My rant on what happened to the IT jobs

[Sir Kenyth]

IT seemed such a lucrative field when I first entered it. Everyone wanted and needed computer savvy people. Even relatively inexperienced ones like me at that point. Now, years later, when I'm competetive, I'm still at the same basic level. The job market is saturated and employers are jaded because of all the money they spent on Y2K preparation. I didn't realize how many businesses were disgusted by computer systems and the maintenance cost. They are also disgusted by "Boot-Camp" trained and certified IT employees who hardly knew how to load software.

There's something that ticks me off! The people who made my certifications and training somewhat meaningless! The schools and students dedicated to circumventing the test process and sending untrained candidates into the job market. Here's what they do. First they send people to take the tests and fail. Their job is to remember as many of the questions as they can. They write down the questions as soon as they get out of the test. The school uses these as a guideline for a curriculum based on memorizing answers without comprehending them. Then enroll a bunch of people who have never touched a computer outside the mouse and keyboard memorize the answers and immediately take the test. Some pass by chance, others fail. Now start the whole process over again. How would you feel as an employer if you just hired a guy who had the certification blessings of the industry standard, and then he stands there playing with the computer like a chimp! Completely clueless as to what to do. No wonder they don't trust certified techs anymore! Let's face it. Most HR people don't know the details of the jobs they are hiring for. They trust diplomas and certifications to guide them in assessing your skill. If they're burned by a certain credential once, they wont trust it again.

It seems everywhere I look around here, all I see is underemployed or unemployed IT people! Many businesses don't even keep an on-site technician anymore! Even the local ISP only hires one fully trained network technician. All the other employees are $9 an hour and 16 hour class trained phone answerers! The only thing saving me is I have a couple unique tertiary skills and I got my name around in the right circles. I'm still not working at the level I should be at and it doesn't look like I'll have the chance soon. I'm certainly disillusioned about this "lucrative" field now! All I can do is keep spending money on education, fight for as much experience as I can get in the job place and contemplate moving to a metropolitan area like Chicago.

Wow! What a rant huh? Hopefully things look up soon.

[ 04-02-2002, 03:48 PM: Message edited by: Sir Kenyth ]

[The.Relic]

Sir Kenyth, my heart goes out to you. We have seen similar situations arise in other fields of endeavor in the past. I am glad however that your name is 'known' in some important circles and that you haven't lost heart and will continue to perservere. Best wishes to you.

[Blade]

Know what you mean its like the tech's who say reboot the computer to fix a problem if it was that easy i could have handled it o well thats why i never call them for help [img]tongue.gif[/img]

[Sir Kenyth]

Originally posted by The.Relic: Sir Kenyth, my heart goes out to you. We have seen similar situations arise in other fields of endeavor in the past. I am glad however that your name is 'known' in some important circles and that you haven't lost heart and will continue to perservere. Best wishes to you.

Thanks Relic! If you don't mind me asking, what other fields have seen this happen?

[Azred]

Originally posted by Blade: Know what you mean its like the tech's who say reboot the computer to fix a problem if it was that easy i could have handled it o well thats why i never call them for help [img]tongue.gif[/img]

Well, sometimes that is the fix. Besides, I used to work as a tech and I'd sometimes have to tell people how to install a program or restart their computer. Truly amazing, yes?

[Blade]

lol this is true for some people i one was asked by someone i know: How do you make the computer work it isn't turning on? first thing i asked is it pluged in? Reply: Pluged in whats that? anyway you get the picture but there should be a seperate phone number or contact for thoes of us who know about computers. My parents called to ask about fixing their computer to a tech service and then put me on the line and i knew more than he did one would think i should know less not taking any certifications or anything.

Originally posted by Sir Kenyth: IT seemed such a lucrative field when I first entered it. Everyone wanted and needed computer savvy people. Even relatively inexperienced ones like me at that point. Now, years later, when I'm competetive, I'm still at the same basic level. The job market is saturated and employers are jaded because of all the money they spent on Y2K preparation. I didn't realize how many businesses were disgusted by computer systems and the maintenance cost. They are also disgusted by "Boot-Camp" trained and certified IT employees who hardly knew how to load software. There's something that ticks me off! The people who made my certifications and training somewhat meaningless! The schools and students dedicated to circumventing the test process and sending untrained candidates into the job market. Here's what they do. First they send people to take the tests and fail. Their job is to remember as many of the questions as they can. They write down the questions as soon as they get out of the test. The school uses these as a guideline for a curriculum based on memorizing answers without comprehending them. Then enroll a bunch of people who have never touched a computer outside the mouse and keyboard memorize the answers and immediately take the test. Some pass by chance, others fail. Now start the whole process over again. How would you feel as an employer if you just hired a guy who had the certification blessings of the industry standard, and then he stands there playing with the computer like a chimp! Completely clueless as to what to do. No wonder they don't trust certified techs anymore! Let's face it. Most HR people don't know the details of the jobs they are hiring for. They trust diplomas and certifications to guide them in assessing your skill. If they're burned by a certain credential once, they wont trust it again. It seems everywhere I look around here, all I see is underemployed or unemployed IT people! Many businesses don't even keep an on-site technician anymore! Even the local ISP only hires one fully trained network technician. All the other employees are $9 an hour and 16 hour class trained phone answerers! The only thing saving me is I have a couple unique tertiary skills and I got my name around in the right circles. I'm still not working at the level I should be at and it doesn't look like I'll have the chance soon. I'm certainly disillusioned about this "lucrative" field now! All I can do is keep spending money on education, fight for as much experience as I can get in the job place and contemplate moving to a metropolitan area like Chicago. Wow! What a rant huh? Hopefully things look up soon.

Can I drill you about this?

[Sir Kenyth]

Originally posted by Phil McCavity: Can I drill you about this?

Listen here spam-meister, don't you think that line is getting a little old?

Sir K. You make a very good point. I too believe it is both maddening and sad that the paper mills are churning out such chaff

I recently met a cabbie who has never even seen a computer in person but is enrolling in a course gaurenteed to get him certified in 6 weeks...wooobaby I would hate to be the bozo who hires him.

On the other hand, good managers can usually spot the fakes from the real Mccoy in 5 minutes of interviewing, so work on sharpening your interview skills and the $$$$ will still be there for you....assuming you live in a large enough population center [img]smile.gif[/img]

[Sir Kenyth]

Originally posted by MagiK: Sir K. You make a very good point. I too believe it is both maddening and sad that the paper mills are churning out such chaff I recently met a cabbie who has never even seen a computer in person but is enrolling in a course gaurenteed to get him certified in 6 weeks...wooobaby I would hate to be the bozo who hires him. On the other hand, good managers can usually spot the fakes from the real Mccoy in 5 minutes of interviewing, so work on sharpening your interview skills and the $$$$ will still be there for you....assuming you live in a large enough population center [img]smile.gif[/img]

I think population center is one of my problems. The closest decent sized city is South Bend, Indiana. Unfortunately, all the surrouding areas work in SB and the job competition is pretty high. I have seriously considered moving closer to Chicago, but I like suburbs and wooded areas. Gary, Indiana is supposed to be a terrible place to live but it's closer than Chicago. All the head hunters I talk to have jobs in the Chicago area and that's about it. It seems like I live in a dead zone.