[KillerGremlin]

Having done 2 years of IT work and 1 year of an Engineering Intern with some IT....I think the reality is as technology advances the need for IT will increase. The solution cannot be outsourcing your labor, at least not all of it, because a lot of the IT stuff is done in-house. My dad worked at AT&T during the telecom bubble in the 90s (he moved to Lucent). When Lucent crashed they got bought up by some German company and haven't looked back. In that regard, technology "bubbles" create a risky job market. But telecom was fucked and I think smart people saw the signs ahead of time.

You're always going to see jobs outsourced in this field. Programming jobs, software jobs, jobs where the guy sits at a desk and answers a phone, help jobs, etc.

But you're always going to need a staff at location or near location to do server maintenance, to do computer maintenance, and to basically run the company's technology infrastructure. This is the pro and con of IT. The pro is, if you can deal with the competitive nature of the job and you have tons of experience, you can keep a job. The con is because of the recession companies downsize IT like crazy and the requirements to hold a job increase.

The other aspect about IT and technology work is it doesn't really net the company money, at least not directly. Sure, giving employees faster computers increases productivity. Having a good webserver and a good network infrastructure increases efficiency. But these things are not immediate or noticeable by the Accounting and Finance people in companies. Every time I have worked in IT I have seen management battles, IT Department vs. Accounting. It's very cyclical.

1. Employees complain about computer/Internet/servers
2. IT tries to fix these problems, they go to Accounting
3. Accounting shoots IT down unless it's a magical, lucky day
4. IT tells employees they can't buy new computers
5. Employees bitch and hate IT
6. Management wants to know why people don't like IT

So all-in-all, it's rough holding an IT job. (and depressing making people use 7 year old computers).

I'm really just rambling. I think Information Technology is a necessary backbone for most companies, and will be increasingly needed. Our generation (my gen) appreciates computers much more than the current gen of Business types who built their company on little spending. I feel like IT is still not highly valued but data protection, backups, faster computers, better software; these are all necessary for long term success (imo). Especially if you're running an engineering company. I really think part of the problem is you have these 60-year old CEO guys who don't appreciate the power of technology, and that trickles down into the finance and accounting parts of some companies.

You can outsource some tech but you're always gonna need IT. As for jobs like telecom (what's the new Telecom, cell phones? Broadband?)...I think it will see growth in this country along with growth outside, since nowadays outsourcing is basically gonna happen (unless the Fed finds a way to deter companies from doing it).