SA needs more IT graduates

The IT Profession 2010

This is a excellent thread on the topic of ICT Careers. You guys may be interested in this article:
http://www.computerworld.com/action...=9000100&articleId=112367&intsrc=article_spec

The key to higher salaries in IT industry is solid business background or experience. And those jobs e.g. business analyst will pay higher salaries because of the growing complexity of translating the business requirements into technical steps that can be developed/programmed/designed.

I'm working on a ICT Career Guide which will eventually be distributed to high schools across South Africa. And I am looking for some feedback. If you have some time to read the draft document. You can download it from here and post your feedback on this thread:
http://www.cssa.org.za/forums/index.php?showtopic=3&pid=7&st=0&#entry7

Thanks
Ramon
 
ultraman said:
This is a excellent thread on the topic of ICT Careers. You guys may be interested in this article:
http://www.computerworld.com/action...=9000100&articleId=112367&intsrc=article_spec

The key to higher salaries in IT industry is solid business background or experience. And those jobs e.g. business analyst will pay higher salaries because of the growing complexity of translating the business requirements into technical steps that can be developed/programmed/designed.

I'm working on a ICT Career Guide which will eventually be distributed to high schools across South Africa. And I am looking for some feedback. If you have some time to read the draft document. You can download it from here and post your feedback on this thread:
http://www.cssa.org.za/forums/index.php?showtopic=3&pid=7&st=0&#entry7

Thanks
Ramon
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You hit the nail on the head right there.

The business need have shifted from people with just a programmming/developing skill to people with more rounded experience i.e people with an understanding of the business and who is able to translate the business' needs into a technology that can be used to meet that need.

That is what business analysis is about and that is what currently pays in the IT industry; I know what I'm talking about because I did business analysis, but without a formal qualification. Despite that fact, I recently received a call from a company who's prepared to pay up to 20k for my knowledge and experience - I don't have a degree ( currently in my 2nd year of B.Sc [Computer Science and Information Systems] ). Also, the recruitment consultant was impressed by the fact that I was studying because it showed an eagerness to learn - something that the company wants and encourages.

Another thing, I'm currently earning 11k, and that's just with experience. I shudder to think of the possibilities when I'm done with my degree; I'll have a whole lot of business analysis behind me + the academic knowledge of my degree. Yes, knowledge is power folks - earning power.
 
I have completed my studies,I would be graduating on 5th of MAY with an IT degree.I am struggling to find a job yet it is being said that there is a shortage of IT graduate. can some one come to my rescue
 
I suspect that most of the people who are both capable & the right skin colour are sitting in business related courses. A capable black manager is likely to pull in way more $$$ than a capable black programmer & do so with less effort.:o

/flamesuit on
 
daniella said:
I have completed my studies,I would be graduating on 5th of MAY with an IT degree.I am struggling to find a job yet it is being said that there is a shortage of IT graduate. can some one come to my rescue
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Join a graduate programme from one of the big corporates. Granted, it is very difficult to get in (you really have to be one of the top students in your class, if you are white that is), but it is very rewarding.
 
daniella said:
I have completed my studies,I would be graduating on 5th of MAY with an IT degree.I am struggling to find a job yet it is being said that there is a shortage of IT graduate. can some one come to my rescue
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The problem is experiance. Uni/Tech doesn't teach near real world and you can expect a sharp learning curve when you enter. Not many places can afford to hire and maintain juniors while you learn the ropes.
 
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An IT graduate won't solve any problems. Take it from me, as a student at a university that they only teach the basics. Experience is what counts, what happens after university is what is important
 
Saidar said:
An IT graduate won't solve any problems. Take it from me, as a student at a university that they only teach the basics. Experience is what counts, what happens after university is what is important
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I disagree. An IT graduate willing to put in some effort can solve any problem. Experience makes those solutions more suitable and quicker to implement.
 
Why specifically IT graduates? Any graduate who is technically inclined may be able to get the job done. I've seen physicists and mathematicians who are better developers than some computer science and IT graduates.
 
Smooth Criminal said:
Why specifically IT graduates? Any graduate who is technically inclined may be able to get the job done. I've seen physicists and mathematicians who are better developers than some computer science and IT graduates.
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o/ Studied engineering and now a senior Dev :p

Turbo_Aspiration said:
I disagree. An IT graduate willing to put in some effort can solve any problem. Experience makes those solutions more suitable and quicker to implement.
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From my experiance with juniors or grads, no. Be happy to be proven wrong.
 
