folks know how to use their words...But I guess not all IT folks do ;-)

I left IT 6 years ago. I've considered going back, but this thread is reminding me of why I left.

I got into the industry back when a network engineer actually did a lot of hands on work. As time when on, everything became automated. I specialized in MS Exchange and Sharepoint so I had a skill set that was marketable, but I simply found it very boring.

If I got back in, it would be in the security arena. Difficult (and in some cases legally impossible) for companies to offshore.

This was a bit of my route. Was in IT for 12 years, and been in Business/Sales Operations for the last 7...

If you want to stay in tech, always keep up-to-date through training, and as another poster said, network network network (not the tech term :) ).

I think the industry is contracting quickly. Not sure where to go next myself.

I am getting a degree in security now. Been doing this stuff over 20 years and it always changes. Most people I know in the BA field make much better salary than I do as an IT director.

We can't hire them fast enough. We interview software packagers over the phone and by the time we make our decision (usually about a week) the ones we want have already accepted other contracts. This has happened every hiring round. The one working in my group is constantly getting calls for jobs. This is contract work and we pay these guys tons of money - like six figures - plus housing, airfare and meal allowances.