Slashdot Mirror


New Grads Shun IT Jobs As "Boring"

whencanistop writes "Despite good job prospects, graduates think that a job in IT would be boring. Is this because of the fact that Bill Gates has made the whole industry look nerdy? Surely with so many (especially young) people being 'web first' with not just their buying habits, but now in terms of what they do in their spare time, we'd expect more of them to want to get a career in it?"

2 of 752 comments (clear)

  1. Good money for creative work in decent conditions by bestinshow · · Score: 4, Informative

    Sadly many IT jobs are boring, consisting of pressing F5 repeatedly on various websites throughout the day.

    Some jobs within IT are very interesting, because they are creative and require actual brain utility. Programming is the obvious example. Hell, even coming up with good configurations for sysadmin can be interesting. Point-and-clicking windows admin stuff must be dire though, and is probably where this negative image is coming from.

    In much the same way as I find car mechanics boring, I can see why some people would find programming boring, because they don't appreciate the creative aspect. However being paid a reasonably good wage in an in-demand industry to sit inside at a computer is pretty damned good, even if you don't get to ride a road crusher or steamroller, or fly fighter jets (which I imagine is pretty boring for the 95% of the time you are on the ground actually).

    Oh, and memo to students: Work is that boring thing we'd rather not do that allows us to pay the bills, buy that exciting car, buy that house to do up, eat that thrilling meal with friends and have a great time, etc. Get over it, but if you do stay away, demand will surely mean higher wages for us already in the industry.

  2. Re:Most jobs are boring by qbzzt · · Score: 3, Informative

    I don't get how being tied down makes a person more independent.

    It doesn't - I wasn't clear enough.

    When you're just out of college, the fact that you live on your own without any supervision is new and exciting. You want to stretch it to the limits and see what you can do. Eight years later, it's something you're used to. Nothing to get excited about, just like the ability to see or read the internet isn't something you get excited about.

    --
    -- Support a free market in the field of government