So, let's see if I read this right. you believe that there is not an IT job problem? You are completely void of intelligence.

There are many examples of people (in forums discussing this same issue) explaining the experience of this issue. I am in IT, (not a column writer!), and there is absolutely an issue.

I work directly with people that have H1-B visas. They were hired to do the job that any other American in IT can do or at least learn to do. There is not a single person in IT that just woke up one day and could fix any computer issue. All skills were learned. I have been looking for other opportunities for a very long time now. Look in the paper, look online. You can see the examples of why we in IT are pretty much discouraged. no glory, no appreciation, no compensation, but they require a masters degree? roflmao!!

Would you work for $36,000 a year with a masters or even a BSs? Come on! Why would anyone stay in IT for this abuse? And, this is proven, just look at the numbers of grads in IT. Look at the types of people going into IT. I got my job by demonstrating my abilities.

I have completed college. the people in my class couldn't fix an IT issue if the answer were printed on paper and placed in front of them. Furthermore, the larger the business, it seems the more BS they decide is needed. Being in IT is no more about IT but rather about hand holding. You should not write any more about IT topics, it is obvious IT is not anything you really deal in.

You miss the point of this article, which doesn't deal with the H-1B issue. It deals with accurately understanding employment statistics the government publishes (whether or not you believe those stats to be true).

The Slashdot and InfoWorld articles equate the loss of jobs in the information industry, as defined by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, as a loss of IT jobs, and that's not true.

In addition, the increase employment within the IT profession as shown in the BLS's household survey includes not only citizens and green card holders but others foreigners, too, including those on H-1B, L1 and other visas as well as those working illegally in the United States. When BLS survey takers question household members, they don't ask whether or not the workers are here legally.

Eric - good article. I work in IT and am not seeing any shortages of open positions. In fact, Dice alone has almost 90,000 postings. Monster has >5000. If you want an IT job, they are out there. Based on this, I suppose the argument will shift to pay, location, or other. It's certainly not availability.

BTW - Masters in IT making $36K a year? I have never seen that in 15+ years of experience. Then again, I suppose if you are working in Montana that may be true. And, like any other profession, experience + education = an increase in potential for success. Both are well worth the effort.

Overall, there is a significant decrease in IT jobs in the U.S.

This is perhaps one of the most misleading and false articles I have ever read, CIO Insight should be ashamed to have published this nonsense. There is very little if any truth in this article.

Simply quoting statistics and how jobs are measured is basically toeing the corporate line and simply ignoring reality.

Where I work, 75 percent of the IT jobs have been outsourced to China, Vietnam, India and other "low cost" countries with a significant loss of quality and abilities. The remaining 25 percent of us are spending our time fixing the problems created by the people in the "low cost" countries. Never mind the "low quality" of work.

Since American companies no longer want to pay for quality workers, I recommend to all my friends and their kids not to waste their time, money and effort on getting an education in IT. They will be outsourced because some one will do their job cheaper.

Wal-Mart thought us not pay for quality and service and we are on our way to accomplishing Sam Walton's mission of being cheap and crappy.

I don't know but it seems to me that there is a good amount of work out there right now. Especially in IT project management. I am turning down work, and flat out could be making more than I make now, but I am not willing to work 24x7.

Check with your local government (city, state, county projects), and hire yourself out as a project manager

Eric, I see your point. However, a counterpoint that lacks analyze is the longevity of an IT worker in different industries and the relative pay increase of that worker. Another point is that IT covers a lot of ground. A developer's skill set is very different from a network engineer or a system administrator. They are all IT.

Your statement is correct, but does not appear to give any useful insight.

Let me share my reality.

Like many companies, my employer is struggling due to economic conditions. As a result, turnover in my shop has been abnormally high as my skilled labor force searches for alternative employment that is not under a wage freeze. Some of my people have come back after recognizing that the grass is not greener elsewhere. None of them had problems finding employment. As we search for replacements, the pool of candidates has been sparse. Conventional wisdom would say that those seeking employment would rather take a job with a struggling company than remain unemployed.

In the reality I live in the IT job market is still strong.

This article is full of hooey just like the bogus BLS numbers it is based on.

