Which IT Careers Are Hot and Which are Not?

necromante asks: "I've been working on different IT positions through my career: support; some networking; DBA; web development; project management; even working on the client side for a little while. However, I don't feel like I am really a specialist on any of those subjects and I feel I need to focus on a particular field. So, I decided to ask for some feedback before making my decision. I understand that this depends everyones tastes, likes and dislikes. However, I would like to have a better idea of which are the available options, and I hope the results of this discussion can benefit other readers. Is there any IT career that I should consider more than the others? Which are the emerging fields? Is there any industry I should focus on in particular? Which careers on IT are actually more in demand and which ones not? Is it a better path to focus on moving into management?"

Comments

Good techies don't necessarily make good managers

[rf0]

I've worked for a number of people and myself one thing that seems to come up is that good techies don't always make good managers. So don't assume that managment is right for you (or that you would even enjoy it).

Domain Knowledge

[Anonymous Coward]

A lot of demand has to do with your demand knowledge. I don't know if you could say with a broad stroke that devs are in more demand than DBAs or whatever. If you have financial experience for instance, demand is pretty strong across the board. You need to consider the industry you want to work in as much as the role you want to play.

Being a manager...

[Hoplite3]

When you were young, did you ever play video games with an older sibling where they played and you watched? Your brother would insist that you were "a team" and wouldn't let you play. Being a manager is like being the little brother, but you do get to fire the other guy if he dies five times in a row on level 8-2.

Seriously, if you like something, why stop doing it and start just watching people do it?

Oh, money.

The Fileds You Love

[eldavojohn]

... and I feel I need to focus on a particular field.

Why?

Personally, I value breadth over depth. And I'm going to propose a reason why everyone should also: in the world of computer science, at any minute a once vital skill could be obsolete. Granted, it doesn't happen often (as we still need workers to maintain cobol & fortran code) but, instead of spending my free time hunched over Enterprise Java Bean projects learning their delicate intricacies, I find myself learning about Ruby, Spring, Hibernate, etc. Now, I might not be an expert in any of these fields but I may be glad when their time comes. All good things come to an end--and if EJBs were to be retired, I'd certainly like to know my way around these other frameworks & tools. I think the same can be said about fields of computer science. Be wary of the web developer that doesn't know the first thing about networks & server/client communication--that's often a pitfall for security.

So if you want my honest opinion about which "are hot or not," I think they're all pretty damn hot and I bleieve you can find money in any job where you make yourself usefull & valuable to a decent business. I find them all attractive because I enjoy setting up networks in my house and playing network administrater even though I don't do it at my job. I love networking Linux, Windows, FreeBSD, Solaris, etc. and I like toying around with different databases. I love to start new projects that rarely go anywhere but leave me with more understanding of how technologies or products work. I'm not a "trained expert" at any of them though, most importantly, I feel that I could easily become one if a situation deemed it necessary. If you don't enjoy doing some of these things--DON'T DO THEM. Who cares if they pay alot or are "hot"? I'd rather die happy & poor than rich & sad.

Is there any IT career that I should consider more than the others?

Of course there is, it's the career you enjoy the most :-) If you're honestly worried about having a job and aren't confident in yourself, learn Java. It might die tomorrow (who knows?) but I've seen mountains of code and somebody's gotta maintain that or at least translate several years from now. Not the most glorious job but it would certainly pay the bills. The language is still in use and I've seen people hired by simply writing "Expert in Java" on their resume (whether it was true or not).

Is it a better path to focus on moving into management?

The company I work for is unique in the respect that I am allowed to grow on one of two paths. One is a functional manager that has many people reporting to them (think Lumberg from Office Space). The other is a technical leader--one with degrees & experience implementing ideas. The latter is actually the kind of leadership I desire to fulfill. While it may be more difficult to pursue this "other" kind of management, I hope a lot more companies offer pay equivalent to their technical leaders and recognize them as being just as important as your traditional managers. Technical leaders are the Chief Engineers on projects, the "go to guys" in any scenario where you have technical questions/problems, the subject matter experts, the scientists. The traditional path are the project managers, the leaders who never have to prove themselves, the people who protect you from upper management and who, eventually, become upper management. If I ever found myself interviewing for another company, I would definitely ask them about positions available for technical leaders and, from the sound of your question, this may be something you desire also.

Choose your path wisely.

Re:Good techies don't necessarily make good manage

[Nerdfest]

Where I work, the opposite tends to happen. If you're not that good technically, you tend to bubble up to management. I'm not saying they're complete idiots, just that they're not the best technical people. I still don't think it's the best way to find good managers though ... they may suck at that as well.

Wrong Question

[LibertineR]

The right question is: "Which area of IT do you LOVE?"

