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Slashdot Asks: Which IT Hiring Trends Are Hot, and Which Ones Are Going Cold?

Posted by BeauHD on from the icy-hot dept.

snydeq writes: Recruiting and retaining tech talent remains IT's biggest challenge today, writes Paul Heltzel, in an article on what trends are heating up and what's cooling off when it comes to IT staffing. "One thing hasn't changed this year: Recruiting top talent is still difficult for most firms, and demand greatly outstrips supply," writes Heltzel. "That's influencing many of the areas we looked at, including compensation and retention. Whether you're looking to expand your team or job searching yourself, read on to see which IT hiring practices are trending and which ones are falling out of favor." What are you seeing companies favoring in the hiring market these days?

7 of 190 comments (clear)

  1. Demand outstripping supply? by rsilvergun · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Unless we're talking H1-Bs I don't see that in the slightest. What I do see is several of my buddies in dead end jobs (and a few acquaintances rocking recent CS degrees stuck in crap IT jobs) while workers here on cheap visas and outsourcing dominate the industry. I suppose if they can keep this up though nobody local will go into IT (since you can't get work). I can tell you this, I just sent my kid to college to be a nurse. IT ranked below liberal arts degree on the list of things I wanted her to major in.

    --
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    1. Re:Demand outstripping supply? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Insightful

      The key word here is "top." Every single business wants to higher the top of the industry elites....not just regular people who managed to get a degree.

      There is a difference in what top tier talent can deliver. Plenty of people consider themselves to be top tier talent until the real world hits them in the face. But that is a separate issue.

      There are three problems with retaining top tier talent:

      1) they are expensive, and businesses want top tier on the cheap.
      2) Other businesses want them, so their have competition luring them away.
      3) They don't like being overworked or otherwise made to put up with shit, and know they don't have to put up with it, and will quit when things get bad.

      These are the real reasons why demand outstrips supply. It has nothing to do with the total supply of IT talent, and everything to do with the much smaller supply of top-tier it talent that is willing to be underpaid and overworked.

    2. Re:Demand outstripping supply? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

      I'm not so convinced that most management teams would know actual "top tier talent" if it hit them in the face, nor would they know how to let new blood actually recommend improvements that go against company culture.

    3. Re:Demand outstripping supply? by JaredOfEuropa · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Also, they often don't know why, where or when they need to recruit top talent. Many jobs don't require rock star talent and can be filled by IT staff who are merely good.

      --
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    4. Re:Demand outstripping supply? by russbutton · · Score: 5, Insightful

      The dev with 10 years experience just turned 30 and is ripe to be fired and replaced by the new grad. The old dev will never work again, not anywhere, not ever. Experience is a curse, and if you don't believe it, you're next to be fired. Bye-bye!

      Really? I've been doing UNIX/Linux systems admin, now called DevOps work, since 1989. The job keeps changing and evolving, but it's a lot of the same kinds of skills being called for. Of course in that 28 years I've been let go one way or another 7 times and 10 of the companies I've worked for no longer exist. One company laid me off on a Tuesday, the bank seized the company on Friday and my last check bounced. I eventually got paid, but you just had to laugh.

      I'm now 66 years old and still get calls from recruiters almost daily. I have yet to see anyone turn me down just because of my age.

      The truth is that you have to keep your skill set current. The old standbys of UNIX/Linux savvy, regular expressions, problem solving, and most of all. a willingness to jump in on stuff you know nothing about and figure it out on the fly. That's your bread and butter on a day-to-day basis. Be able work in puppet/chef and have some hands-on with AWS is what everyone wants today. Tomorrow it'll be something else. Ya gotta keep an eye out for what's coming next and get a taste of it.

  2. One thing hasn't changed this year: by Gravis+Zero · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Most firms are still offering too little money for the positions they want filled. Translated, this means most companies do not value IT staff.

    The companies with management that believe "demand greatly outstrips supply" are earning the security breaches in their futures.

    --
    Anons need not reply. Questions end with a question mark.
  3. Infrastructure is a dead end street by Gussington · · Score: 3, Insightful

    A good trench digger might dig 20% more earth than an average one, a good plumber might lay 20% more pipe, or save 20% through a clever approach . But a good technology person can deliver a lot more than an entire team of their more average peers. But corporate pay grades never reflect this.
    If the good people were paid what they are actually worth you would have no problem attracting them.(Free market etc...)

    Oh and Infrastructure is dead, dev and design is where it's at.