What We Want and What We'll Pay For

  • Comments posted to this topic are about the item What We Want and What We'll Pay For

  • I always wish they would publish the previous survey and the actual results as well as the current one.

    412-977-3526 call/text

  • Speaking as one "in the trenches" I, too, take those numbers with more than a grain of salt.

    My strong suspicion is that a number of items are hidden behind these stats:

    * Software vendors are marketing shiny new toys that may or may not enhance a company's IT toolbox and provide competitive advantages.

    * Company employees (or executives) believe the vendor claims and make a large purchase.

    * Tons of money is spent on purchase, not so much on development of products and in-house resources.

    * More employees are needed who have experience in said software product to speed up ROI.

    * Scarcity of these employees command higher salaries.

    * Legacy systems written in old (and proven technologies) also need supported by IT professionals who are likely to retire or move on to newer technologies.

  • According to Gallup polls, more than half of Americans say they want to lose weight, but that's not necessarily a reason for gym owners to expect a surge in membership this year, next... or ever. There have actually been several large national gym franchises that filed for bankruptcy over the past several years, despite half the population saying they want to lose weight.

    http://www.theactivetimes.com/more-half-american-s-say-they-want-lose-weight-not-many-are-trying

    It's the same way with the IT industry. I believe our individual success as IT professionals has more to do with our own dedication to personal development and marketing efforts than it does industry trends or even the state of the economy.

    "Do not seek to follow in the footsteps of the wise. Instead, seek what they sought." - Matsuo Basho

  • I daressay that there is a higher percentage of successful IT professionals in the gym than other people who just "say" they want to lose weight.

    I ran a marathon a few months ago...

  • Losing weight is a poor reason to exercise.

    The benefits are more about mental and physical well being, not weight reduction

    412-977-3526 call/text

  • Economic forecasts are not a good reason for an organization to grow or shrink their IT staff (hire and retain the right mix and number of staff based on what you know [your] current needs are), and industry surveys are not a good reason for an individual to persue a career in IT (do what you love and are good at).

    "Do not seek to follow in the footsteps of the wise. Instead, seek what they sought." - Matsuo Basho

  • robert.sterbal 56890 (7/27/2015)


    I always wish they would publish the previous survey and the actual results as well as the current one.

    That's actually a really good idea.

  • Iwas Bornready (7/28/2015)


    robert.sterbal 56890 (7/27/2015)


    I always wish they would publish the previous survey and the actual results as well as the current one.

    That's actually a really good idea.

    No, for the people publishing those surveys it's a really bad idea, at least if they need to have a decent proportion or target audience read their stuff and a decent proportion of readers believe it.

    Unless, of course, the survey provides something like "this is what people are saying, but judging by the history of what relation these statements bear to real life trends this is what we think is actually going to happen".

    Tom

  • IT here let go about 15 people last year and then created about 20 new positions mostly in the Mobile space. The direction and technology changes so IT must change as well.

    Long term I wonder about server and DBA staffs at companies. As the cloud and software vendors jump more and more into self hosting what company will ADD DBAs or server engineers? Those staffs will shrink. There is more and more of a push for self hosting and goingt to the cloud in general here.

  • Markus (7/30/2015)


    IT here let go about 15 people last year and then created about 20 new positions mostly in the Mobile space. The direction and technology changes so IT must change as well.

    Long term I wonder about server and DBA staffs at companies. As the cloud and software vendors jump more and more into self hosting what company will ADD DBAs or server engineers? Those staffs will shrink. There is more and more of a push for self hosting and goingt to the cloud in general here.

    It depends on what roles a DBA has in your organization. If you are actively involved in architecting the database, ETL and SQL development, line of business operations, etc. then moving to the database to the cloud just means that some of the more mundane tasks are offloaded to a third party, and you can focus on the more interesting aspects of your position.

    However, if all you do is monitor processes and shuffle backups, then make no mistake, you're screwed, and you might want to start transitioning into retirement.

    "Do not seek to follow in the footsteps of the wise. Instead, seek what they sought." - Matsuo Basho

  • Eric M Russell (7/30/2015)


    Markus (7/30/2015)


    IT here let go about 15 people last year and then created about 20 new positions mostly in the Mobile space. The direction and technology changes so IT must change as well.

    Long term I wonder about server and DBA staffs at companies. As the cloud and software vendors jump more and more into self hosting what company will ADD DBAs or server engineers? Those staffs will shrink. There is more and more of a push for self hosting and goingt to the cloud in general here.

    It depends on what roles a DBA has in your organization. If you are actively involved in architecting the database, ETL and SQL development, line of business operations, etc. then moving to the database to the cloud just means that some of the more mundane tasks are offloaded to a third party, and you can focus on the more interesting aspects of your position.

    However, if all you do is monitor processes and shuffle backups, then make no mistake, you're screwed, and you might want to start transitioning into retirement.

    Yeppers on that.

    I cannot justify my position as just a plain old DBA who monitors, does backups and so forth. I have to get more involved with the data in how it's being used in order to justify my position. That means doing more development and engineering aspects of my role, which I really enjoy a lot.

    Luckily, not everything I work with is in the cloud. I still do a lot of the traditional stuff, but also have to get heavily involved with the data engineering portion with being that IT specialist for the team members who are good with number and not so good with the technology piece. It works out very well because that's not easily replaced simply because the data now lives in this so called "Cloud".

  • TomThomson (7/28/2015)


    Iwas Bornready (7/28/2015)


    robert.sterbal 56890 (7/27/2015)


    I always wish they would publish the previous survey and the actual results as well as the current one.

    That's actually a really good idea.

    No, for the people publishing those surveys it's a really bad idea, at least if they need to have a decent proportion or target audience read their stuff and a decent proportion of readers believe it.

    Unless, of course, the survey provides something like "this is what people are saying, but judging by the history of what relation these statements bear to real life trends this is what we think is actually going to happen".

    Tom and Robert et al are all right in my opinion. If you have ever been suckered into following one of those "27 XXX you won't believe!!!" links (like I have) then you have suffered reading an article that often has just part of a story. Enough to make you interested at first but not enough to provide any value.

    Gaz

    -- Stop your grinnin' and drop your linen...they're everywhere!!!

Viewing 13 posts - 1 through 12 (of 12 total)

You must be logged in to reply to this topic. Login to reply