Better IT Than The Auto Industry

These days, there's a lot of concern about the economy.  Under these circumstances, people begin to worry about the security of their own jobs; the auto industry, for example, feels a bit shaky right now. This is also true of the real estate and mortgage industries. But, according to the latest Robert Half Technology survey, IT jobs are staying the secure course.

According to the Robert Half Chief Information Officer (CIO) survey of 1,400 companies with more than 100 employees, 82% of CIO's expect to maintain the status quo for the next quarter. Another 13% of those CIO's expect to add IT staff and 3% expect to cut staff. While this is a small decline from the optimism illustrated in the previous Robert Half survey, apparently the overall indication is still of robust IT employment.

Several job categories continue to fuel the creation of new jobs. Windows administration skills accounts for 74% of the interest in skill development, and network administration continues as the most active job category.

Earlier in the year, the Society of Information Management (SIM), an IT industry professional association, also took a bullish stance on the IT job market. They have released a survey citing recruiting and retention of IT professionals as the top concern of companies. President of SIM Jim Noble also believes that the movement of IT jobs to offshore locations is not a sign of declining North American demand as some suggest, but instead is driven by the shortfall in meeting the demand for IT jobs. (Source: informationweek.com)

Moreover, Noble sees IT as "a great stepping stone to general management." All of this is what makes IT jobs some of the best in America for the "young and restless." CNNMoney cites being an IT 'generalist" or a network administrator as two jobs of the top 20 for young people that offer some of the highest demand and excellent compensation. (Source: cnn.com)

So what does this mean? It doesn't mean that the economy isn't still headed for trouble. But, it might suggest that if the auto industry is going to tank, or if the the mortgage industry continues to fall, there will still be a need for IT professionals to create and administrate systems that account for it all.