Anyone who has been watching the job boards or has an extensive network of connections in the IT industry knows full well that we've seen a lot more layoffs this year than last and the number of open jobs has dropped way off. Also, what opportunities are out there are mostly contracts without benefits and the rates have slid down from last year. Many of the perm opportunities are going to cheaper H-1Bs and whole departments are being replaced by off-shore workers.

Companies are scared because of the economic downturn and they are holding off on IT hiring, canceling or delaying projects and cutting back on equipment purchases. Most hardware and service vendors I know are reporting a sharp drop in order intake and a lot of people who work on commission are not able to make the payments on their BMWs.

People who say there are lots of jobs because of the number of jobs posted on sites like Dice.com are really being deceiving because what they don't tell you is those numbers do not reflect the number of jobs really available. The problem with job boards is that a lot of the job postings are "non-jobs" —recruiters who are just trolling for resumes, jobs that are speculative, that companies haven't actually approved or funded, etc.

What real jobs are there are often posted two, three or more times by the company and/or multiple different recruiting agencies. You have to divide the number on job sites by four or five to get an accurate picture of the number of real jobs that are available. And even at that, the numbers on most job sites are below the same time last year, so it is pretty clear that demand is off.

MBA BBA 14+ yr's experience as IT Director... CISSP (current)
MCSE (Current)
COMPTIA Proj Mgmt+ (Current)
COMPTIA Security+ Network+ (Current)

(BTW I paid for all the certs myself...because I was being screened as 'out of date' skillwise! Now I'm being screened as 'overqualified!)

No leads...no interest...no job now for 4+ years despite hundreds of applications (where by the way the usual number of people interviewed execeeded 12!) number of applicants exceeded 400+...

Eric, you and CIO are boneheads bought and paid for by your corporate advertisers who only want that cheap foreign HIB L1 labor!! Your singing their tune just like the politicians are singing the corporate lobbyist tune in govt...And lets add Bill Gates and Microsoft to the mix...he made his money with American labor but now were 'too expensive' and 'unavailable'! Yeaahh!

Me, I have finally accepted the fact that CIO/the Lobbists/and Bill have won...America is doomed to be the new Mexico soon! Scarey though, as Walmart is also getting pretty expensive for my taste!

Suspend for the moment the anecdotal argument about IT employment and consider the facts:

1. IT is not growing faster than the economy which is at best about 1%

2. A lot of IT work is moving overseas through outsourcing

3. A lot of H1-B visa workers are still coming into the states though less than usual

4. According to the recent Challenger report layoffs are up and that includes IT layoffs

Common sense suggest that with all these forces against IT workers the employment situation is unlikely to be rosy no matter now the numbers are finagled.

BLS numbers suggest sagging employment in IT. I trust numbers more than just Pollyanna anecdotal optimism about IT futures. Show me contrary numbers and methodologies, then we can debate.

I have been in IT for over 15 years. I am cert in Java and Java Web development with J2EE technology. I also have domain knowledge in the health industry with a clinical license (clinical social worker) and a couple of master degrees. I have had published articles in epidemiology, neural nets and integrating BI software w/ Java/J2EE. I have certs in SAS and Cognos plus C# training to boot. The only jobs I saw out there that paid over 50K with health benefits are for government jobs. So I got one.

I would like to work at for a private health HMO or insurance company, but due to the fact it took time to get all that education, training and experience, I am over 40 so FORGETABOUTIT!!! I went to IT from social work because I love IT. It used to pay more than social work to boot, but not now. My old social worker position now pays $1,000 a more than my master's level IT position.

Yeah, maybe there's a future in IT in project management to get more H-1Bs and outsourcing going, but definitely not in development and research. Hello nurse, it's back to clinical

If I were to advise my kid on what to take in college, I would say get a nursing degree or law enforcement or law school. Do not go into engineering, IT or even medical school unless you want to practice in Europe or Canada—even surgeries are getting outsourced.

Postings are interesting as everything is from a "personal" perspective. Statistics can be made to say whatever you want them to say. Experience is really the true story teller here though, and I side with those who have experienced the slashings.

I am an individual contractor in the realm of automated software testing, and as with everything else, job availability depends on supply and demand. There are jobs available if your specialty is in demand (i.e. project manager). That's probably due to the fact that Project Managers need to speak the same language as the managers above them so the managers above them understand what's happening. Outsourcing PM jobs to foreign professionals would lead to the same frustrations in communication that lower level people endure and upper management has no time to deal with that!

