[NTLUG:Discuss] It must be true that IT is back...

[Daniel Hauck]

Chris Cox さんは書きました:
> brian at pongonova.net wrote:
>> On Mon, Jul 16, 2007 at 10:45:32AM -0500, Greg Edwards wrote:
>>> PHP is too small of a niche to use as a benchmark.  The market has become 
>>> dominated by Java, C++, and point and click case tools such as Oracle 
>>> Forms/Financials/etc.  The other trend that I've seen over the last year is 
>>> MS specific environments such as .NET, C#, and SQL Server.  If the 
>>> development world is any indicator of future OS market share then MS has 
>>> been kicking *NIXs butt over the last 12-18 months.
>> Possibly, but you're making the assumption that IT folks have only one
>> programming skill.
>>
>> Anyways, this wasn't a debate on which programming languages are hot
>> at the moment.  I'm simply making the observation that the IT
>> industry, at least in Dallas, doesn't appear to be hurting too badly
>> based upon the not-so-random cross-section of subscribers to the list.
>>
>> Don't get me wrong, I'm all for caps on H1B visas.  I just don't
>> believe the problem is as bad as is portrayed.
> 
> I agree... the market actually look pretty good right now.  I'm not
> sure where people get off saying it's bad.  However, with that said
> the amount of 6 figure jobs is still rather limited... and
> unfortunately, many from the dot-bomb got their salaries elevated
> to such a level.
> 
>> I've noticed the same phenomenon in the teaching field, that there's
>> this mysterious "shortage" of teachers.  Yet, schools in the Dallas
>> area appear to be flush enough that they can specify X years of
>> teaching experience.  Obviously, if they can set those types of
>> constraints, the school districts aren't hurting that badly. 
> 
> Another things I've noticed is that while I have a job, I'm having
> to work harder than I used to.... so, there are jobs, but they
> can be pretty hard jobs.  I've seen many job opps recently that
> read:
> 
> Need skill, etc, etc, etc,
> 
> And you need to be willing to work on weekends..
> And you need to be willing to work on off hourss...
> And you need to be willing to etc, etc...
> 
> Gone are the days of having enough staff to adequately cover
> a 60+ hour work week.  All of the additional stress will
> eventually take its toll.
> 
> But, if 50-60+ hr/week  jobs are your thing... there are plenty of
> those jobs out there right now.  Want a 40hr/week job?  Those
> are in very short supply.
> 
I too concur.  The IT job thing in this area seems fairly "available" at
the moment.  Some aspect and expectations stemming from the Dot-Bomb era
need to be adjusted, but at the moment salaries are still too low for
the level of skill and dedication employers are offering.  Fewer people
are as "desperate" for an IT job as they once were and as the laws of
supply and demand go, people will be more willing to jump jobs until
they get paid a livable wage.

The demands of the job may well be that one must work harder or longer
or both, but the compensation should be ... well... compensatory.
Employers should expect to get what they pay for and pay for what they
expect to get.  That's where the H1B thing is hurting not just the local
IT skill pool, but the economy at large.  We've all heard of the
"disappearing middle class" and this is one example of where and how
it's happening.  But worse than that, as the middle class disappears, so
too does the tax base... that is until they continue to raise property
taxes and sales taxes (those which hit the former-middle-class the
hardest and don't kid yourself if you're an apartment renter, the
increase in rent you see is definitely related to the increase in
property taxes).

With the latest change in jobs, I moved to a less demanding job, earning
$10k more than the previous... and I'd be tempted to do it again as
things improve.  (Though I suspect my next job will be in Japan... a
completely different market.)