(1 votes, average: 10 out of 10)
Loading ...Upgrade to Vista, Office 2007 and Server 2008?
By Jason W. Eckert
When I speak with people working within IT at various organization, I often ask detailed questions about the technologies that they implement. This is because educators such as myself always need to see “the big IT picture”. It allows us to modify our lectures to emphasize topics that are more important to industry in our classroom as well as gives us the ability to modify our programs over time.
Over the past year, I have spoken with hundreds of IT professionals in various industries. And I have found out that most organizations have adopted Server Virtualization (usually VMWare) and Open Source technologies over the past year. In addition, SQL and Exchange Server knowledge continue to be hot skills required in most organizations. However, when I ask about plans to upgrade workstations to Windows Vista and Office 2007, I usually get a strange glare as if I had lobsters crawling out of my nose. In short, most organizations plan to stick with Windows XP as their client platform for the next long while. Only a few organizations have upgraded to Office 2007. Many tell me that they are likely to upgrade to Office 2007 before they upgrade to Windows Vista. On the server side, many administrators tell me that they have installed evaluation copies of Windows Server 2008 for learning, but have no plans to implement it soon. One IT administrator even told me that for cost, support and hardware reasons, his company is “staying away from Vista like The Plague.”
This relates well with the IT job market - it is rare to find Windows Vista or Server 2008 in any job ad for IT in Ontario. Most job ads list Windows XP and Windows Server 2003 as necessary skillsets. In addition, while most colleges teach Windows Vista, the skills in a Windows Vista course can be applied (for the most part) to Windows XP. Due to the late release of Windows Server 2008 and the usual delay in certification programs and good course materials, many colleges will not offer Windows Server 2008 until later this year or in 2009. Perhaps by then, IT job ads will list those skills more frequently.
What does that mean for those worried about upgrading their skillset? Well, for most organizations, Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008 certification may not be in demand until next year or even later. For current IT professionals, I would recommend that you wait until next year to think about Vista and Server 2008 certification. For those who are currently taking a college program, it is probably a good idea to get certified in Windows Vista before entering the workforce such that you don’t need to do it down the road, but also emphasize Windows XP skills on a resume.
I am interested to hear your opinions on upgrading to Vista, Office 2007 and Server 2008. Does your organization currently use or plan to use these technologies in the near future? Do you see IT job ads that require these skills in your area? Post a comment to this blog and let me know what you think.
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(1 votes, average: 10 out of 10) Loading ...Dissecting recent changes in the IT job market
By Jason W. Eckert
As Julia King pointed out in the February article “IT career paths you never dreamed of”, the titles of IT people have been changing in the past few years and will likely continue to change in the future. “Network Engineer” is being replaced with terms that are specific to a technology or department such as “Exchange Software Specialist” or “Production Technology Support”.
What is driving this change? Companies today are leaner and meaner than they have been in the past. “Driving business further with lower costs” is a theme that is echoed in nearly every facet of IT nowadays. Instead of hiring a systems analyst to scope out a problem and translate it to the IT department and eventually implement it within 6-12 months, many organizations are dedicating IT people to specific jobs that have the highest business value such as the creation and maintenance of a web-accessed database system that can be used to centralize the inputting and management of data. As a result, the turnaround for technology implementation has been days or weeks instead of months or years.
However, not all organizations fall into this scheme as Scott Elliott pointed out in his comments from the previous post. Many organizations, especially those with an IT staff of less than 10 people, still want someone who is a jack-of-all trades (Network Engineer/Tech Support/Email Admin/SQL Admin/Plumber/Basket Weaver/Performer of miracles).
In my previous blog post, I speculated that the IT market may be returning to specialization. Julia King speculates that the titles of IT professional are going to change to become more business-focused (to reflect new specialized jobs??). Scott Elliott reminds us that many organizations still want a generalized IT skillset (probably with more business knowledge today).
Perhaps there are two trends that are appearing in the IT job market:
A growing number of generalized jobs (in the small-medium market space).
A growing number of business-focused specialized jobs (in the medium-large market space).What does this mean from a career standpoint?
Well, I imagine that is means that you must decide which market space you wish to participate in before attempting to change careers or start a new career in IT. Personally, I think someone who is relatively new to IT should start in the generalized market space and move to a business-focused specialized job after spending many years in IT. This fits well with the job market since there are far more smaller organizations and better hiring prospects in the generalized market space. As experience builds in a specialized area, job candidates are better prepared to apply for those specialized jobs in larger organizations.
Additionally, I think business knowledge will fast become an IT job requirement in many organizations in the next 5 years.
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Is the IT market returning to specialization?
By Jason W. Eckert
Until the mid 1990s, the IT market largely consisted of professionals who specialized in one or two technologies. You were either a “Novell Administrator” or a “UNIX Administrator” or a “Banyan Vines Administrator” or a “Windows Administrator” or a “Database Administrator”, etc. Back then, an IT Administrator had a small, yet specialized skill set.
Since the mid-1990s, IT Administrators have gradually been expected to perform multiple roles. Now, the title Administrator usually means database administrator, email administrator, Active Directory administrator, UNIX/Linux administrator, programmer (scripting), network administrator, and performer of miracles all at once.
However, today we have far more technologies than ever before and I see some trends that suggest that the IT job market is starting to favour specialized skills over general ones.
Firstly, the Microsoft certification tracks are now specialized. Instead of obtaining an MCSE (Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer) after writing 7 exams that test the various administrative areas of the Windows operating system, you simply write a single certification that tests your skill in a specialized subject to obtain a MCTS (Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist). You can get an MCTS in SQL, or an MCTS in Exchange, or an MCTS in Active Directory administration, and so on. This modular certification structure was created by Microsoft from feedback by colleges in North America. These colleges, in turn, gave this feedback based on the needs of the job market in their geographical area.
Secondly, most employers today seem to favour specific certifications (that provide a benchmark of ability in a specialized skill area) to degrees and general experience.
Thirdly, most of the IT jobs that our graduates have obtained at triOS College primarily encompass a single technology such as SQL or Exchange, and have a few minor components such as network administrator or support.
Does anyone else see this trend?