I take a lot of short term jobs - on purpose - and have seen many companies where the local employee is being required to train his foreign replacement - and the results do not match up in terms of quality once handed over. Many supposed "trained and educated professionals" from outsourcing companies overseas have bloated resumes indicating all kinds of expertise, but ask them a simple question regarding the job and/or skills listed on the resume and they are clueless!

This is something that will eventually come back to bite US companies in the you know where, but for the manager making the decision to cut expenses and outsource, at a personal level he/she could not care less as they are made to look good when all that is being judged is the bottom line. They do not care about the affect felt by those still on the floor in the "skeleton" American crews that usually wind up doing much more of the work load as they try to "scoop the hotdog out of the fire".

In terms of job numbers, I would ask what type of job is now being considered "IT" and what is the pay scale for these jobs compared to those that were lost. Who cares if these new "IT jobs" are considered IT if they pay what I got when I first got out of college 20 years ago?

And yes, I have personally seen the rates for what I do cut in half over the last few years. I do have work currently, but in a company where just last year, the floor I am working on was full of people in their cubes and now I can shout across the floor and one person hears me as no one else is here!

I'm lucky. I have a niche skill that also requires good communication skills in front of people and the ability to train. But, if everything in the area I work in heads overseas, and it is right now leaning that way, I'll be out of luck soon too!

To the author: Instead of looking solely at numbers, why not take a trip to any of the major businesses in your area and ask to tour the IT department. Check out how many people are on H-1B visas versus local citizens. Ask how many people worked there over the last few years and how many are there now. I'll bet my behind the results you get will cause you to retract your story!

Eric, if you're so sure of your claim I have a suggestion. Put together a bogus resume and start sending it out. Tell us all what happens.

The biggest outrage to me, with 20+ years in the industry and now laid off again, is the current crop of IT workers, unlike our generation, which build all the tools they now use, knows nothing about computer science, they just link Lego blocks together and give you a blank stare when you ask them to do something not already in the box. Yet this mastery of the current crop of alphabet soup, which will be obsolete in 3-5 years, is what "qualifies" them. God help you fools when that changes and the guy has to learn something new.

And that really gets to the core of the fight. The reason there are jobs not filled and lots of senior unemployed IT workers is because at some point we all need to stop spending nights and weekends retraining ourselves for free, and go on a date, get married, raise a family, and get to the gym. When this industry stops insisting that every candidate should come through the door as a perfect fit this gap will be bridged. Personally, if that means I have to work for 3 months for half wages, no problem. The incredible amount of specialization in the industry now makes it impossible to figure out what to bone up on. At least when I am working for a real company paying wages I know what to focus on.

Whoa - are you serious? I am currently searching for a job in IT [20+ yrs. experience], and whenever I DO get past the resume auto-scanners, I walk into a room with upwards of a dozen people [most also unemployed] applying for the same opening [singular, not plural]. Don't know about you, but when my department was outsourced, I found few, if any, openings, and far too many applicants. And, like so many others, I see what is out there going to H-1B visa applicants. Sorry to disagree with you, but I am in the trenches; leave your ivory tower and come check out the street and I'll bet you change your tune.

Three of my colleagues and me (all software developers) just got laid off last week by a new company that just bought us. This company's experience is in mechanical tools, it doesn't understand what are needed to produce software product. They fired us (according to the manager) based on the revenue and then divided it by head counts, and according to their formula,we must go.

To the person that said there are a lot of job postings in monster and dice, look again. I would venture to say there are 80% posting from head hunters, and many of the jobs are bogus, just to collect resumes. Then today I received two calls for job interviews (both said they saw my resume at monster), one for a financial consultant, the other to go door-to-door selling heating contracts. What were wrong with this? My resume clearly stated I am a senior software developer, but apparently there are a lot of service jobs out there that they are willing to train me.

Believe me, if you are having a job right now, hang on to it until the economic recovers.

