| With a worldwide financial meltdown in progress, and | | | | by a whole range of industries in the UK every year. |
| major league players like Yahoo! announcing that they | | | | However, your horizons are not just restricted to the |
| suffered a 64% downturn in profits in the last fiscal | | | | UK. With internationally recognised qualifications |
| quarter of 2008, is this really the time to think about a | | | | crossing borders and country boundaries, the chance |
| career move into IT? | | | | to work anywhere in the world has opened up the |
| The marketplace - is IT really that important? | | | | movement of IT professionals across the globe. The |
| Well, it's not all bad news on the job front in the UK. | | | | international oil industry, for example, is prepared to pay |
| Research published by the Globalisation and Economic | | | | well for IT professionals who can incorporate their IT |
| Policy Centre at the University of Nottingham(2) has | | | | training into oil exploration and research into alternative |
| said that although one in seven private sector jobs are | | | | fuels. |
| lost in the UK each year, more are being created in | | | | If heavy industry is not your particular field, then the |
| their place. The indications are that the private sector | | | | more creative industries now rely on those with good |
| work market is extremely fluid. | | | | IT qualifications and experience to supply them with |
| Dr Peter Wright, associate professor at Nottingham | | | | ever more exciting visual images - on their websites, |
| University confirms this notion of a constantly evolving | | | | their advertising and their marketing. Without the benefit |
| marketplace: "This shows how dynamic the UK | | | | of IT, the Internet would be a far less visually |
| employment market is. This also has important | | | | stimulating place. Starting salaries in the industry |
| implications in terms of training provision, as many | | | | average around £23,000. With higher level |
| workers are likely to need to regularly change or | | | | qualifications and a willingness to continually update and |
| update their skills." | | | | compliment your training, that figure can rise |
| The growing and transient job market has shifted | | | | considerably. |
| position in the UK over the past 30 years, away from | | | | Working life has changed dramatically in the past few |
| manufacturing and towards IT based industries - | | | | years, with more people starting to realise that the |
| ranging from the financial sector, multi-media | | | | possibility of working from home gives them a greater |
| applications, even the much-maligned call centre. The | | | | control over their work/home life ratio. Christopher |
| opportunity for careers in IT has never been broader, | | | | Pissarides, in his keynote address to the Austrian |
| or more accessible. | | | | Presidency conference on Innovations in Labour |
| The widespread adoption of the Internet as a tool for | | | | Market Policies(3) concludes that, "...essential labour |
| business has seen a surge in 'over the 'net' sales. In | | | | market reforms include an increase in the flexibility of |
| 2005, 93% of business in the UK with ten or more | | | | employment." |
| employees reported that personal computers were | | | | Although he highlights the UK and the Netherlands as |
| being used in day-to-day business (2). | | | | being the most pro-active countries in developing a |
| Amongst the largest businesses (those with 1,000 or | | | | more flexible working environment, the advent of a |
| more employees), the figure was nearly 100%. This | | | | new age in which IT careers play a dominant role can |
| demonstrates quite clearly how essential information | | | | only help to improve that situation. IT is a multi-faceted |
| and communication technology (ICT) has become to | | | | career choice that enables people to be particularly |
| the UK and indeed the global economic model. | | | | selective about how they work and how their career |
| The same survey by the Office of National Statistics | | | | develops. It gives them the opportunity to take back |
| (ONS) found that in 2005 the value of sales over the | | | | control of their careers. |
| Internet was £103 billion, accounting for 34% of | | | | With the right IT training, which can be incorporated into |
| sales across all kinds of ICT by non-financial sector | | | | career development or run parallel to an existing job, |
| businesses. If you include the financial sector into that | | | | the potential marketplace opens up for a candidate. |
| equation, the numbers increase dramatically. | | | | Networking (a particular growth industry as the national |
| Even industries that you would not normally expect to | | | | boundaries break down between businesses), |
| be heavily influenced by the use of IT, such as | | | | database administration, web design and programming |
| wholesale, retail, catering and travel, reported the | | | | are all real-time opportunities, once the appropriate |
| highest value of sales over the Internet at £49 | | | | training has been applied. A senior web designer can |
| million, representing £47 out of every £100 | | | | earn as much as £40,000 and, if you cast your |
| of goods sold. | | | | net further afield and look to working abroad, can be |
| The clear indication amongst all these statistics is that | | | | much higher. |
| jobs in IT have never been more important to the | | | | So what can you achieve with an IT career? Take |
| global economy. Without a solid foundation in the | | | | your pick - of locations, of job descriptions, of future |
| application of ICT technology, a business will be hard | | | | career development - whatever you like. The limits are |
| pressed to compete on equal terms with its rivals. | | | | only ones that you impose yourself. The IT industry is |
| Which is why IT careers will continue to offer both | | | | far from fully grown, and with the rate of technology |
| opportunities for employment in almost any | | | | development growing rapidly, there is little chance that |
| marketplace and a decent salary to boot. The stale, | | | | a newly qualified IT specialist will be entering a shrinking |
| hackneyed vision of 'speccy techs' in the IT | | | | marketplace anytime soon, despite the poor figures |
| department of any company is now passé. | | | | from Yahoo!. |
| Geek is the new chic. | | | | In the 18th Century, the Industrial Revolution propelled |
| IT career development | | | | the world forward into a new age. In the 21st Century, |
| Over one million people are currently employed in the | | | | it is safe to assume that the second revolution, the |
| IT sector, and over 150,000 new entrants are needed | | | | Technological Revolution, has only just started. |