Why Are People Keen To Get Out Of IT?

[AtW]

Personally, Ive really enjoyed my last 28 years in IT and am a little sad I will be retiring in a few weeks time.

[snipped]

PZZ

You may get retired much earlier than you think if you don't stop your annoying habit of adding PZZ for all your posts

[pzz76077]

You may get retired much earlier than you think if you don't stop your annoying habit of adding PZZ for all your posts

I wish....

PZZ

[NotAllThere]

The technology moved on - it is a lot easier to use (meaning more people can get into IT) and often far more powerful than needed in many cases - this means cr@p programmers can get away with using cr@p languages like J@v@ rather than pure assembly
...

I have programmed in three assembly languages, and Java and several other high level languages (and got paid for it). I am able to do far more, in considerable less time in Java than in assembler. I am using the same generice skills - whether in Z80A(!), Fortran, Cobol, C++, whatever.

High level languages are a number of levels of abstraction away from assembler. As processing power, memory and disk space have become ever cheaper, the true expense in development has become the programmer (since at least 1990 - so you're twenty years or so behind the times).

The idea that high level languages (of whatever flavour) are not as good as pure assembly is utter nonsense. However, pure assembler required a degree of skill that many programmers no longer have. This has allowed more crap programmers to earn a living, whereas previously it would have been impossible for them. The difference in terms of TCO of a bad programmer's efforts as opposed to a good programmer is around 50x. ( and between average and good, 20x).

However, work in IT no longer means, primarily, programming. There's a huge bunch of other wastrels and loafers like business analysts, dba's, etc...

[SueEllen]

However, work in IT no longer means, primarily, programming. There's a huge bunch of other wastrels and loafers like business analysts, dba's, etc...

Hence my point about the studying and qualifications people are getting could be used in roles that don't exist yet.

[SueEllen]

My sister-in-law packed in a £60K fairly secure job as a purchaser to get a law degree (on top of a degree in Chinese and Business Studies from Durham). Another similarly dippy female of my acquaintance did the same 5 years ago and is still unemployed.

Funny thing is someone I knew years ago went to a talk about doing a LPC after her degree and the entire room of 200 people was told not to bother as only about 3 of them in the room would get jobs in law. And out of that 3 one of them had specialised skills...........

[Yosser Hughes]

I'm only in IT because successive governments have been toiling to eradicate all traces of manufacturing from the UK. IT wasn't my initial career choice so, apart from the £££, I have no love for IT.

I like to be out and about working with physical things, not sitting in an office staring at a screen so if the £££ goes from IT work, I would rather do something else.

I guess others are looking at alternative lucrative careers such as law because they are only in IT for the money, not for the love of the job. The question is - what happens when Bob gets in on the act and the a*se falls out of the law market? I can't think of any career that is safe - except perhaps politics.

Al.

Your story mirrors mine, I tried to get back into manufacturing (tool making for aerospace) but I've been out of that game too long and no-one will have me.

Every sector I turn to some fecker is doing it for less, globalisation seems to have benefited no-one but the shareholders. At 40 years old the future looks bleak, crime looks like a good option.

[Francko]

Your story mirrors mine, I tried to get back into manufacturing (tool making for aerospace) but I've been out of that game too long and no-one will have me.

Every sector I turn to some fliper is doing it for less, globalisation seems to have benefited no-one but the shareholders. At 40 years old the future looks bleak, crime looks like a good option.

In every sector some fliper somewhere in a cheaper nation is doing it for less, globalisation seems to have benefited no-one but the shareholders (only on a shortterm basis but damaging them too long term). Crime also is affected by the phenomenon of cheaper foreign workers outplacing local criminals.

[NotAllThere]

Your story mirrors mine, I tried to get back into manufacturing (tool making for aerospace) but I've been out of that game too long and no-one will have me.

Every sector I turn to some fliper is doing it for less, globalisation seems to have benefited no-one but the shareholders. At 40 years old the future looks bleak, crime looks like a good option.

This is where being a very good programmer makes the difference. I may have mentioned that in terms of TCO a good programmer is worth 20 times that of the majority average programmers. That levels the off-shoring advantage - it's hard to find the good programmer. And hard to find means - expensive. Once they've found you and recognised your ability, they'll fight tooth and nail to keep you.

One of my clients gave me a piece of work, rather than offshoring it, because I did it in 4 hours, and the offshore group (which were still the client's employees!) quoted 40 hours...

Your bog standard contractor cannot compete. But if you're good you can.

If you're not - go do something else. Something that can't be competed with.

[joey122]

This is where being a very good programmer makes the difference. I may have mentioned that in terms of TCO a good programmer is worth 20 times that of the majority average programmers. That levels the off-shoring advantage - it's hard to find the good programmer. And hard to find means - expensive. Once they've found you and recognised your ability, they'll fight tooth and nail to keep you.

One of my clients gave me a piece of work, rather than offshoring it, because I did it in 4 hours, and the offshore group (which were still the client's employees!) quoted 40 hours...

Your bog standard contractor cannot compete. But if you're good you can.

If you're not - go do something else. Something that can't be competed with.

What can you possbly do in four hours - That is just bulltulip - Any programming task should take a few days at least to write test deploy and then document

[pzz76077]

What can you possbly do in four hours - That is just bulltulip - Any programming task should take a few days at least to write test deploy and then document

I dunno- I had a similar situation the other week, we wanted a bit of SQL to do a quick data cleanse, extract and move to a new DB. I did this while on a teleconf, outsourcing 'partner' pointed to their standard T&C's and would charge us a minimum of 5 days regardless of how long the task actually took.

PZZ