

How IT bosses turned the tables on our cushy consultancy gigs - damncabbage
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2012/11/04/unemployment_in_the_it_sector/

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Encosia
This must be unique to the UK or finance jobs or some other variable other
than simply "IT" or "consulting". As an independnet consultant, I've never
seen demand higher in my niche, and that's with me constantly raising my rates
over the past few years.

~~~
mgkimsal
Ditto, but... I think the point is that it can all change, quickly.

I was around in the first dot-com boom/bust, and do understand it could happen
again, but I'm less pessimistic that things would crash again as hard and as
fast. From an IT perspective, there's simply more technology powering more
people's lives and businesses than there was 10-12 years ago. Mobile
computing, cheap computers, widespread internet have all made "the web" far
more entrenched and important to all collapse at the same time. The
support/demand for all the IT jobs is too broad across too many sectors.

Doesn't mean demand won't fluctuate or slow down or reverse, but not likely
all at once within just a few months.

Gentle plug: <http://indieconf.com> is an upcoming conference to help
freelancers learn about and deal with these sorts of issues - self-employment,
boom/bust cycles, pricing, legal, etc. :)

~~~
Encosia
That's definitely true. I manage my finances with the expectation that the
bottom will eventually fall out of the investment driven tech sector, whether
because money can't be as cheap as it currently is forever or because too many
high profile IPOs will fail to produce results, and that will pull the rug out
from under the rest of us too. I'm also never rude to recruiters, as seems to
be in fashion these days, for the same reason.

You're right that adaptation is key too. 15 years ago, I was writing desktop
VB apps on the client-side and Perl scripts on the server-side. Now I'm
writing HTML5 apps on the client-side and JavaScript nearly everywhere. 15
years from now, I wonder if I'll still be using JavaScript at all?

~~~
edwinnathaniel
I'm guessing HTML5 + JS is the in-demand niche you mentioned in the parent
post?

I find it surprising that the technology is gaining more traction for
consultants (as opposed for the hot up-n-coming silicon valley startups).

Mind to share the type of clients that are looking for your services in this
area?

~~~
Encosia
Everyone from small businesses to Fortune 500s in the past couple years. A
surprising number of them are deploying internal tools and applications that
target cutting edge browser features, even if their public-facing sites still
require IE7 support.

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jordo37
I would be curious to see a HN poll of people's sentiment towards job demand
across the US and different countries. I know in both Silicon Valley and in
Chicago demand is pretty high right now for all kinds of tech, but especially
for the sort of young full-stack generalists that startups seems to focus the
most on hiring. At one point in 2008-2009 it felt a little worse - I was happy
to have a job at a big IT consulting firm - but now for the most part my then-
colleagues and I feel like we have huge amounts of choice. How are other folks
/ other geographies seeing the trends in their area?

~~~
edwinnathaniel
I'm in Vancouver and the hiring rate is definitely going up for Developers who
know Java + a bit of front-end knowledge (according to some of the recruiters
I talked to a few months ago).

On the flip side, Vancouver is a small market that most knowledge workers know
almost everyone and the opportunity to work with his/her former colleagues are
quite high.

On the consulting side, IT projects typically come from governments/municipals
and there are plenty small IT shops that only do one or two of these projects
to stay afloat.

It's a bit tough city overall even though some people would disagree with me.

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stackthatcode
Ok. I definitely respect any hardships the author has had to endure - I've had
a few of my own. I also appreciate being frugal, calculated and managing risk
in one's career.

OTOH, I am hearing echoes of what sounds like a textbook case of victim
mentality. It's almost as if his fate wholly lies in the hands of these IT
companies he's vying to work for. He mentions failing to hold his own during
negotiations. He blames outsourcing. Complaint after complaint about why it's
not all "roses, just roses"... like it used to be.

Folks: if you spend the time getting the right skills to pay the bills, this
article does NOT apply to you. The crowd that I "run with" generally has NO
problem finding lucrative engagements, or employment. Especially in _this_
market. And even in a down market. There's always something brewing.

I hope I'm just gagging on some expensive link bait.

~~~
redact207
I was thinking exactly the same thing. You can complain about your job going
to India, Russia or Eastern Europe all you like, but the sorts of jobs that
are realistically compatible with those locations shouldn't be paid highly or
in demand in the first place. The short of it is GOOD people are still HARD to
find (heaven knows I've been looking for them).

