With all the outsourcing, should I even get into IT??

Were you in Computer Programming/networking at Dell ? and did your degree helped you get that job at Dell ?

So what are you doing now ? Are you planning to be out of Tech job ? or will you eventually be back ? I think some people specially technical ones find it difficult to get into some thing other than tech stuff.

 

I was a lead test technician then went onto become a lab manger, then back to testing before being let go. I think my degree helped, but the fact that the other individual being hired for the position failing to show for the interview held also. This was the second job I interviewed for at Dell. I do think my degree helped.

I could have easily gone back to being a grease monkey/tire jocky again, but I hate being dirty. I got lucky, and I am in the family business that has nothing to do with computers. I do some techie work from time to time, but not often due to the fact that the family business keeps me busy. I really have no plans to go back into the tech sector. The only thing that could propell me back into that sector is if we sold the family business, and I don't see that happening.

 

People seem to be forgetting one impoirtant point, when companies outsource their IT they are doing it for a couple of reasons (not offshore there is a difference). First they want to have to pay for a full time IT person. Second, generally, they don't want to have to mess with it. Companies are in business to make money, if their network goes down, they aren't making money. Bring on the consultant. I am currently going back to school to get my BS in ISS, one of my instructors makes a very successful living as an IT consultant. He has a new that pays him a retainer fee of $750.00 per month, plus he has several other clients that are on a per call or contingency fee basis. To me this is the way to go in IT right now. It is what I am working toward, setting up my own business as an IT consultant.

You will find that small businesses and individuals do not want to have to take the time to learn "everything" about computers, when they can have someone else fix it for them, it is much easier. It is very surprising to find out how many people really know very little about their computers, and that's where we come in. If we can fix their problem in a short amount of time, with minimal down time, then most places will gladly pay for the services.

Yeah the money isn't six-figures, but it's decent.

Just my $.02.

 

though you make a good point, I thikn alot of what people are talking aobut is all the computer jobs that are leaving the country. Beit either phonecenter or programming jobs. What you plan on doing is a great idea, but I can tell you from personal experience its hard to find clients that don't already have someone. Good luck to you though.

 

yes its a good point but very difficult to break into. What are you planning to do when you say "IT Consultant". Do you mean doing hardware fixing and/or computer networking ? or do you also want to look into Software development for companies including web development using latest OO tools and Languages (e.g J2EE). The second is difficult and I am not sure how a business/company of a single person can do that.

 

Of course there will always be a place for break/fix techs. the areas I'm concerned with are hardware and network setup, upgrade and repair. Software development is not something one would want to tackle as a consultant. I'm not even sure it could be done by one person.

 

Perhaps my definition of software consulting differs from jb4479's, but independent software consulting is actually very common. Consultants are often brought in to complement an existing team where the requirements of a job exceed the team's expertise a/o resources. For instance I'm currently working w/ a larger IT outsourcing company developing an HTTP streaming solution. It's more efficient for them to bring me on than to assign developers from other divisions of the company.

There is also still some work available developing software for small and medium sized businesses, though the downturn has reduced this market significantly. I think that independent consulting is a viable career, but it is much more risky than a salaried position.
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I think that people who are attempting to get into IT need to be sure that they are suited to the demands of the area they intend to enter. I've met alot of people that had entered IT within the past 5 or 6 years and are miserable. If you're not someone who would be dabbling in your field without the incentive of a salary , then IMO you should pursue another career.

 

Saw this on CNN

Jobs abound in India's tech sector

BANGALORE, India (Reuters) --Software engineer Prakash just quit his job in Bangalore, but he's not worried.

"The market is booming. I can pick and choose a firm of my choice," said the 28-year-old engineer, who has been in the industry for about five years.

Companies are slashing payrolls in the United States and Europe to cut costs, moving software work offshore and creating thousands of jobs for India's low-cost engineers.

Headhunters are scrambling to fill the new jobs.

"The shelf life of a job hunter has come down to two weeks from about two months," said Gautam Sinha, chief executive at TVA Infotech, which is placing about 90 software workers a month, double the number from the start of the year.

