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How Companies Are Preparing For the IT Workforce Exodus

Posted by samzenpus on from the heading-off-into-the-sunset dept.

itwbennett writes "If you think there's a glut of contract IT workers now, just wait. 10,000 U.S. baby boomers will turn 65 every day from now until 2030, and at least some of them will want to ease into retirement. This may sound like music to the ears of IT organizations who already would rather hire temporary staff with specialized expertise — especially for working on legacy technologies. 'The contractor ratio, already high in tech, will continue to increase as companies allow retiring staff to work part-time hours or hire them for short-term projects,' says Matthew Ripaldi, senior vice president at IT staffing firm Modis."

5 of 248 comments (clear)

  1. Glut of IT workers? by pthisis · · Score: 5, Informative

    If you think there's a glut of contract IT workers now ...then you lack a basic understanding of labor markets.

    Computer Programmers: 3.7%
    DB Admins: 1.3%
    Network and sysadmins: 3.9%
    Network and data analysts: 3.9%
    Software devs, application, and systems software: 4.0%

    Those are the current unemployment rates for workers in those occupations. It's pretty much the same for all IT occupations; there are few enough workers that companies are having a tough time filling jobs, and even moderately skilled employees aren't having trouble finding jobs.

    http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323936804578229873392511426.html

    --
    rage, rage against the dying of the light
    1. Re:Glut of IT workers? by Dr_Barnowl · · Score: 5, Informative

      Second that ; whenever we try hiring, the standard of the applicants is utter, utter, dross.

      They typically exhibit faults like

      * Lacing basic reading comprehension

      For example, they tender applications for development jobs... when they were applying for testing.

      * Apply for every job

      When I apply for a job, I read the application and compose a precise strike covering letter, tailor my CV, the full treatment, because there are so few jobs out there that would interest me. These guys cut and paste applications into a huge list of jobs and it shows. Why would I want to hire someone who isn't interested in my position?

      * Lack basic English skills

      Spelling and grammar mistakes are a no-no. Successful software development is about communication - communicating with the user to get the requirements right, communicating with the computer to implement them. I don't wish to hire someone who displays difficulty communicating with concision in any of their chosen languages. Writing incomprehensible goobledegook in your job application will get it canned. Without wishing to be biased, this applies equally to the many Indian applicants (they outnumber the natives, typically) we receive responses from.

      * Being unable to program

      You'd think this would deter most folks from applying from programming jobs, but apparently many people have no shame. While I don't expect people to reinvent wheels like ArrayList, I do expect you to know how they are constructed.

      * Lacking any kind of initiative

      If you're asked a tough logic problem in an interview, even if you're stumped, you don't give up. If you attack it in a way that reveals some kind of thought process going on, I will give you credit for it.

  2. Re:OP or tune it ee by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

    If you're in tech now the geezers are finally going to let you move up by retiring.

    If you thinks it's the geezers that are holding you back, you should probably look for a job in another field. If anything, geezers are the ones being fired because they make too much.

  3. Re:OP or tune it ee by TWiTfan · · Score: 4, Informative

    I've been listening to this "The Baby Boomers are going to retire and all you Gen-Xers and Millenials will have jobs aplenty!!" horseshit for decades now. But I have never see it happen. Most of the boomers I've known are way too self-centered and selfish to ever voluntarily surrender any power ("Me Generation" indeed) . In my field, I think I've seen more old boomers die at this point than retire. They just stay around forever like some kind of mold, getting in the way, collecting their big paychecks, and preventing anyone else from advancing (or innovating).

    Sorry to sound bitter. I'm sure there are plenty of great boomers out there. But in the places I've worked, I've come to see them mostly as a pain-in-the-ass and obstacle to be overcome.

    --
    The cow says "Moo." The dog says "Woof." The Timothy says "Thanks, valued customer. We appreciate your input."
  4. Re:OP or tune it ee by jacobsm · · Score: 4, Informative

    I'm one of those geezers who's planning to retire in the next 5-10 years, currently with 34 years of zOS Systems Programmer experience behind me. if you want my job you're going to need to know;

    S390 Assembler
    How the operating system works
    What to do when it doesn't
    Data management.
    Storage management.
    Hardware configuration.
    Data Encryption and security.
    Networking.
    Obscure business logic.
    Knowing what to do, and more importantly why you MUST do it.
    Knowing what NOT to do, and why it's a really bad idea.
    Knowing what rules to make.
    Knowing when to break the rules, and when not to.
    Knowing when to tell Management they're an idiot, and they accept it because of your track record on being right.

    Do you get the picture?