Adaptability is the key to survival in IT

As a 17-year veteran of IT, I agree with the comments made by Schrodinger’s Dog (Young people know IT is a dead end). Increasingly, the cutting edge of IT is carried out by cheaper suppliers from overseas. What is the difference, for example, between a Java developer in London and a Java developer in Bangalore? Nothing except for the cost.

Indian suppliers in particular seem to be dominating the IT world. It is a long time since I worked somewhere that did not also use the services of Indian firms such as TCS, Wipro or IBM India. This is impacting on UK salaries, where the trend is either downwards or flat. I am currently paid the least I have been paid for a decade.

I used to be an independent contractor working on IBM WebSphere products but became increasingly concerned about the sporadic nature of work and the general drift towards overseas suppliers. So I have taken a permanent job for the security but do fear that I could be outsourced.

To mitigate the risk of being unemployed, I have now established myself as an IT and information security specialist, which I see as a strategic move. My hunch is that threats to the UK and UK industry are increasing, you cannot outsource governance and there will be a reluctance to have overseas persons working in security in areas that are related to critical national infrastructure or government. But I am also hedging my bets and looking to study an MBA in technology management with a view to being able to move to a more general management role.

The UK appears for the moment to need security specialists to combat the threats from hackers, cyber terrorists, hacktivists and state-sponsored cyber threats. I tell young people that if you want a career in this industry, study computer science, gain industry certifications, real-world experience through internships and complete an appropriate MSc. Otherwise, go study something else like business studies as a first degree and technology management as a MBA or MSc. Outsourcers still need to be managed and IT does need good managers.

Steve