IT pay stagnates, workforce grows restless

[FarCenter]

<SNIP>
There are likely a lot of people like Thomas in IT today, according to Computerworld's 2009 Salary Survey. The results of our poll of 5,861 IT professionals show that salaries were flat this year, bonuses were way down, and benefits were reduced or eliminated. This year also saw increases in the percentages of respondents reporting canceled projects (35%, compared with 25% last year), training cuts (37% vs. 25%), budget cuts (65% vs. 53%), salary freezes (51% vs. 22%), and hiring freezes (48% vs. 33%). And that's just for the people who remain employed -- 44% of respondents reported permanent layoffs at their companies in the 2009 study, up from 28% in 2008.

It's no wonder that satisfaction is down, even among those who reported feeling lucky just to have a job. Some are like Jean-Sébastien Picard, IT manager at Polycor Inc., who is determined to stay positive despite a 10% pay cut. "I'm always happy at work, and I think it's our job to maintain a good atmosphere," he says. Others, such as Arthur MacLeod, systems administrator at Service Point USA, see silver linings in staff cuts, such as the opportunity to improve time management skills and increase cross-training.

But even for MacLeod, satisfaction is starting to wane. As he has watched colleagues get laid off, his own salary has been flattened, the bonus structure has been reworked, and training funds have been cut. A particular downer was when the company newsletter stopped circulating, since it had been providing state-of-the-company insights.

"Those stopped when the came about," MacLeod says. "It made you feel uneasy."

For others, dissatisfaction has hit hard. "It's hard to come to work," says a programmer at a big aerospace company, who asked to remain anonymous. Upper management has indicated that they will lay off at least 10% of the IT staff each year for the next five years, as well as increase outsourcing, he says. And company-provided training has disappeared. "There is no satisfaction," he says.

<SNIP>

http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/344702/IT_pay_stagnates_workforce_grows_restless

[Craftsman]

1. I work IT, all 4 of us in this shop are flight risks

We all are looking.

[tridim]

2. Consider yourself lucky that you still have a job

Nothing is worse than being an unemployed developer right now. I'm about 90% certain I'll never find another job in IT, so I'm trying to make a drastic career change instead of fooling myself.

[Craftsman]

3. Here in Houston companies are still hiring.

A buddy of mine get hired 3 months ago to be a database admin for $85K+ a year about 3 months ago.

[tridim]

5. They're still hiring here too, problem is hundreds of people apply for every job advertised

The last job I lost, I was the #2 candidate out of 20 interviewees. Landing a decent job is like winning the lottery. The candidate with the best sales-pitch wins. Unfortunately sales isn't a skill I have, I'm a programmer.

I know all the web-centric languages, but I don't know C# well. So of course employers are now listing C# right along side of PHP and Javascript and making it a requirement. How many people do you know that speak 5 languages fluently? :eyes:

I'm really disgusted with the whole industry, even when I had a job I was treated like crap.

[Craftsman]

6. I know the feeling, but try to be of good cheer

It will get better. Good luck and prayers.

[panAmerican]

7. Tridim, where are you looking?

Some markets are better for .NET than others. Have you tried to look for user groups nearby? They can be a good source for learning as well as networking.

[tridim]

13. Denver, but I don't have .NET either.

I have PHP, Javascript, ActionScript3, DB, Flash and general web design skills. Pretty much a jack-of-all-trades minus stand-alone application development. My skillset used to be in huge demand, but I guess it's not any more for some reason.

We have a local users group, RMIUG, which is where I've found all my previous jobs.

[Greyhound]

8. We allowed our profession to be killed.

It's been years since I ran into a developer that can logically think a function through, let alone write it. Everything is done with tools that only serve to allow video gamers to click-drag-and-script and pretend they're developers.

Every code-level analysis I've done on apps built with these tools has been a nightmare. Inefficient, inelegant, error prone, and ten times larger than needed.

Like one of the previous posters, I'm not even looking in the field any longer.

[tridim]

17. I've met two good programmers in my 12 year stint in the industry

I blame wordpress and drupal for the recent decline.

[lukasahero]

25. I love it when the unemployed talk about how they're the only ones

who know how to program. I think it was egos that killed 'our' profession.

[Greyhound]

28. There are lots of people that know how to code, the problem is the industry

would rather hire tool monkeys that only know "packages". They work cheap and it doesn't matter that they produce crap. Software cannot write tight software, a knowledgeable mind is required to produce efficient, reliable code.

H-1(b)s are even better, they're cheap and dare not complain.

