IT skills crisis

As always, the value of IT is never taken into consideration. Why, because things are not going wrong. You need a disaster to shake the tree of the CIO of a company. They can't see the value that IT is bringing to the company. It's pretty bad when the head of marketing earns double than what the head of IT is earning.

Shortage of IT skills:Why study in a direction that pays you peanuts? IT people are like the "true blue" cops. We do it for the love of the job.
 
The love needs to get paid though. IT people are highly sought after and decently paid overseas.

I'd love to be paid well with company benefits. O well ... perhaps in the future
 
LottaFun said:
We do it for the love of the job.
Click to expand...

Iam sitting in a non IT crappy job but it pays better. What the company do is using my skills to do admin/accounting and IT support so they dont have to pay a IT tech to do the job.
 
LottaFun said:
As always, the value of IT is never taken into consideration. Why, because things are not going wrong. You need a disaster to shake the tree of the CIO of a company. They can't see the value that IT is bringing to the company. It's pretty bad when the head of marketing earns double than what the head of IT is earning.

Shortage of IT skills:Why study in a direction that pays you peanuts? IT people are like the "true blue" cops. We do it for the love of the job.
Click to expand...
QFT!

I can see it everyday in my job. IT = bottom of the barrel.
 
daveza said:
If I was an employer I would look at years of hands-on experience and value it far more than a diploma.
Click to expand...

Well most corporates don't work like that. That's why I have gone back to working for SMME's

At my previous job, I was constantly belittled and victimized and made the underdog because I didn't have a degree. I was also passed over for any kind of increase or promotion.

Because I love IT a great deal, what I did was, one day I took a chance to offer to do the IT at my wife's work. They accepted it and I found myself administering their network and sorting out all kinds of BS and doing upgrades. This led me to registering a close corporation and with that I could get accounts at the big suppliers and service this client timeously and with the right parts, etc.. That was the only way for me to try and get experience of the IT field.

Then when things got kuk at work I decided to use my experience and the fact that I did IT for companies as a stepping stone into the industry. Let's just say that nobody was interested and by January I got myself another engineering position to get away from that other fscktard place I was working at.

Now what happens is they let me do the IT for the company, after hours, and they pay my company for these services. My boss thinks its the best thing since sliced bread. Whilst I am not nearly as busy as I used to be, I am still getting the personal satisfaction I got from doing IT for my wife's work.
 
Last edited:
I have 5 years Exp... I feel the same way... Going back to "school" to learn how to program... if you catch my drift.
 
The same story goes with Engineering skills. But don't let the government do somethign about it- we all know what happens when the government tries to solve a problem. Solve one, create another.
 
Cant be all that bad? Anyone here had any good experiences with having a MCSE etc and no degree?
 
saffakanera said:
Cant be all that bad? Anyone here had any good experiences with having a MCSE etc and no degree?
Click to expand...

My computer science teacher at school had her MCSE, N+ and A+ certifications. She was still pretty damn useless and I, having been in matric then, was a lot better at any computer skills than she was.
 
saffakanera said:
Cant be all that bad? Anyone here had any good experiences with having a MCSE etc and no degree?
Click to expand...


Yes, i am one of them, no degree, just over 2 years commercial experience, the 2nd interview/technical test interview is always the determining factor, testifies if your a valid or paper certified individual.

;)
 
Bollocks, I don't get it go to the IT colleges, Technikons, Universities and see all the kiddies studying and how can there be a skills shortage?

Just look at the LANs that happen and the geek kids out there who are into IT.
The bottom line is that companies don't want to pay properly, and in some cases they would rather import some foreign geek and pay them more.:sick:

A lot of non white students are also feeling that these days that if you don't fit the stereotype of the "white IT guy", the company bosses don't take you seriously or want to respect and pay like they paid the guy who just emigrated.

There are a lot of unqualified people out there who know a lot more than those with papers, instead of looking for so many qualifications companies should look at the knowlegde of the individual.

Also some people don't trust colleges etc, this is also bollocks, a Bsc Degree isnt the answer to finding an IT guy.

Before complaining all the time companies should start getting real and paying real salaries, otherwise people will job hop. Cost of living is high enough as it is. There are lots of realistic issues that need to be addressed. And the solution is not bringing in overseas help like the USA did. Maybe the companies should send scouts out to the places where geeks get together to look for talent.
 
Last edited:
metalcore said:
Bollocks, I don't get it go to the IT colleges, Technikons, Universities and see all the kiddies studying and how can there be a skills shortage?

Just look at the LANs that happen and the geek kids out there who are into IT.
The bottom line is that companies don't want to pay properly, and in some cases they would rather import some foreign geek and pay them more.:sick:

A lot of non white students are also feeling that these days that if you don't fit the stereotype of the "white IT guy", the company bosses don't take you seriously or want to respect and pay like they paid the guy who just emigrated.

There are a lot of unqualified people out there who know a lot more than those with papers, instead of looking for so many qualifications companies should look at the knowlegde of the individual.

Also some people don't trust colleges etc, this is also bollocks, a Bsc Degree isnt the answer to finding an IT guy.

