IT Moral Drops to all-time low, study says

[demnan]

Morale among IT workers has dipped to an all-time low, even though demand for certain skills is rising, according to a new study from Meta Group.

Seventy-two percent of the 650 organizations contacted by the research company said the continuing lack of job growth in the industry is dampening the spirits of IT staff. More than half of the companies said they lost staff this year.

Some of the companies are paying attention to retaining key performers, because doing so is less expensive than replacing staff. But the combination of fewer employees, fewer dollars for projects, and the perception that there is no need to focus on retention will not help productivity, the research company said.

http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1104_2-5229367.html

[Catfight]

1. I keep thinking what I want to do so I can get out of IT forever.

[tridim]

3. IT workers need to unionize

I've been taken advantage of for about 4 years now, with low salary (about 1/3 my peak), long hours and no benefits.. But I have little choice because jobs are almost impossible to find, and I have to take what I get.

Lately I've been thinking about buying a small farm and getting back to nature.. But then I get to compete against corporate mega-farms.

[namvet73]

4. Me too..

I have 27 years of experience in software development in numerous languages, platforms, and fields from science, electronics to sales, etc. In the beginning of my career there was lots of opportunity for design and creation of original software. As time went on it became more and more maintenance of someone else's "crappily" written software, but, hey, I decided as long as I'm working with decent people I can be happy enough. I've worked for my share of abusive bosses with their faked short deadlines, etc. My last job was acceptable and I wanted to stay, but it was Tyco and I was laid off over two years ago. I've even had nightmares about some of those bosses.
The industry became more volatile with more and more forced switches, each time I would study and study to keep my skills updated.

I did the same thing after I was laid off this time, except, when I started to hear that these jobs were being off-shored and knew software people who were now doing liaison to India work (who were still employed), I just gave up.

I am now doing some freelance writing and some 3D modeling.

I would love to have some sort of Target so I know how to "retool", but I don't want to spend thousands of $ and lots of time studying something else that's going to be off-shored.

So, what's left? Home Depot?

I'd like to REALLY know that there is absolutely no point in pursuing software or (IT as they call it now), so I can heave the hundreds of Computer science books to regain some real-estate. Many of my CS books are now in plastic storage boxes in the Attic and I recycled all of my Java books.

I'd rather bury myself in manure than work in finance. To me, bean counting jobs are so dull.

Maybe I can go around to garage and estate sales, buy a lot of crap and try to make money on eBay. You have to know what you are doing and you really have to do a lot of volume.

[54anickel]

14. HA! Home Depot - I recently tried that one. They only take apps

online and you MUST furnish you SS # online. No personal apps accepted.

I figured I'd try to get a job there, at least the employee discount would come in handy these days. I refuse to provide my SS#. On apps that request it, I usually write that I would be happy to furnish it if I were considered a candidate for the job - based on what the folks at the State Workforce Development Center teach you at those wonderful job seeking seminars. The online app won't allow you to continue until you fill it in. Most of the standard fake ones like all 9s are already taken so it errors out until you find a combination of numbers that no one has used yet. Pretty sure they just toss the fake ones out anyway.

Perhaps soon I will be desperate enough to say the hell with it and go ahead and put my SS # in there, but I doubt it. It's the principle of the thing.

I usually get the over/under qualified explanation if I get any at all. In my area they are getting 300 to 500 applicants for each IT job posting! Some day I'll find that Goldilocks job that's just right.

[mhr]

15. Over 2000 Resumes Out The Door - Have Not Had A Serious Inquiry

eom

[russian33]

2. This article is dead on!

We've been having people let go about every 4-5 months, for 2 years now...not many, but a few each time...and overall, the morale is very, very low

[ramapo]

5. IT sucks

I have 23ish years in the business.

I was a COBOL programmer for a while and wound up enjoying some great years at Digital Equipment Corp. even though the company had started its death slide. I then had some success doing system integration as a reseller. Those days are long gone.

IT was at one time a fascinating, rewarding career. The opportunities seemed endless and I don't mean the money.

Outsourcing, offshoring, and H1B visas have destroyed what was once a great source of jobs.

[fedsron2us]

6. IT used to be a great career. Now it stinks

Salaries are still better than comparable jobs in other sectors but the gap is shrinking fast. Many of the better youngster are drifting away to careers in different areas. The older workers tend to hang on drawing their salaries and waiting for the axe to fall. None that I know are willing to spend good money re skilling themselves in the latest technology because they know that there is no guarantee of employment at the end of the day. You can't really blame them. If you devote time and money learning to be a plumber or electrician you will have a skill that you will probably be able to use for your entire life. By contrast many of the IT skills go out of date within 3-5 years. People simply can not afford to retrain that often. The whole process is slowly undermining the technical basis upon which many critical systems depend. Employers hope that the supply of cheap programmers etc from places such as Bangalore will meet all their future needs. The may be right. Unfortunately, should they prove wrong then one day the lights might go out and not come back on for a long, long time.

[notadmblnd]

16. I agree...

If things heat up again between India and Pakistan (like they appear to be) and nukes are lobbed. It will be devastating to American companies. If that happens, I'm just gonna grab my popcorn bowl (given to me by the company at 20th anniversary) and watch the show.

[kalian]

7. And a little tip here folks....

even within the educational district, i.e., school districts,
things are looking grim. My school district is looking at the
"possibility" of outsourcing "some" IT-related functions. :eyes:
Given that I have 10 years in the corporate IT world and found this
little safe haven, I never expected that they would stoop so low.

