Anyone who pays attention to the job market knows that computer science and information technology has one of the most in demand occupations in the U.S. After the recent recession, the demand is still as strong as ever, but there has been a prominent shift as to where these professionals are working.
A recent study conducted in New York City reports that prior to the economic meltdown that Wall Street and the financial industry as a whole was the largest employer of MIS personnel in the country. They would hire as much as 37% of all college graduates entering the job market. After the economic meltdown, it's now shifted to Silicon Valley and the computer industry.
The key reasons are very basic; job security and work load. Many who are starting to think about what they will be doing after they graduate are talking to their former classmates who-or were-gainfully employed. What they discovered is if their colleagues weren't laid off outright, they are now working in departments that are seriously understaffed; doing much longer hours than they had ever bargained for.
As it stands, the need for more computer professionals is still intense. While there is still no hard evidence of hiring practices for all industries, the evidence is starting to truly pile up. For instance, in 2008 the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that there were nearly 300,000 computer network, systems and database administrators employed in the U.S. alone. At that time, they predicted there will be a need for an additional 30% by 2018.
It also stated that there were 1.35 million software programmers and engineers and there will be equal growth for the engineers. As one can see, even with these incredible numbers, the need for more information technology professions is acute indeed.
Another industry that is coping with exponential growth is the health care industry. The job market report states many hospitals and other health care institutions are becoming another targeted location for professional computer employment; from medical coding to software and network engineering.
What it all comes down to is while Wall Street may be suffering, the computer science and information technology profession isn't going to take the hit. The best thing college upper classmen can do for themselves is to size up the national economy as it currently stands and plan to work for industries that are showing strong growth.
As for those professionals now working in the financial world, the best advice is to do enough time to show job stability and then start shopping for a new job. Many people may decide to further their education by getting an online degree in computer science. Yes, this is a hard lesson, but one has to admit the recession took a lot more people by surprise than a pack of kids just out of college trying to land their first jobs. If anything, what everyone should learn is from all this is to do as much careful planning for when you do graduate as when you decided what career to pursue before going to college. Obtaining an online IT degree may be a very smart move.
No comments:
Post a Comment