Through my IT professional career, when I've looked for employment I have either classified 'overqualified' or 'dated' but I was unemployed for six years. In the interim I held menial jobs as a delivery person but my family didn't suffer, only my pride took the hit. This is what I'm trying to convey, I have read these posts and all I read is days of glory, pride in what one does and a lot of belly aching. I'm now back to my fighting weight in IT and while my past is not forgotten, I'm greatful that I'm employed in what I chose to have a profession. I'm a multi-degree educated man at higher education levels and what I see and hear is the pride one has when even one has an education from a mom and pop's academy. Be proud of it.

But to my dismay I see these people that sit on their fat rear as administrators flashing MSCEXs who have limited knowledge in the practice of the IT profession. I see these at a cubicle full of gadgets (personal toys), feet on the desk munching on fattening stuff but they call themselves professionals. These people are the culprits of the chaotic state in which the the IT profession is in today and why corporations curve the welfare system called salaries; most of them don't deserve their pay but they are the first to complain. It is pitiful to walk the aisles of the so called IT office and see these slops and trailer trash sporting shorts and T-shirts so called professionals flashing their acreditations that a kindergartener can easily pass.

These people are nothing but fluffed peacocks that have learnt to push a button.

True, the Universities are not producing many professionals lately because interest has declined and degree-plenty institutions have flourished producing less than desirable geeks.

When a H-1B visa holder comes in, he/she wants to get ahead and doesnt claim that they deserve a minimum salary, they do the work for whatever price. They know that eventually their experience will better prepare them for a better job. If you attend seminars look who is addressing the audience, over 80% of them have a name you can hardly say, why because that was the one who has a desire to get ahead and doesnt sit on his/her rear wanting to harvest all. Reflect when you were in high school, on school break or during school, you set a price an employer must have to pay you to flip burgers; if you competed with an illegal, guess who got the job? And you went to be bored, breaking in homes to support your vices or mooch from your parents demanding an allowance and having your own space. Go figure.

Don't you think employers are aware of the quality of people they have or have to chose from? They will reward the educated and one who has culture and you won't find it in this country.

If there is a shortage of jobs, it is not because of economy or lack of talent, it is lack of class.

You are your worst enemy.

Hello,
I have been an IT professional for 22 years and during that time, I have maintained a fairly high paying job working for larger companies. Although, I was outsourced once from one large company to another, I have still managed to maintain a good living in the I.T. industry.

At this time, I work for one of those large companies as a software support engineer and I support a major software package that is distributed all over the world.

I deal more and more with other professionals that are contractors that are from other companies besides the USA even for USA companies with no speacial foreign interests.

It is my experience and we all know the world is becoming smaller every day which leads to where the IT talent comes from.

When one does software support on a major product, that person has to be very versatile in their abilities and skills. Further, you must have a passion for learning and always be willing to self educate because when you work with a customer on a problem, it is often required of you to step outside your comfort zone as far as what you know.

With the world being so small any more because of the speed at which we are able to communicate, etc and the rate at which technology is growing, we have a flurry of IT professionals who really have no idea of what is going on or how to do their jobs. Further, with all the downsizing, working in software support, I often get folks trying to administer software that are managers. These folks have been placed in a position where the team they used to manage have all been moved, laid off, fired, etc but the system they supported was vital to the companies on going or daily activities. Those folks usually need a lot of help and hand holding.

My point to all this is that in today's IT job field, the advertisements for people want 5 years experience in technology that is not even 5 years old and such as that. Adds are placed for people equal to a lifetime of IT. Experience to do jobs that are no where near needing that kind of skill.

Further, there are a lot of folks doing I. jobs that have no IT background and are very lost in the jobs. Sure, it may be possible that some IT jobs have been cut. Sure, it may be possible that IT jobs here at home are being taken over by folks who are not Americans but, the need for IT people is constantly growing.

To support some of what I am saying, when I started with this organization I work with 6 years ago, we had about 2000 customer calls a month. Our staff was sized accordingly. At this time, we take 6000 calls a month and our staff is the same size as it was. Our overseas calls have now surpassed our USA calls by about 2 percent. This was not the case 6 years ago when I started.

So, in conclusion, I know the software industry is growing. I know there is a need for IT people more so than ever before. Not just in the USA but all over the world. We also have less and less people in the USA wanting a career in IT as well and we have many IT people pursuing other careers as well and taking all that experience with them.

