1) Companies will always need technical support. Generally two areas: Developers and infrastructure technologists.
2) Developers ordinarily work very long hours especially immediately before and immediately following a major- revision software update.
3) Infrastructure support workers also spend lots of time upgrading and replacing production systems during off and weekend hours. Also, there are PC/Software installation positions that may more ordinarily work 8 – 5 shifts, but they may pay much less than the developer and infrastructure superstars.
4) If you can find stable, fair companies (like I have for the last 10 years) its a good way to go if you are good at it.
5) You can be outsourced quite quickly however. And, layoffs and reorgs affecting IT take place once or twice a year at many/most medium to large companies.
6) IT glut – there are so many people taking IT training courses that new IT workers are hard pressed to get their first job. But, with some experience it becomes much easier. There are some cities, like Washington/DC area where IT jobs are plentiful. In SD, its hit or miss. Younger folks will take any salary to get a chance to live in Socal, at least for a while. So, competition (especially in the smaller SD area in comparison to LA) is tougher. A new IT professional may have a challenge breaking into the business.
7) Many IT professionals who surfed through the dot com era run up in salaries but who weren’t downsized/laid off, have impressive salaries. Also, sought after skills draw Salaries from $50K (widely available) to $100K plus (less so, but definitely out there.
8) I read somewhere that ranks of IT staff haven’t necessarily grown tremendously in recent years, but that the ranks of IT Managers have. (Maybe that accounts for what the other poster mentioned in terms of bad IT mangers)IT Managers earn towards the top of the scale. Downside for a newcomer, you can’t get an IT Manger’s position without some significant proven experience. But, if you do, and you are a decent manager, I can tell you that it can be a rewarding vocation.
9) Would I recommend an IT postion for you? If you have nothing better to pursue, why not. The skills you learn in IT have a decent transfer rate to other discliplines. So, if it doesnt’ suit your fancy, you come away with some collateral skills useful in other areas. Overall, there’s a strong demand for sought after skills (experienced programmers, administrators, network engineers, security specialists, DBA’s) but one must pay one’s dues before getting into those roles.