The other thing that rubbed me the wrong way is this guy was taking 6 month
holidays and working when he felt like it. Then he gets all upset when there's
a low in the market and he's desperate for cash. What ever happened to making
hay when the sun shines?

Surely with "decades of experience," this guy should have saved plenty by that
point in his life to have a happy early retirement; but by the sound of it
he's taken the work and salary for granted and wasted it away.

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ndcrandall
I have to admit that some themes posted in this article run through my head
every now and then. My plan is to use the runway I've amassed over the past
year to work on startup projects while cutting out freelance work. Will I find
new clients if I fail with my projects? Can I even compete with the lengthy
requirements of most companies around here (Silicon Valley) require? Will
being "out of work" for a year hurt my chances to get a job if I need one?

While these thoughts pass through my head, I don't believe things are as dire
as they were in 2001 - 2002. Hopefully working on side projects can give me
enough of a resume in the worst case scenario. I guess time and experience
will tell if this and similar situations will be difficult in the next few
years.

~~~
CompiledCode
I "took off" for over a year, worked around the clock on my own projects,
amassed a huge amount of new skills, and had absolutely no problem finding a
new job afterwards.

It was almost eerie - nobody even cared if my projects were successful or how
much money I made. They only wanted to know that I did have all the skills
that I put on my resume, and (to a lesser degree) my motivation for doing what
I did.

Working on your own stuff you learn ten times as fast as in a "regular" job. I
highly recommend it.

~~~
redact207
I agree with your last statement, but did you make bank through your projects?
Am not sure if this was your aim but would be interested.

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kvnn
It seems to me that he did not keep his skills aligned up with the market.
You've got to be looking 3 years ahead. Does it ever say what skills he has?

~~~
gadders
Working in banking, you kind of have two axes of career development to
consider - your technology skills, and also the particular business line you
work in. EG you could be the world's best developer at working on, say,
mortgage securitisation systems, but that won't help you if that business line
drops off a cliff.

Although a lot of the knowledge is transferable, recruiters often don't just
want a C# or java developer - they want a _fixed income_ Java developer.

If you work on packaged systems, you could even add a third dimension. What is
the hot package for Equity Trading? Or Commodities? Should you specialise in
Rolfe and Nolan? Summit? OpenLink? etc etc.

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nahname
I feel like I am reading the thoughts of someone who left the industry 6-8
years ago.

~~~
james-skemp
I'm curious why you got down voted.

After reading the article I checked the date, expecting it to be from the
early or mid 2000s. He talks a lot about the past and only briefly mentions
the future when he says what he'd say to potential employers if he were
without a job now.

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rayiner
The article is an interesting mix of things you'd expect from economic theory:
salaries going down as demand went down and supply stayed high, and things you
wouldn't: the irrational aversion to people who got laid off and the
importance of ass-kissing. Both of these things reduce efficiency, but they're
a major phenomenon of the modern work force.

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stripe
Uhm, all I read was whine, whine and more whine. \- Too long unemployed and
getting weird looks at interviews? Create your own consulting company, say
"provided consulting to <your expertise>". Swallow down that your customers
where your mom, aunt, uncle or your next neighbour. Why did you apply for this
job? Expanding your horizon, sharpen your skills, new adventures, the whole
shebang \- company having requirements no one can fullfil? guess what, the
company is probably shit anyway \- get a job at some coder shop, even if it is
below your standard \- if you have done consultancy for any money house -
please don't call yourself anything technical (like speed traders) but go rot
in hell

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reefoctopus
Hmmm.. The ready availability of low cost labor in Russia and India must be
why Microsoft, Google, and Amazon shell out 100k/year + 80k in stock to new
employees.

In programmers, you get what you pay for.

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genwin
At some age, no amount of skill is going to help much. Someone will employ a
developer nearing senior citizenry, but they'll want a deep discount over what
they'd pay for younger.

~~~
jbellis
My company recently hired a 58 year old developer. His experience is an asset,
not a liability.

~~~
genwin
Of course it is. But many employers will want that asset cheaper than in a
younger package, and some other employers will pass at any price. And that's
fair, because the older developer has fewer potential years to give to the
company.

~~~
greenyoda
"The older developer has fewer potential years to give to the company."

That 58 year old developer probably won't reach retirement age for many years.
Even if they retire promptly at 65 (which fewer people are doing these days),
that would potentially be seven years of employment with the company that
hired them. How many young developers expect to stay at the same company for
seven years? (Talking about employees here; obviously if you're a founder,
it's different.)

~~~
genwin
Those are good points.

