Is it really possible to predict the future of any industry? A cursory look at some leading reports on the technology profession would suggest that the answer is a confident, “No.”
Here’s a case in point:
A recent article in Computerworld firmly states that there are simply not enough IT workers to meet demands. Companies, the article insists, are paying the price with projects failing to meet deadlines or simply being abandoned. And according to an Appirio and Wakefield Research survey, 90% of the respondents agreed that recruiting and retaining technology talent is a top business challenge.
Compare this assessment with a piece in CIO Insight, published just a few days later. According to that article, a survey by TEKSystems indicates that IT budgets are on the rise, but hiring expectations are significantly lower than they were at the end of 2014. Why? Well for one thing, tech execs report more confidence in their IT department’s ability to satisfy business demands than they did six months ago. Far from abandoning projects, these CIOs are quite pleased with the way their projects are going.
We realize it isn’t always easy to fill the e-pages of all those on-line tech publications. Sometimes, editors may grab the first survey that looks sexy enough to get the attention of their readers. But the fact (or our humble opinion) is that technology is always going to be a fluid industry, filled with ever-changing opportunities to have a lot of fun while making a comfortable living.
So go with the flow. And don’t worry too much about what the pundits say.