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Moderator
Total Posts: 3276
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IT - Information Technology. this is from my personal experience in the USA, but most likely extends much farther.
what the hell is wrong with IT these days? employers are getting away with paying IT professionals (network admins, engineers, computer techs, phone support techs, etc) didly squat. who's letting them get away with it? newbies to the IT field. who's to blame? technology schools. period.
the average IT professional used to be a well educated individual, most likely with a four or six year electrical engineering or business degree. now, the average IT professional is a high school grad with maybe a one or two year technical degree from a questionable technical school. these technical schools are great at one thing: herding cattle.
you've paid good money. in return for this money, you've been given the same basic knowledge as hundreds of thousands of other gronks across the country each year. why is this bad? education to the masses is a very positive thing, i say. but it's the wrong kind of education.
instead of learning business mathematics, world economics, and both written and oral english skills, you've been given the very minimum you need to dismantle a computer, put it back together, and maybe network it with a couple of other machines. you have been given no real world experience or knowledge. why is this such a bad thing?
hard working educated IT professionals like myself are being forced to accept less pay. thousands of these IT newbies take practically anything a company is willing to give them. that means the average IT wage is far less than it has been in the past. these companies end up feeling as if they've gotten a bargain. what once was a $80k/yr position can be filled as cheap as $40k or less. uneducated, yes, but these trained monkeys can answer support phones and follow instructions. you can train anyone to do anything. these IT schools are proof.
what happens when you need to create a budget plan for your department? what about writing service level agreements for your customers or coworkers? what about something as simple as writing a company wide email that is clear and understandable? that is practically impossible. these are all things you learn in a real university, not a technical college.
it's nearly impossible to find an IT job these days. there is practically an unlimited number of unemployed IT professionals currently looking for a very limited number of jobs. this is the wrong kind of competition. instead of the professional choosing the best job with the highest bidding company, the companies have us turned around. corporations are now able quickly hire the lowest bidder. that lowest bidder is almost always a technical school loser that has two choices: work for peanuts creating user ID's or work for peanuts bagging groceries. the choice is clear.
this brings me back to my original topic; the technical schools. what entices this gross amount of people each year to attend these IT knowledge brothels? one very clear answer: lies and deception. on the way to work this morning, i couldnt help but laugh at the commercials.
"Tired of making minimum wage? You can become a successful IT professional in as little as twelve months. Want to make $100,000 per year? Sign up now, classes starting every week!"
at the end of the commercial, the fast talking, barely understandable voice speaks softly, "$100,000 salaries typical of professionals with 10+ years experience in the IT field with six year masters business degree from an accredited university."
if that's not misleading, then i'll puncture my kidney the weapon of your choice (forks excluded, please).
what scares me even more than the current situation is the realization that this is only going to get worse. maybe it's time to switch fields...
This message was edited by AlterEgo on 02 Feb 2002 02:11 PM 
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Ultra Senior Member
Total Posts: 6430
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that's capitalism for you
come to the darkside man (programming). there's little chance of 6-month diploma guys invading that field
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Moderator
Total Posts: 3276
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quote:
Originally posted by Pieter:
that's capitalism for you
come to the darkside man (programming). there's little chance of 6-month diploma guys invading that field
you'd be surprised, here. programming is going downhill also. it's very easy to read a VB for dummies book and get a job here. 
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JawBreaker Developer
Total Posts: 736
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quote:
Originally posted by AlterEgo:
you'd be surprised, here. programming is going downhill also. it's very easy to read a VB for dummies book and get a job here.
Can't agree more! What you've observed is happening in sunny s'pore here too. The local, self-proclaim world class uni is churning out great amt of "IT professionals" without any QA at all.
As the saying goes: GIGO, tons of garbages are let out with cert from "world class" uni flooding to fill up all the IT positions. Being there for almost 4 yrs, I can only see the average standard dropping faster than linear rate. The curriculum requirement becomes less stringent each year so as to let more monkeys pass the course. :shake head:
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Ultra Senior Member
Total Posts: 5417
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Speaking of IT, Creative Technology must be full of monkeys.
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Moderator
Total Posts: 3276
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quote:
Originally posted by evildq:
Speaking of IT, Creative Technology must be full of monkeys.
well, you mentioned a very interesting word. "creative"
being creative, i believe, actually takes some talent. i have absolutely no creativity in my brain. i dont think creativity is something you can learn.
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Moderator
Total Posts: 3276
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quote:
Originally posted by skaven:
Can't agree more! What you've observed is happening in sunny s'pore here too. The local, self-proclaim world class uni is churning out great amt of "IT professionals" without any QA at all.
As the saying goes: GIGO, tons of garbages are let out with cert from "world class" uni flooding to fill up all the IT positions. Being there for almost 4 yrs, I can only see the average standard dropping faster than linear rate. The curriculum requirement becomes less stringent each year so as to let more monkeys pass the course. :shake head:
it's a shame. the majority of people understand very little about what it's like to be in IT. they see "fun jobs" and "high salaries," so they jump on the bandwagon. a couple of years from now, a low end computer tech job will earn you no more than you would make working at mcdonalds.
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Ultra Senior Member
Total Posts: 5920
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Creativity + Passion make a nerd become a geek? 
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Ultra Senior Member
Total Posts: 2044
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Im being faced with choice right now, to go to a respected college (fanshawe)and get a 3 year diploma(co-op) in Computer engineering technology, or there is this guy from a "technology school"(RCC) that claims that thier program is better and you get a "technologist" diploma. Im leaning heavily twards the college, but im still going to hear the salesman out for this technology college.
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Ultra Senior Member
Total Posts: 6430
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quote:
Originally posted by KrazyKarl:
Im being faced with choice right now, to go to a respected college (fanshawe)and get a 3 year diploma(co-op) in Computer engineering technology, or there is this guy from a "technology school"(RCC) that claims that thier program is better and you get a "technologist" diploma. Im leaning heavily twards the college, but im still going to hear the salesman out for this technology college.
just to warn you, private programs are not government subsidized in canada, so they'll cost at least 300% more in tuition fee.
if you can, get a 4 year program at a technical institute or a degree at a university. trust me they're worth it in the long run.
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Ultra Senior Member
Total Posts: 2044
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quote:
Originally posted by Pieter:
just to warn you, private programs are not government subsidized in canada, so they'll cost at least 300% more in tuition fee.
if you can, get a 4 year program at a technical institute or a degree at a university. trust me they're worth it in the long run.
I know that, the tuition is 2x that of the college program(the college tuition is kind of high for this program) and the tech institude is a 1.5 year program, but semesters are only 3 months long
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