[lukasahero]

29. LOL - well, as one of those who is still employed in the field

I guess we'll just have to agree to disagree. I don't come cheap and I know what I'm doing. As do most of the folks I work with. The people I've worked with who've managed to stay employed are those that are adaptable. The mainframe programmers who still want to cling to the ways they 'always did it' are the only ones I know having trouble finding work. Hell, even my husband who retired 3 years ago is working again.

[Greyhound]

31. I don't think there's anything to disagree over, you said it yourself,

those "who've managed to stay employed", that is the crux of the biscuit.

You seem to be under the impression that we are incapable of using these "tools" which is certainly not the case, hell many of us helped to write them (not me, I worked with M$ a couple years learning how completely dysfunctional they are). But OTOH, many of us spent years building our skills and more importantly our reputations and are never going to be satisfied simply churning out the shit that passes for programming today, for a smaller paycheck, from a company that treats us like crap working under a manager that doesn't even understand the spreadsheet he uses as his sole metric.

BTW, if you got a cert in SQL Server 7, I wrote most of the advanced test questions.

[Statistical]

11. If you know Java then C# is pretty easy to pickup.

While you may not have development experience in C# you could pad your resume to include the C#.

C# the language you likely could pick up in a pair of weekends if that. However usually C# means C# & .net framework and that is a little more involved. The goal wouldn't to be a .net expert but rather have enough experience to pass the interview

Since most resumes are parsed by computers or low level employees if they are looking for developer with knowledge of C# and your resume is missing the "C" and the "#" it likely will never be considered.

[tridim]

16. I hear you, but honestly I'm just not interested in the .NET framework.

I did lots of C stuff in the old days and it's simply not my cup of tea.

I'm a web programmer and developer, not an application developer.

[Statistical]

18. C# and .net (asp.net) are used more in web development then applicaiton development.

Microsoft has even finally (although 3rd party solutions did exist in past) embraced things like Ajax.
There are now ajax.net libraries allowing you to provide AJAX functionality with 100% managed code.

Still not every language is for every developer.

Previous job I spent about a year replacing a cobbled together system consisting of php, perl, legacy asp, and coldfusion with asp.net. I learned to see the potential in asp.net.

[tridim]

19. Well maybe that's my problem.

I've never used it even on Windows servers, nor have any of the other developers I've worked with over the years.

If .NET is the new norm, I'm out.

[Statistical]

22. I doubt it is the new norm.

Java EE is still going strong.
Ajax brings much needed front end support for java server pages.

Still IMHO ASP.NET has/will gain a substantial marketshare especially in the enterprise space.
JSP will remain strong but I think coldfusion and to a lesser extent php will suffer.

So I don't think asp.net development is a requirement but lets say 1 out of 3 jobs uses it.
Eliminating 1 out of 3 potential employments before you even apply hurts when you consider job seeking in my opinion is a numbers game. I have a feeling in the past I wasn't hired despite being the best candidate and I know I have been hired when I wasn't the best candidate.

Then again maybe my perspective might be biased by the types of work I have done.

[Liberal_in_LA]

4. "ee silver linings in staff cuts, such as the opportunity to improve time management skills "

What a kiss ass

[Greyhound]

9. I was thinking mentally ill, but brown-nose fits. n/t

[ddeclue]

10. There should be no H1B VISA's allowed in a 10% + unemployment market.

H1B is just a way to keep I/T salaries down.

[Statistical]

12. +1.

H1B should be stopped period but at a minimum anytime unemployment is 6%+ it should be halted.

[OhioChick]

14. +2 n/t

[Greyhound]

20. +011

[Statistical]

23. lol. There are only 10 types of people...

There are only 10 types of people in the world — those who understand binary, and those who don't.

[Ignis]

27. ...

:spray:

[ChromeFoundry]

30. agreed. n/t

[Deja Q]

15. Well, the bankers whine about salary caps -- seems the working class has much a right to gripe, too.

Anybody wondering why people are opting out of these fields, which are very damn expensive to stay on top of, really is naive.

[NashVegas]

21. Sorry

Tell you what: if a $60k+ IT worker has managed to find a gig where they've never worked on a project to automate and/or eliminate a job performed by one or more median-or-under wage workers, you've got my sympathy. The rest of you? What did you expect? You were hired to help eliminate a thinking, decision-making, labor source - you should've been looking more closely.

[Statistical]

24. Yup just like those horseless carriages eliminated the buggy whip industry.

The automatic circuit switch eliminate the fun job of manually connecting phone calls all day too.

[Wounded Bear]

26. My newphew is out of work...

He was recently certified with Microsoft creds. Had a decent job for a while working for an online shoe company. That job's gone. Now he's looking......and looking......and looking.