Almost all areas are 'hot', but that doesnt mean anything. The one that will STAY hot for you, is the one that you love enough to continue your education throughout your career, and dont just pick someting to do for a paycheck.

If you love a particular area, your constant learning and improvement will lead you into related areas and keep you relevant throughout your career, you can move into consulting, writing and development within your chosen area and never miss a beat.

Never chase a paycheck.

Re:Wrong Question

[Cederic]

Sadly, no.

I went into IT because I love programming.
I evolved into Software Engineering because it made the programming easier.
I learned how to design because you can't do SE without it.
I became an architect because I had to design beyond my immediate system.
I got frustrated by the shortsightedness of the people giving me projects and became an enteprise architect so that I could influence the broader picture.
I expect to find I lack sufficient authority and move into IT director type roles to gain that ability to make the decisions I feel are necessary.

I still love programming. I just couldn't take a programming job any more. I'd get too annoyed at the crap development processes, the poor design, the inadequate architecture, the incompetence of the business and the inability to change things at a high enough level.

So find an area you love, yes. But expect it to change. Go with the flow. And remember the advice from Ferris : Stop and take a look around once in a while.

Avoid "hot" careers

[Pope]

Today's "hot" career is tomorrow's outsourced to India dead-end job. Stop caring what's popular and focus on what you like doing the most. If you like doing all sorts of different things, then keep on doing that!

Re:Good techies don't necessarily make good manage

[dlZ]

I have to agree with this. I'm a business owner, with a partner. I'm the hardcore techie here, while my business partner has a background in video production and marketing. He tends to take on the true management role here while I worry about actually getting the work done. It works out well as I'm not a great manager but I can get the work done when it needs to be.

The thing I have noticed is that a lot of people in a more technical role feel that they would be better in charge but in reality would probably just hate the position. I love being in control (hence owning my own business) but at the same time I'd rather leave the more managerial duties up to my business partner while I really worry about the technical side of things.

I have been a manager at a few places and while I did a decent job and my staff liked working for me, but I didn't enjoy the role as much as I enjoy being in the forefront with my technical skills. I did learn a lot about running a business from these positions which is a benefit now, though, and don't regret having been a manager. I just didn't enjoy it.

Re:Choose a career you like

[l0rd]

Exactly,

One thing I miss about the good old days when anyone who even looked at a computer was considered a nerd was that you didn't get these kinds of questions. The words IT & career in the same sentance just bring a foul taste to my mouth.

Sure, if you just want to make a living IT is an industry that will probably always have a job for you. However if you aspire to become a master at something it has to be something you live & breathe. Just figure out what you like doing and roll with it.

You like organizing people become a manager. You like helping people work at a helpdesk. You like figuring out how computers work get a job making device drivers. You like php become a web developer... You get the idea. Doing something just because it's hot is a sure recipie for disaster.

Re:Good techies don't necessarily make good manage

[bjd145]

From what I've experienced again and again and again is that one of the reason (and there can be others) that techies don't make good managers is that they try to live in both worlds. The new techie manager still wants to get his hands dirty doing the day to day work. Part of this is that they are don't trust others to do it "right" or they are afraid of losing their technical skills. The new techie manager never really gives him/her self over to the dark side of management.

That IS the "dark side" of management.

[Valdrax]

The new techie manager still wants to get his hands dirty doing the day to day work. Part of this is that they are don't trust others to do it "right" or they are afraid of losing their technical skills. The new techie manager never really gives him/her self over to the dark side of management.

You see, that IS the real "dark side" of managment -- when you become a micromanager or some other type of manager that constantly second-guesses their employees because you "know better." Even worse is the type that is constantly trying to make people prove themselves to them by withholding information to see if their subordinate is "smart enough" to come to the same conclusions (and then berate them if they don't either due to a difference of opinion or a crucial missing piece of information).

I've had four jobs since I entered the IT field. Every single manager I've had was a former programmer with the exception of one boss's boss (who was entirely awful because she was more interested in office politics and backstabbing for advancement... but I digress).

All the good bosses I've had gradually abandoned the programming side and learned to act as mentors. They used their knowledge of the system to give pointers on where to look when you were stuck on a problem and trusted you to get things done, only prodding every now and then when a schedule was threatened. All the bad bosses I've had (save the one mentioned above) second-guessed you constantly and either went around your work to put someone else on it (like themselves) or constantly made you justify ever single moment you spent your day on. In both cases, the attitude comes from the thought that they could do it better if they didn't have to do all this management crap instead.

In other words, the secret to going from a technical role to being a good manager is learning to let go. Use your skills and knowledge to aid your subordinates and shield them from upper management by understanding what they are doing. If necessary, use you knowledge to call their BS if they're actually slacking, but don't envy them or treat them as irritating time-wasters blocking you from doing "your real job." Otherwise, you're just demonstrating the Peter principle.