IT, a geek-free zone

The computer industry's troubled past has left it with an image problem. Jackie Woods reports.

Promoting information technology careers to young people is no easy task. Just ask project manager Anastasia Goven, who does just that as head of the Australian Computer Society's Young IT committee.

"It's cutting-edge, it's exciting, you're always pushing the boundaries and you get to change the way that people do business," Goven says of her profession. "But people think you're stuck in a dungeon cutting code all day, eating pizza and drinking coffee."

The pervasive belief that IT jobs are boring is difficult to shake, says Associate Professor Joseph Davis of Sydney University's school of IT. It's one of the reasons behind a trend of falling enrolments in IT courses, particularly among female students, Davis says.

The UAI for Sydney University's three-year bachelor of computer science and technology was 77 this year, down from more than 80 a couple of years ago.

"Students seem to think the jobs are not very exciting," Davis says. "I don't think that's true at all and it's the exact opposite of what was said about IT jobs during the dotcom boom. But the jobs themselves haven't changed."

IT was a hot career choice in the late-1990s, when dotcom companies were the darlings of the share market and there was a surge of investment in technology just before the turn of the century in response to Y2K issues. In 2001 the industry nosedived and there were widespread job losses and salaries plummeted.

The circumstances surrounding the IT slump won't recur, says ACS Foundation president Philip Argy and while the industry has picked itself up, young people remain hesitant about commiting to IT careers.

"[Since the crash] the job prospects for those studying IT are getting to the point where they can name their price. The pervasiveness and ubiquity of technology has now made it mainstream but there's a time lag in students and their parents realising that."

The IT job market began recovering in 2004 and the outlook is now positive, according to the Winter '06 Technology report from recruitment firm Ambition.

Businesses are increasingly seeing investment in technology as crucial to maintaining a competitive edge, with the biggest long-term problem facing the sector expected to be skills shortages, the report says.

Technology skills are in demand across many industries, with more job opportunities opening up at graduate level, says Ambition's managing director, Paul Lyons.

Training for a career in IT can be done through TAFE, university and private colleges and all can provide a good starting point, Lyons says. However, most employers will be more interested in your demonstrated skills than your qualifications.

Lyons recommends trying a few roles, such as help-desk support, Unix and business analysis, in the first few years of your IT career to build strong skills. But don't neglect your communication skills.

"There are far fewer back-office technical roles where you can afford not to talk to anybody," he says. "Whether you're in banking, insurance or recruitment you need to be able to translate business problems into technology and back again."

Employment opportunities for IT graduates have "picked up quite a bit", Davis says. Demand is strong for skills in networks and information systems; but to maximise their career prospects students are recommended to take two or three majors rather than specialise too narrowly.

"There's increasing concern from employers that they need more and better graduates," he says. "It's not too bad at the moment, but if trends continue we'll be seeing difficulties in producing enough skilled people."

Websites:
IT Careers www.itcareers.acs.org.au
Females in Information Technology and Telecommunications www.fitt.org.au

Creative computing
Terri Dittman, web designer
Terri Dittman's introduction to information technology more than 20 years ago was accidental. A partner in the accountancy firm where she was working bought a computer and needed someone to teach the staff how to use it. Dittman volunteered.

"I enjoyed working with computers," says Dittman, 48. "I first learnt basic office skills, then data entry. It's taken me a while to realise IT is so broad I could move into a more creative area."

Since that first experience with computers, she has studied at TAFE Sydney Institute, the Computer Graphics College and the University of Technology, Sydney, where she is midway through a bachelor of science in IT.

She now specialises in web design and works part-time while building her own business, www.webgarden.com.au  

"I have a creative side but I also have a very practical side," she says. "Web design is a great way to combine the two."

Published: 26 July 2006