IT Job Market Is Tanking, But Not For Everyone

CWmike writes "Shortly after the COO of Automated HealthCare Solutions learned that Microsoft planned to cut 5,000 workers over the next 18 months, he and another employee of the medical services provider flew out to Redmond. AHCS now has more than 100 resumes, some of them from Microsoft employees, for about a dozen open positions. That's how the tech job market is these days: there's no doubt the market is tanking, but not for everyone. While numerous IT vendors are laying off workers, and corporate IT jobs are being lost as well, plenty of companies are still hiring. Microsoft's careers site lists more than 700 open jobs in the US, both technical and administrative positions. And IBM has about 3,200 jobs and internships listed worldwide, more than 550 of them in the US — even as it cuts thousands of workers in a move that it is describing not as a layoff, but an effort to 'match skills and resources with our client needs."

Comments

IBM layoffs

[qbzzt]

"Match skills and resources with our client needs" doesn't mean layoffs...its a feature!

Actually, IBM claims that it's not an extraordinary event - in the course of normal business, every quarter they lay off some people with useless skills and hire others with useful ones.

They didn't file an extraordinary activity report with the SEC because a certain level of layoffs is ordinary in an organization that size.

Re:IBM layoffs

[Anonymous Coward]

In IBM lingo, useless skill == American. Useful skill == Indian or Chinese. They've cut about 5,000 here in the U.S. (IBM said worldwide, but the cuts were almost exclusively in the US). Meanwhile, IBM now has 70,000 people in India.

IBM needs to stop arguing that we need more students studying engineering in the US until it starts hiring or redeploying US citizens. Until then, it's just propaganda.

Yes, but...

[djupedal]

When discussing layoffs or hiring vies-a-vi Microsoft, it can help to remember that the majority of statistics involve expatriates, part-time and temporary employees or short-term contract hires. When MS announces layoffs, it rarely involves the small core of full time, salaried workers the company maintains at HQ.

MS quotes one number that includes the above when it wants to sound like a large corporation, and another, that only includes core staffers, when it wants to sound thrifty. MS's numbers raise and fall in a similar pattern regardless of the overall market.

Point is, MS is not a barometer for the IT industry when it comes to (un)employment.

Let's not forget one segment:

[DurendalMac]

Repair services are essentially recession-proof. People are going to be even more willing to get the computer fixed rather than buy a brand new one if the former is less expensive. The cheaper avenue will often win out for the short term. Secondhand PCs are likely going to be a big market in the coming years as well.

Re:Let's not forget one segment:

[DurendalMac]

Gotta disagree. Most people don't have a clue as to how to fix their PC, much less figure out what's wrong or how to install any parts. Screwdriver shops do fine if they know what they're doing. Mix in some business onsite and you've got steady cash. I work in a screwdriver shop and we're cranking out billable labor like crazy right now. Repair industries are almost recession-proof if you're in the right one. You have to remember that the majority of the public knows jack shit about computers and will take it to a shop if something goes haywire and tech support can't fix it. A new computer is pretty daunting as it might have a whole new mess of issues, and this old system of theirs has been chugging along for 1-2 years without a hitch, so they might as well fix it.

Most people don't know and don't care about warranty-less repairs vs new computer if the cost is low enough. Hmm, $150 for a fix that will get it running (quite possibly better than before, ie, bigger hard drive, more RAM, better video card, etc) or $400+ for a brand new one that isn't a total piece of crap, ie, dumpster-diver eMachines bottom end. Vista has kept a lot of people from buying new as well. And that moving parts bit is just plain silly. I've seen relatively few machines bounce back that often.

Utter claptrap on used computers. I've made a bundle in the business. I'm not talking about buying and selling via Craigslist or crap like that. I'm on the mailing list for every higher-ed surplus sale within 100 miles and then some. Some schools will surplus computers as soon as the warranty expires. I'm going to be picking up some 3ghz P4 systems tomorrow for $35 apiece, XP license keys on them, and thus far they've had a very good success rate. One dud in perhaps 25, maybe a few bad but easily-replaced components in others. I can turn around and resell those for as much as $200 depending on what's in them and what I can put in them. I don't deal in laptops. More hassle than they're worth. It makes plenty of sense to buy a used system if the person is on a tight budget (more and more people these days) and doesn't need anything fancy, just something for internet, email, music, etc. Or maybe they need something simple for the kids and a new system would be wasted money. I made a shitload of cash at a local flea market moving used systems, so don't tell me they're generally a waste. If you know where to get them cheaply and reliably and can move them at a low enough price while maintaining a healthy margin, they're a very lucrative market.

Re:No surprise

[Irish_Samurai]

A skilled commander seeks victory from the situation and does not demand it of his subordinates. - Sun Tzu

Re:No surprise

[srNeu]

I started job searching in January so I could move out of a bad situation start-up and within 3 weeks had 2 offers and 3 more companies wanting 2nd interviews.

Look at the medical industry, its the only sector not being pummeled right now, although I'm sure it will get hit. The Nashville TN area has about 40-50 developer jobs in that area right now. Although the job I accepted was through a recruiter, 3 of the other 4 were direct postings from careerbuilder, dice and linkedin, all permanent. There are a ton of contract and contract to hire jobs out there too, if you get in bed with the right recruiters.

So there are jobs out there, in the right sectors and the right regions.

Or...

[maz2331]

if(dislikesApple()||isDemocrat()){$mod++;}else{mod--;}//© Slashdot

Re:Booms make jobs for sub-average

[wift]

The housing market didn't create a huge influx of IT jobs. It created a bunch of bankers, loan officers, mortgage advisers, home inspectors, construction jobs, processors (the paperwork kind) and the supporting IT jobs are a very very small part.

Re:No surprise

[module0000]

The health problems I spoke about are because "boilermakers" are the people that work inside pressurized reactors in power plants. Alot of things to interact with your body in not-so-good-ways.

The others(pipefitters/ironworkers) I mentioned are just the health woes of your average working stiff.

In the Yukon(and the "north slope" of Alaska), rates are outrageous for electrical/welding/construction personnel, but the conditions are very harsh.

The increase in the northern portion of the USA is due to how powerful the influence of unions are. "Ironworkers", "Pipefitters", and "Boilermakers" are all unionized trades. When a company/contractor hires them, they know what they are getting. Being a journeyman of a union means several things:

1. You have 3-6 years of classroom training in your trade
2. You have 6000-12,000 hours of on-the-job training
3. You have all the applicable current certifications for your trade

In the north, those three unions have almost no non-union competition, and the rates are much higher.

In the south, there are alot of non-union companies competing with union trades, but you get shoddier results. I'm biased of course, because I am a member of the Ironworkers union(local 321).