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This article was published in the June, 2004 issue of
the Technology First Magazine.
Dayton, OH
June 1, 2004 -
Employment Vision
Through The Prism of IT Employment Trends
By Jena Roytman, Director of Business
Development, Roytman Information Services, Inc.
 We
are living in an interesting economy. An increased unemployment
rate, layoffs, and downsizing are a huge part of everyday
life. If it has not affected your company, your customers
or your family directly, chances are, you at least know somebody
who has been laid off, downsized, or lost their job due to
poor business or cost reduction efforts in the last three
years. Being in IT employment and consulting business for
a long time, I have to admit, we currently see a talent readily
available on the market at affordable rates, that I never
thought would be available 5-6 years ago. Following 3+ years
of continuous cost cutting, local companies appear to remain
tentative about launching into new projects as they still
await further signs of an economic recovery. 
Encouraging Statistics
So it might really come as a surprise that the situation is
not all that gloomy. According to a study by the Bureau of
Labor Statistics (BLS) the fastest growing occupations in
the United States are IT or computer related. In fact, each
of the top seven fastest growing professions projected through
2010 is in Information Technology industry. (see box to the
right)
BLS prediction through 2010 includes a 100 percent growth
in computer software engineering positions specializing in
applications. Moreover, it anticipates a half a million growth
in new positions for computer support specialists. These projections
will add well over 1.5 million new jobs over first decade
of the 21st century. On a state level, IT is the fastest-growing
industry sector in Ohio second to none, with expected 65%
growth in the next several years according to recent state
employment research publications.
Thus, even the poor economy, "jobless recovery"
and continuous media reports about loss of American jobs to
offshore companies can not hide the fact that IT hiring is
growing, the career outlook for IT professionals is looking
brighter, and will continue to improve in the near future.
What Are You Looking For?
No doubt, the times have changed. Have expectations of employees
and employers changed as well? Very much so. Awakened by the
failure of top dot-com companies, sobered by the subsequent
recession with major layoffs, IT professionals of today are
not looking for sky-high salaries, corporate perks or lucrative
stock options. Lasting employment security, stability, solid
health-care benefits and professional development are factors
considered above everything else in a potential job. Nowadays
professionals in search of employment are interested in joining
reliable companies with steady growth histories and positive
forecasts. In our recent experience, more jobseekers than
ever question the history of a position they're being recruited
to fill, “how” and “why” was it created
and what are the prospects for professional growth.
Diversity of technical skills and versatile professional abilities
became the most important qualifications. Even the experienced
professionals are seeking opportunities to broaden their technical
horizons, invest time and energy to learn newer technologies
and search out openings in multi-system, cross-platform environments.
Programmers learn networking, network engineers study operations,
operators revisit hardware.
Not only it is important for individual careers, but also
that is what companies are currently looking for. Where we
once saw generic requests for Visual Basic developers, we
are now asked to find candidates with specific release of
a programming language expertise as well as related databases,
ERP systems, and hardware technologies. Thus, a “VB
Developer Wanted” job ad of 1998 now includes a lengthy
list of absolutely required, “can’t miss”
skills and abilities.
This is IT!
As more companies move towards business automation and demand
for the skilled talent continues to increase, compensation
for Information Technology jobs is expected to grow as well.
However, for the time being salaries for most IT jobs are
off by as much as 20% from pay rates seen a few years ago
based on some salary surveys.
With recovering economy and overall growth of corporate revenue,
expenditure on new or deferred IT projects is also expected
to rise. Yet, a steady emphasis on cost reduction and lean
operations will drive most organizations to look for domestic
IT contractors as well as offshore software development efforts
to help supplement their in-house teams.
So the next time a high school senior asks your advise about
a career path, feel safe to suggest Information Technology
over philosophy, psychology or professional basketball.
Jena Roytman is a Director, Business Development of Roytman
Information Services, Inc., a Dayton, Ohio-based provider
of Career Placement and Consulting Solutions in Information
Technology, Management and Engineering. Established in 1995
by Mikhail and Jena Roytman, the company has been growing
consistently in a highly competitive industry. For additional
information please visit http://www.roytmanIS.com
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