Its despicable considering that we're just as essential as building
maintenance, etc. We're only 4 techs for a school district that is
over 2000 PCs...not to mention the LAN/WAN infrastructure.
Oh well...if the bastards decide to "let us go", I hope they get some
Hindu that can't "speek inglish".

[Robert Oak]

8. If I hear one more time how brilliant I am I am going to scream

over and over I hear, how impressive, how skilled and then I cannot
get a damn JOB! It's ridiculous, I have 400 dollars and about to be homeless and they won't give me the friggin JOB!


What's wrong with these people? Don't they get that just because
I have a lot of credentials and accomplishments I need to eat
and have a roof over my head the same as everyone else?

It's like they think I live in fairy land and say "well we need
to open a position that's right for you"...

it's insane and I cann't get them to offer me the damn JOB as it is.

It's happened 3x now and I'm completely screwed.

[tomreedtoon]

9. Why don't you look around...elsewhere?

I wish I could feel some sympathies for IT guys. They got into the business and got their credentials under the mistaken belief that demand for them would never end. It's possible they were fooled, but that means they weren't very smart to begin with.

Have you guys seen what plumbers get paid? Have you ever been able to find a plumber when you need one? How's about that for a profession?

How about basic electrical wiring? Automobile repair? Instead of farming, which is a business where individuals can't make a living, how about doing landscaping and lawn maintenance on a large scale?

Yes, those are blue-collar occupations. Guess what. There's nothing wrong with blue-collar work. You think because IT jobs were in comfy air-conditioned offices and because you had to wear ties, that you were bosses? You were grunts like the rest of us - grunts who were being misled by your corporate bosses.

And those blue-collar jobs that you might think are "beneath you" pay a good salary, if you're halfway competent. They're honest work that help individuals, as opposed to working on an IT system to spam people with fraudulent e-mail or hide the theft of corporations like Enron.

And who knows? If enough of you get those jobs, you might create a professional organization to demand basic minimum respect and benefits from employers. We could call this kind of organization...a union. What an idea!

[Oggy]

10. Hold on a minute

you make it sound like anyone in IT is snobby, shallow and corrupt.

You may not have meant to make it sound like this, but there are a lot of us out there that your description is nowhere near.

I work in IT. I accidentally started in this sector when I realised my Geography Degree was not going to get me the Environmental Consultant job I wanted. I work in the service side of IT. I look after a whole range of IT systems, I can be under desks cabling 1 minute and writing a script the next. I service peoples requests, oh and all for a NGO promoting Energy Efficiency.

I have been a gardener, decorator, call center operator, window cleaner (own business), dish washer, even for a short while a Toilet Roll holder installer! So please please don't tell me Blue Collar jobs are below me.

[namvet73]

11. Please don't become a counselor...

you don't have the skills.

What is going on here is a process of grieving. A loss of whole careers. It's discussion on how to deal with it. There is no "one size fits all" solution.

I think you're off the mark on calling us snobs. I, for one, often ENVY people who are automobile technicians, electricians, plumbers, etc. I don't think they knew what the future would hold any more than we do, but they have jobs that can't be outsourced.

Also, not "IT" people do web and network stuff. I have written software to control microwave ovens, solar energy analysis software, production line testing, analytical test equipment, medical equipment etc. We don't all write "spam" machines. You don't know the business, so don't criticize it.

I served four years in the military as an enlisted person during the Vietnam war while many of my friends lied their way out of the draft. I cleaned toilets, buffed floors, did KP, repaired airplanes at -35 degree weather in the great lakes area, repaired Airplanes in 100+ degree weather in Thailand. I liked a lot of my job.

You sound like the snob here, sir. You're the one holding court.

BTW, You don't really wish you could feel sympathy. What we're fishing for is some camaraderie and some diplomatically presented answers.

[Name removed]

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[InkAddict]

17. Is it any wonder?

Clients can't make up their minds and/or change it day to day - project/no project; outsource/no outsource; contractors/no contractors, hire that one/nope, "that one doesn't fit in." What's that mean anyway??? In this state, it means some subjective thing like one's energy level is low, or one's voice is too "intense." Can anyone tell me how that's relevant to working w/software and code.

Contractors lie - cozy agreements between them and the clients, how many ways can one say corruption w/creative billing rates, fraudulent contracts containing "outs" that only management is privy to with , and the only ones losing are the analysts, engineers, programmers, developers. Watch out for those 6-12 month assignments that suddenly turn out to be 30 days - changing business environment, don't cha know!

One can only shake one's head when it's been rumored that headhunter fees are high, setting an employee up is expensive; putting and pulling workers from the roles of insurance is quick but wasteful of productivity (doesn't HR have anything better to do?). Ads are phony, and only budget burners. Ho, hum, guess we ought to interview today, huh?

Competition unreal, but no one actually reads the electronic resumes, and turn-around is quick and real, real dirty. No training being given in new technologies. Oh yes, it's part of the benes if one can stay attached long enough to participate in any of those type of benefits - IT personnel have become professional jobseekers - so much for opportunities to actually learn and work with new technologies/languages/management application software. It's so much more cost effective to teach foreigners and buy 'em a plane ticket and a hotel room, while Americans lose their homes and dignity.

ITers indeed have become what seems like the TP in the bathrooms of corporate headquarters. Remember when IT got some respect?