June 25th, 2008
Hey, kids! IT isn't boring!
ComputerWeekly reported yesterday on a UK study that found many college graduates didn’t want to enter information technology careers because they would be “boring.” These same grads acknowledged that job prospects and salaries in the industry were quite good, but still had no intention of pursuing careers in the field.
Hey, folks…Guess what? IT really isn’t boring. Sure, there are plenty of dead-end IT jobs, just as there are plenty of dead-end jobs in most industries. However, information technology can mean a lot of things, and if this sounds like a recruiting pitch, it is. We need really good writers, project managers, leaders, and designers, not to mention programmers and support staff.
A job as a member of the Best Buy Geek Squad does not count as an IT career. Teaching math using the latest software is an IT career. So is managing development of a video game or making the Phoenix lander actually pick up chunks of ice. Statistical analysis of banking data or designing new web interfaces for sex education? Both IT careers.
And if you really want to be a member of the Geek Squad, you can be. However, grads who step into IT careers are far more likely to be determining the best way for Best Buy to make money off their Geek Squad or deciding the best services to offer consumers (and the best way to market to a broad cross-section of computer users).
Of course, this comes from a stress-junkie who has had several IT-related jobs. Finding employment that I enjoy (and moving on to new employment if I ever get bored, or companies merge, or whatever) has never been an issue.
Follow Chris Dawson on Twitter! Christopher Dawson is the technology director for the Athol-Royalston School District in northern Massachusetts and a member of the Internet Press Guild. See his full profile and disclosure of his industry affiliations, but always keep in mind that the opinions expressed here are his own and not those of his daytime employer, even if he talks incessantly about his day job.
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