Endangered IT Species

For this week's blog, I am going a little off kilter.  I have recently relocated and am having a difficult time finding work.  I know between the economy and my lack of experience, it is more difficult finding something, but it is very frustrating.  I have gone back to school, received my Bachelor's Degree, am working on my Graduate Degree, interned for a little over a year with TD Ameritrade, and still find myself on the "lack of experience" train.

It is frustrating.  How are we to get experience if we are not given the chance.  Yes, I have a year's worth of experience, but it is very difficult finding something with so little experience.  Another thing hampering my job search is the fact that although it has been said that IT security specialists will be in high demand in the near future, I am not seeing that yet.

I received an e-mail that discussed the 9 most endangered IT species in a whimsical manner that I found interesting and I will relay here.

The piece was entitled "The most 9 endangered species in IT.  The IT job landscape is evolving quickly.  Here's how to avoid IT extinction".  It discussed positions that IT Specialists see in jeopardy and how to adjust to keep from getting pushed out of the field.

The first endangered species is the brown-nosed naysayer which this piece describes as person who commanded all tech decisions with the simple word "no" in the name of security and/or budget concerns.  However, with the new "bring your own device" revolution hitting the business world, along with cloud services, this "species" is now harmless and will soon find itself phased out of the business environment.  In order to avoid extinction, it is recommended this species begin practicing the word "yes" and embrace this new revolution.  It is further recommended this species assist in developing a mobile device management strategy and policy for the enforcement of social media use.

The next endangered species is the data center dinosaur which is described as the person with an in-depth knowledge and understanding of particular types of software, coding language, or development methodologies.  These specialists are now becoming replaced by people who are flexible generalists that have a broader skill set.  In order to avoid extinction, it is recommended this species broaden and diversity their knowledge base.

Next is the red-bellied repair tech.  This species was once a common sight in offices making sure desktops were up and running.  However, with the decreasing costs of hardware and the gaining popularity of inexpensive mobile devices, they have become unneeded.  It is recommended this species consider server maintenance to stay vital to an Organization.  A person that has the ability to quickly diagnose hardware issues and errors in a server environment will have work for many upcoming years.

Next we have the lesser-spotted system administrator.  This one surprised me.  Systems Administrators have played an important role in the IT world by keeping the end user systems up-to-date and operable.    However, in recent years these roles have been outsourced, leaving the remaining numbers in peril.  With the increasing dependency on cloud computing, their presence will be needed even less.  Small and mid-size organizations will be the first to cut this species in an attempt to shore up budget constraints.  This species may not disappear entirely, as these tasks will migrate to cloud companies where demand is higher and competition stiffer.  It is recommended that this species become security gurus or data analytics experts, as these are tow fields that are growing and will continue to do so for some time.

Next we have the pink-crested credentialist.  While the Credentialist is rare but can still be found in HR departments, it's duties have been reduced by IT pros with more skills and experience. It is recommended this species adapt to engineer/programmer type work or creating their own intellectual property in order to stay relevant.

Next is the common web designer.  In the not too distant past Organizations had web designers coming out their ears; those numbers are down to a handful of experts.  With the increased use of automated site-creation tools and sophisticated marketing, this species is quickly declining.  It is recommended this species focus on mobile devices.

Next is the woolly unix mammoth.  This species was once the dominant species but are quickly becoming replaced by faster and less expensive Linux boxes.  In order to avoid extinction, it is recommended this species become experts on applications that can migrate to Linux and know which ones need to remain on Sun in order to lead their Organizations during the migration.

Next is the purple-tufted programmer.  Programmers that have gained their experience in Cobol or Fortran are a dying breed, but they are not the only ones.  IT pros that are mainly code hackers will quickly find themselves unneeded.  If one would prefer to write code as a career should be ready to do it as a software engineer.  In order to survive, it is recommended this species expand their knowledge base and align their skills with the adjusting needs of business, which means finding themselves as integrators of business logic, cloud tools, and more or they may find themselves extinct.

Finally, we have the ridge-backed technocrat.  This species has relied on building technology silos and policies.  This territory has now become overrun with business managers that no longer require approval for technology purchases.  In order to remain relevant, it is suggested this species need to start working with other teams in order to make things more efficient and assist the application experts in saving money.

While this article took a whimsical look at the changing demands in IT, some of it was surprising.  I guess the biggest surprise was the System Admins.  When I interned, this department is pretty big.  It seems strange that these people would no longer be needed as they are the ones that keep the Organization running on a day-to-day basis.

However, it was nice to see that a recommendation of Information Security was offered.  So, I guess I'm on the right track, I just have to be patient, and hopefully I will find the right job.

Keep your fingers crossed for me, and if you have any hints or advice, please, let me know.  I am open for anything because right now I'm looking at a sales associate position with Sprint.  Argh!

Tynan, D. (2012, October 11). The 9 most endangered species in IT. The IT job landscape is evolving quickly. Here's how to avoid IT extinction. Inforworld .

http://www.infoworld.com/slideshow/68348/the-9-most-endangered-species-in-it-204556#slide1