What you guys are missing is a niche in IT, a techie will always be a techie and your salary will always have a cap. If you can get yourself into a niche with the big name guys like SAP, IBM etc. - the big corporates utilise the big names and with a skills shortage in the country, its an awesome opportunity for whities to to fill that demand.
Gettting yourself into that space and build awareness of your skills allows you to name your going rate. Fortunately there arent many blacks with those niche skills which discounts the "skin colour" issue, making it a FAIR game in terms of who brings the skills to the table, gets the dosh.
I will continue to milk companies by providing my skills, just like blacks are doing the same by job hopping because the top guys are providing a limited skillset.

If you cant beat them, join them. When / if the black skillset eventually catches up, there is a massive demand for these skills overseas and they pay even more.
 
mac_mac74 said:
What you guys are missing is a niche in IT, a techie will always be a techie and your salary will always have a cap. If you can get yourself into a niche with the big name guys like SAP, IBM etc. - the big corporates utilise the big names and with a skills shortage in the country, its an awesome opportunity for whities to to fill that demand.
Gettting yourself into that space and build awareness of your skills allows you to name your going rate. Fortunately there arent many blacks with those niche skills which discounts the "skin colour" issue, making it a FAIR game in terms of who brings the skills to the table, gets the dosh.
I will continue to milk companies by providing my skills, just like blacks are doing the same by job hopping because the top guys are providing a limited skillset.

If you cant beat them, join them. When / if the black skillset eventually catches up, there is a massive demand for these skills overseas and they pay even more.
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Why bring race into it? There is a shortage in those fields period. Companies cry for decent developers/analysts as a lot of times they get hammered by the staff they get. Experience clobs learning every time, for the sole reason that a good dev/analyst is forever learning. It is your job to learn new technologies, to adapt. Sadly many people, of many race groups cannot do it or maintain it. If I had a choice between a grad and someone with 2 years experience, the grad would probably get the short end of the stick sadly. Successful business doesn't care about the colour of your skin ( yes I know about BEE quotas ) but wither you can get the job done. To have someone developing/analyzing systems that your business is going to run or or provide senior management with relevant KPI's, you need someone who knows what they are doing. Otherwise chances are, your business will fail or collapse.
 
@daniella,

Are you willing to write javascript and php and .net and mysql and sql server based software for R4100 a month?
You are expected to be on probation for the first 60 days, and you will not get an increase after at least 6 months have passed, though, the more likely figure is 1 year before an increase is considered.
 
A question for those who did manage to leave and start up elsewhere in the world with their IT degree. Comparing to if you had stayed, what are the starting salaries like? Like the UJ honors course has that BCS recognition thing but does that help you out in the real world if you actually try to use it say in the UK or USA?
 
Kosmik said:
Why bring race into it? There is a shortage in those fields period. Companies cry for decent developers/analysts as a lot of times they get hammered by the staff they get. Experience clobs learning every time, for the sole reason that a good dev/analyst is forever learning. It is your job to learn new technologies, to adapt. Sadly many people, of many race groups cannot do it or maintain it. If I had a choice between a grad and someone with 2 years experience, the grad would probably get the short end of the stick sadly. Successful business doesn't care about the colour of your skin ( yes I know about BEE quotas ) but wither you can get the job done. To have someone developing/analyzing systems that your business is going to run or or provide senior management with relevant KPI's, you need someone who knows what they are doing. Otherwise chances are, your business will fail or collapse.
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I brought race into it, yes, however it was not a racist comment, the reality is that there has been mention that not enough black representation in ICT in SA, that is a reality. If they are acknowledging it, this would imply they intend to do something abt it, I was merely making a statement of supply and demand and that right now there is no competing on the basis of skin colour. I hope for your sake that you were not taking it out of context!!!
 
McSack said:
IMHO a degree only gives you a better chance of getting an entry level job over someoine who doesn't have a degree. After that it's up to you what you make of things. I currently contract at a company whose CIO / COO (IT) doesn't have a degree and have worked at one of the big 4 auditing firms where IT audit partner never had a degree.
Experience and being able to do the job are the biggest criteria in the industry.
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Very true. IT moves too fast for it to be formalised in a curriculum. A degree just familiarises you with concepts and jargon. The rest is picked-up on the job. And it’s a continual learning experience. No resting on your laurels (I have my degree therefore I don’t have to exert myself).
 
SA has pitiful few IT skills and there are no new trainee’s coming through. Because of the crappy broadband, the high costs associated with telecommunications, the monopolistic practises of providers and, of course, the ever present gravy trough, there are too few and none are being trained (cost and dumbed-down education). Telkom, hang your head! The power paradigm has shifted from manpower and bludgeons to knowledge and viruses. We need proficient people to man the electronic frontier to the country. Not to invent “Made in SA” innovations (I wish) but just to hold the line. We are becoming vulnerable to electronic attack. The nature of warfare is changing and futile efforts (like the Arms Deal) are way behind the curve. Another stuff-up.
 
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