Top home-grown software exporters such as Wipro Ltd and Infosys Technologies Ltd are also on a hiring spree but the bulk of their staff additions are entry-level positions.

India's software sector, including the back-office services industry, added 130,000 -- nearly 25 percent -- to its workforce in the year to March, taking the sector to 650,000. Wage costs are rising but are not yet a threat for a nation that churns out about 200,000 engineers per year, analysts say.

Software workers with two years of experience are paid about 25,000 rupees ($545) a month, roughly one sixth of what their U.S. counterparts earn but a princely wage in a country with an average per capita income of $480 a year.

"Multinational company salaries are 50 to 60 percent higher at the entry-level and 30 percent higher at the middle management level when compared with Indian IT services companies," Bombay-based Kotak Securities Ltd said in a recent report.

Wage hikes
A fall in U.S. employment visas for foreign workers is partly driving the expansion plans of high-tech firms such as IBM, Accenture Ltd and Oracle Corp. in India. Visa curbs discourage Indians from seeking employment abroad and some are returning from a stint overseas.

"Clearly, the romance of jobs overseas is no longer there for most Indian techies," said Pandia Rajan, the managing director at Ma Foi Management Consultants, a leading headhunter.

Walk-in interviews are common in the shining offices of companies in the technology hubs of Bangalore, Madras and Hyderabad in the south and Delhi and Bombay in the west.

India's call centers have been magnets for job-hunting youth in the past few years, but it is only in the last six months that software jobs are flooding the market after a two-year crunch. India's software services exports rose to $9.5 billion in the past year to March and are forecast to grow 26 percent this year.

"Many Indians overseas are uncertain about their tech jobs and are coming back," said Smita Goswamy, who runs HR Solutions, a small consultancy in the western city of Baroda.

International hiring
A full-page advertisement from IBM screams: "The global giant is at your desktop with the opportunity of a lifetime. Can you afford to ignore it?"

Internet media giant Yahoo Inc. and Fidelity Investments, the number one mutual fund firm, are among other large companies moving technical support work to India.

Yahoo, which set up a software center in Bangalore in July, is tapping local colleges for talent, said Venkat Panchapakesan, who shifted from Yahoo's U.S. center to head its software unit.

Accenture and Oracle are expanding furiously but their staff in India is still less than a quarter of Infosys and Wipro, which employ about 17,000 and 21,000 people respectively.

"Overseas firms are even hiring from mid-sized local players," said Bangalore-based Shambhu Agrawal, who handles technology placements at ABC Consultants.

http://www.cnn.com/2003/TECH/biztech/10/04/india.jobs.reut/index.html

 

Tough questions.

If working in IT is truly where your heart is, then I would say you should pursue it. When it comes to the future, there is no such thing as a sure thing. There is no area of study that can absolutely gauruntee you a well-paying or stable job. so, if being in IT is truly what you desire, then I think you should follow it through. Anecdotaly, I know a guy who wanted to be a drummer. He was a damned good drummer, but his folks insisted he go to medical school. Now he is a successful, well-paid, gainfully employed, and unhappy doctor who wishes he had been a drummer.

On the other hand, if the original reason for getting into computer studies was because it was well paying and in demand, then you may very well want to take a step back and re-evaluate things. Finding jobs in IT right now is not easy. Of course, that doesn't mean things won't change in the future, but there are probably many choices for other degrees that are more likely to land you something better paying out of school right now.


Finally, FWIW, I am currently gainfully employed in IT. Industry certifications helped alot at the beginning, but it seems they do not hold the same value now as they once did. I am now in the process of finishing my BSCS through DL. Regardless of what industry you decide to go into, definately continue on with your education, as it will undoubtedly be a rewarding experience.


-Wolf

 

One thing I can say, based on what is happening with the company I work for, is that the best job security is in mid-to-upper management. They continue to grow, while everyone below them is slowly marching to the unemployment office. How do you get in with those folks? Get your MBA, it seems. That's one thing that all the new executives seem to have in common with each other (aside from things like, "Helped create and staff support/research center in India" or "Worked as a consultant to assist companies in right-sizing").