Before complaining all the time companies should start getting real and paying real salaries, otherwise people will job hop. Cost of living is high enough as it is. There are lots of realistic issues that need to be addressed. And the solution is not bringing in overseas help like the USA did. Maybe the companies should send scouts out to the places where geeks get together to look for talent.
Click to expand...

That would mean forward thinking! Our companies are very narrow minded in their approach to things. "This is our things always worked". Yes it did, but times are changing.

In India, the majority (90%) of graduates walk into a job either in their own country or somewhere in the first world. You've studied, you're eager to work ... so work.

Over here more people who don't wanna work are in jobs than those who want to work but stuck at home or retail or something not lekker.

I'd love such a scheme. IT is about tinkering with things for hours and days to find a solution. Its dynamic and can't be pigeon holed into "fancy" certificates.

I'm looking to get certified in Linux, just so that I have papers ... but the real work will come when I build & configure a system for future clients. How else do you get experience?

If company ABC invites you to an interview ... goes uhm, okay, we'll call you in a few days. Then ends up hiring an oke that resigns after 3 months as he was the "ideal" candidate.

The system is rotten to the core, and I'm sick of it. Yes, I'm speaking from my own personal experience but its all I have ;)

We won't get anywhere in the ICT sector and as a country as whole with such a pathetic attitude towards human resources. Without "human capital" a country dies fast.

We only need to look at the rest of Africa to see how a country dwindles into nothingness after an intial vigour ...

My 0.02c
 
I really don't want to work for any of our IT companies here.
Talk about slave labour.
Yuck.
*spit*
*spit*
Of course .. this does not mean that I am not going to come crawling back with my tail between my legs begging for a job in 5 months time .. :D
 
To avoid any potential crisis, why not rather pay IT people (in general) their worth? I barely see any bean counters pushing long hours or being put under as much stress. In virtually every organisation, IT always seems to be the most overlooked sector. But when things go wrong, then people start throwing hissy fits. This lack of acknowledgement, to me, seems to be the biggest factor in driving skilled people away.
 
Last edited:
lol, isnt the "slave labour" here considered good experience then? Especially when going overseas to apply for work?
 
This type of "thintelligence" by the IT companies to pay their skilled IT workers peanuts, and thus to drive them away will lead to them having to "import" skilled IT workers at a premium...

...will be real ironic if you migrate overseas, your company kuks real hard without any skilled IT workers, and have to "import" skilled IT workers, and you get "imported" at a higher salary... :D:D:D

But seriously now, is there a chance I will get a better paid job overseas with only a few diplomas and 10-11 years of experience? :)
 
Slave labour for 2 years is fine to sharpen your teeth (18-22 age group).

After that it gets tiresome, as you need to eat and pay rent and have fun.

Peanuts and working your butt off doesn't allow that :(
 
The key is to try and make yourself indispensable. Take an interest in as much as you can and get your skill set beyond the level of your peers. If you take a week's leave and you get phone calls because people don't know what to do in your absence, take that as a GOOD sign.

My company charges R500/hour for my consulting time, on projects which often run for months at a time, but my salary is only a tiny fraction of that. They're in for a rude surprise at my next salary review though, because that's when I name my price. There's no way they're going to cope with training new people to replace me :D
 
Smooth Criminal said:
The key is to try and make yourself indispensable. Take an interest in as much as you can and get your skill set beyond the level of your peers. If you take a week's leave and you get phone calls because people don't know what to do in your absence, take that as a GOOD sign.

My company charges R500/hour for my consulting time, on projects which often run for months at a time, but my salary is only a tiny fraction of that. They're in for a rude surprise at my next salary review though, because that's when I name my price. There's no way they're going to cope with training new people to replace me :D
Click to expand...
Bwaaahahahahahahahaha.
Don't fool yourself, you're only locking yourself into a cage.
It's far better to have nothing to do because you've delegated your responsibilities out, meaning you can accept more responsibilities and therefore more ( easy to justify ) pay.
Your approach leads to animosity and distrust.
 
stoke said:
Bwaaahahahahahahahaha.
Don't fool yourself, you're only locking yourself into a cage.
It's far better to have nothing to do because you've delegated your responsibilities out, meaning you can accept more responsibilities and therefore more ( easy to justify ) pay.
Your approach leads to animosity and distrust.
Click to expand...

I don't really see how simply asking to be paid your worth could lead to distrust, especially if you're getting far less than what other organisations are offering people with less experience and a smaller skill set.

You just have to be honest and realistic in your approach. Asking for a 5x increase will, for example, lead to animosity. Mention things like the cost of living and where you feel your salary bracket should fall based on this.

No company expects you to stay with them forever, and acting as if you will do that only leads them (as well as yourself) on. Don't kid yourself, you're not there to make friends, you're there to make a living and if you give off the impression that you aren't going anywhere then it means that you're content with where you stand.

Also if anything, continuously delegating responsibilities only highlights the fact that you don't seem to be doing enough, which might actually lower your worth in real terms.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top
Sign up to the MyBroadband newsletter
X