It is now the end of July and America has faced some of the worst economic conditions it has seen in generations. I have held off on contributing to this blog for a while because I wanted to see how things would develop in the short term. Economic stimuli notwithstanding, it seems at the very least we are past the “scared phase” and perhaps have begun to move into a sort of “acceptance phase”. My commitment to this blog is to focus on technology, training, and careers, and not politics; and, while the two may now be intertwined (it would be hard to argue against that), permit us to consider IT in hard times.
The thing is IT has seen hard times frequently in the past. Particularly in boom-and-bust industries it is common to see a company hire a huge number of people, work them hard, and then let them go once the whatever-it-is gets complete. I, personally, have witnessed the huge swings for technology in defense contracting, finance, chip manufacturing (a la Silicon Valley circa 1985), dot-com, and the like.
Typically when profits are down, one of the first places companies cut are in technology expansion. This is not to say that technology gets cut – au contrair – technology is a pillar to business. Rather, it is to say that spending in technological upgrades (computers, software, operating systems, and networks) does decrease as companies try to “make due”. The good news is that companies cannot make due indefinitely and when the new comes in, it is usually accompanied by new people with new training.
An interesting observation was made by Jim Brazell of Ventureramp, Inc. who recently spoke at the HITEC conference in Scottsdale, AZ. On his web site he writes:
“Responses from the Humanities, Liberal Arts and Fine Arts communities include concerns about the focus on training technicians rather than innovators, thinkers, designers and problem solvers. At the same time, many CTE teachers and administrators are working to integrate and partner with academic programs to increase rigor and relevance for “Millennial learners.” Closing the distance between CTE and academic disciplines represents a Renaissance in US education.” [link]
The well-taken point here is that for IT always, and especially during down times, we need “thinking techs”. Keep in mind that it is relatively easy to create techs. There are schools who specialize in doing nothing but. But, for a tech to rise to the top of the hiring list, that tech must also be an “innovator, thinker, designer and problem solver”. Anyone can pull wire. But why that wire and why in that location?
The admonition is to “work smarter, not just harder”.
It is for this very reason that in our CIS program at Mt Hood Community College, we train not just “what”, but “why”. This is the reason that we train toward certifications with CISCO, Oracle, and Microsoft; in our program, form accompanies function.
So, what’s ahead? Networking and database still look strong into the next decade. Information will have to be presented so GUIs and web interfaces will continue to be needed. New operating systems will drive the need for smart, local OS managers. We are also projecting significant demand for computer security people (especially in light of the recent attacks against US government web sites, the Pentagon, and the power grid).
Additionally, some significant coin is being put up for nationalized data technology for health care. The ARRA stimulus plan contributed heavily for the development of electronic health records (EHR) which can be standardized and shared between insurers and practitioners. It will be interesting to see how this last one shakes down.
Here’s the point: we are not talking about rearranging the deck chairs as the ship is sinking. It is more like we are sailing in a fog and the compass is broken. We know that we will arrive in port but are not sure exactly when. Perhaps it will be this year. Perhaps it may be in three. Now the only question is: will you be ready when we do?
