The “IT” boom is over
The IT Boom
Throughout the 90’s the new idea of a flourishing IT/jobs economy was livid. The strong increase of internet success gave a confidence that was difficult to refute even among the many companies that had been financially ruined or even put out of a job by the success of IT applications and systems. People seem to think that boom has died in the UK and europe because of jobs being recalled to US territory. Many seem to think that the industry is saturated with the same professionals with the same qualifications - well, they can’t be right. Admittedly a lot of us enthusiasts have taken a bow to the overexposed, overexagerated & overhyped “IT boom” over the last 10 years. For some it meant they were out of a job, out with the old, in with the new. For other’s it meant their career was severely devalued; kids learn stuff from an early age now and somehow we feel threatened by new entrants and grads, although perhaps an argument exists to the contrary of all of that - a pattern of irrefutable evidence lurks and we all recognise it. The geek.
Bang we say boom then no longer enough IT job’s loom.
This “boom” has forced a lot of professionals away from the IT and IS industries, however the saturation… it has also led to the consolidation of the IT-geeks. It has layed foundation to the “upper bracket” of consultants. The guys who simply love their job. It has - in all fairness - seperated the definition between graduates and professionals - whether people with their peices of paper like it or not.
“This is the IT industry son and if you can’t make things work and stay working you can’t work for me.”
To Thine Own Self be True
At first it might seem crazy, but give it some thought and you too will come round to the idea that competance and reliability, redundancy and professionalism do not come from theory alone by any means at all, most especially , and most ironically - even in something as mathematically complex as computing. Some have it, some don’t. Some graduate some don’t. However you will not find the same paramount with the consolidation of the industry - the geeks. If the pop geek culture continues to grow and earn the appreciation it has deserved for so long, how long will it be until everyone wants to think like that and reap the success of taking on experienced, capable professionals? There really are so many highly skilled geeks I know, some making ten’s of thousands, but let’s admit it, sure some of these professionals have qualifications but more often than not the truly brilliant one’s I’ve come to meet have taught themselves.
“Who are these geeks?” - they are grads, they are undergrads, they are teenagers , they are middle-aged, they are indefinately a selection of people who wish to further their knowledge and their understanding from self study.
The enthusiasts battle - his alone to fight.
The point is this is a “new breed” of IT professionals, something that is becoming more pop in the 21st century, everybody knows the IT geek has been around a longer while. However not everybody knows that the “IT geek” isn’t about computing, it’s about a way of life, a way of understanding things, and a way of acting on them - to me they are the embodiement of professionalism in the IT world, but not the fundamental of it. Nowadays there’s so many plain IT professionals that when they go home, they couldn’t give a flying pigeon about the latest gadget, the latest innovation or new development methodology, to put it frankly such people would rather obtain another qualification than indulge themselves in something they’d find interesting - and a reason there is - most of these “plan tech’s” don’t find IT interesting, and neither wish to indulge themselves nor immerse themselves in such activity and for this reason alone the new breed of IT geek’s is here to stay. In all fairness, I’ve had to battle my way through the industry day after day, minute after minute, year after year, and finally things are looking up for me - I’ve got some experience behind me now - even if I had the knowledge before - I wasn’t able to prove it, and I have found this proof is just as valuable as any certification can give - and - to the intellectual few that are able to test for and detect IT professionalism they will find themeselves the greatest catches this year - that are yet to come. why?
The student is only as good as the test.
I used to think this was just another way of saying that I was dyslexic - or another way to make the stupid kids feel better. Hell, I was one of them. It’s hard to believe at the age of eleven I could still barely read or write. People are starting to realise that amazing results outweigh mediocre goals and that ingenuity and invention have more to give than the mediocrity that a great deal of recruitment agencies have so far given them. The true value though, is in detecting the skills. Too many times have I seen highly talented professionals wasted or disgarded in mediocre companies doing medicore jobs.
No longer can a CV detect how capable a person is in action, only how well he has tested - and that’s a pity.
Their numbers are growing
As the geeks and inventors alike becomes more mainstream I think that eventually people will (and already are) coming round to the idea of the geek - can you do the job? This isn’t by chance, I personally believe that more people are coming around to the ideas of such people and trying harder than ever before to understand them and most importantly to exploit their ideas and innovation that others are either too inflexable or incapable to see - and in a competative market of course, these things do count most. What one fails to exploit another recognises it as an asset, uses it, and if successful utilizes it and sets a precedent. That precedent aswell as the “geek pop” is still rolling out to establish itself. Many are quick to make their judgements, even I, but from a dyslexic innovator - my truly one and only decent skill - I assure you these people, including myself admittedly, set out to be different from the rest, it is part of their moral obligation - and I have no doubt that this is just the beginning.
Where to next?
As more and more people begin to use computers as a daily precursor a new division in users was formed reliant on innovation, interest, morality and fundamental’s of human existance. Something that must appear in a system that becomes so large. Ironically this is called opensource ASWELL as the geek, and to those who still deny you shall be warned! Opensource was shunned much like the “geek” will be and will suffer, but people had to accept opensource for what it had to offer much like one day the geek will become commonplace much like opensource has.
Frankensteins monstor.
In essence those who know themselves and their love best often have the greatest capability, and that can be someone with or without a degree, someone with or without a job, and someone with or without the chance to get out there almost in all cases these people have the fundamentally important experience and understanding and that alone can carry them to success irregardless of opportunity. Proof surrounds us and I believe it will become more and more apparent in a newly innovative and flexible world we are creating, where intercommunication and interlearning are becoming entangled in a web of sophisticated expertise that is often irreplaceable by paper or by people. That is the society we have built. That is the opportunity we gave rise to. That is what created the geek and what will continue to shape the creativity and ingenuity of system’s for centuries to come. This is a truly great thing and is just another shift in the understanding of ourselves and the society we immerse ourselves (or not) in!
May 5th, 2007 at 4:25 pm
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