Sure the buzz worded skills are the ones in more demand but if you do not have the experience to back it up, if you get a little bit out of the box, you are lost.

Eric, Let's have you leave your job and then try to find one. In the past I have dedicated myself to my position, company first, including signing a non-compete clause (which meant I couldn't steal my previous customers clients), now try to find a job when you can't contact anyone for a job.

I've stated before that I'm a very hard worker, everyone who works with me is very impressed by what I can do, and what I do without being asked, including purchasing hardware on my own nickle when I realize that cutting the corporate red-tape is too much.

Any employers out there, please review my VisualCV "http://www.visualcv.com/pramsey", it pretty much tells the story of who I am. You hire me and I'll make sure your team succeeds.

Those people who say it isn't a tough market haven't been unemployed for several months. I love to work and I love to work hard. It's depressing to not be able to get up and head out and try to make a difference.

Also use to be in IT until I was laid off from a large corporation, as did others. My job went to India. One year later I was called back for six months because the corporation could not get the work accomplished by those in India. The corporation had to pay me big bucks and on my terms. But the "lay off" was the best thing in my life since they required work 24/7 - pager, work at home, work in office, etc, at only okay wages. By the way, I worked at this corporation for 35 years, highly trained, degrees - internally and externally to the corporation. So retired when laid off. Now work part time at a small company that appreciates my work. In other words, corporations are not loyal to employees.

Corporations are only-interested in getting the people for the lowest wages so that the upper management and CEO look great, make the big bucks, and then move on when problems arise from their actions. Have talked to a few other IT people in other companies who are also experiencing the exact same problems. IT jobs available - yes, but only for such places as India. Thanks for letting me vent.

Amen, to the point.

I have no college degree and no certifications other than an age-old Novell CNE and A+ cert; however, I am employed as an infrastructure engineer at a large company. Salary-wise, I am doing quite well (upper end of the 5-figure category), but I have to work hard at it.

Jobs in IT are no longer 40-hour jobs because of what we are up against in terms of outsourcing and offshoring. Those that do not have a passion and genuine interest in the work and are not demonstrative of such are indeed in the wrong profession these days. You have to think beyond the confines of your cubical and understand that there is a major paradigm shift underway--do more with less--it is a challenge and if you are up to the challenge, you will be successful.

If you just want a paycheck because you believe you have "paid your dues," start planning for a career change. There is a reason that offshore employees are held in high regard--all work, no BS--but they understand this and as such are beginning to demand a bigger piece of the pie. Believe me, this is not lost on the bean counters.

We, as American IT workers, are on the verge of an historic opportunity but we have to make an impact on the business. It will not just be handed to us as it was in the 1½ years before Y2K when it was lucrative to walk around with a clipboard. It is no longer enough to be technically savvy. We need to have an understanding of the numerous non-IT facets of the lines of business we are supporting and how we fit into their business model. IT is not an industry as much as it is an enabler of industry.

If you can demonstrate that you can provide solutions that will help your employer conduct business, you will work, period

Larry, Nice bit of prose, but all that BS assumes that you're being given a fair 'opportunity' to participate. And, there is nothing fair about what is going on in IT anymore than it was fair for the steel and auto other manufacturing industry shakeouts that have taken place.

America is on a downhill trip. It's just a matter of time till we bottom out. The haves are simply piling it on the have-nots till they get it all. Just like the Roman Empire, we too shall fail!

Eric, I have read many of your articles. They are full of misrepresentations and show a true lack of insight. Do you investigate and analyze before you publish or are you one of those "agenda driven" writers who looks for information to support their own point of view?

I work for a 2,500-person company that delivers development, support and consulting services to customers. There has been a significant reduction in the rates that clients are willing to pay for IT consultants and a drop in demand. The only exception are a few "niche" skills such as Java. Yes, Java is a "niche" skill because it represents a fraction of the total software that is currently in use.

As a result of the crisis in the financial industry, there will be an additional 25,000 plus IT professionals who have lost their jobs in recent months.

Many of the openings you refer to are duplicates. If you research the Websites (Monster, Dice, etc.) they are all advertising the same positions.

Your articles are similar to the major news outlets ... they are designed to stir controversy and they are neither accurate or informative.