I think that range of emotions that most professionals are feeling right now ranges some where from mild concern to flat out panic as the housing market continues to decline, the economy continues to operate in volatile swings and unemployment continues to rise. The good news is that under it all there is some good news. The Washington DC Metro region continues to shine in direct contrast to the rest of the countries employment markets and IT jobs are gaining across the country.
The Greater Washington Initiative coins DC as “well beyond a government town” with the federal government representing 11.4% of the employment in the region while 23% is professional and business services. As of last year Greater Washington ranked second nationally in the number of professional, scientific and technical jobs held. “One striking aspect of the region’s diversity is how little it is publicized. Everyone has heard of Silicon Valley, but few know the Greater Washington region is one of the largest employers of technology workers,” Greater Washington Initiative 2008 Regional Report. “As further evidence of the region’s resilience, Greater Washington has had the lowest unemployment rate of the top ten metro areas in all but two months in the last seven years.”
While the overall employment market is experiencing heavy losses, IT employment has reached an all time high, according to the National Association of Computer Consulting Businesses, which tracks monthly IT employment. According to the NACCB IT employment reached 3,907,800 in June. So far this year, IT has grown by almost 90,000 jobs compared to the overall employment market that has lost 438,000 jobs.
This is a trend that isn’t likely to end. The Computing Research Association's annual survey of universities with Ph.D.-granting programs found a 20 percent drop in students completing bachelors degrees in professional IT fields in 2008, continuing a trend seen for several years. Enrollment in undergraduate degree programs in computer sciences is more than 50 percent lower than it was five years ago. Between 2005-2006 and 2006-2007 the number of new students declaring computer sciences as a major fell 43 percent.
So what does this all mean? I am confident that the demand for IT professionals will remain healthy to spite other economic challenges and that in coming years there will be a significant strain on employers as they attempt to hire IT professionals. In the short term while gas prices rise, housing prices drop your biggest asset maybe your IT skills. My career advice is keep them sharp!
Bangalore keeps its top position as the ideal location for global delivery services. New Delhi edges out Manila for second place, according to a new study from IDC, an international market research firm.
IDC’s Global Delivery Index (GDI) indicated that India is still the off-shoring country of choice in Asia. In its second edition, IDC's GDI ranks 35 cities in the region based on criteria such as labor and rent costs, language skills and political risk.
Two other Indian cities also made it to the top 10 list: New Delhi edged out Manila for the No. 2 spot, while Mumbai dropped three places from last year's list to seventh.
Chinese Cities Gaining
Jenna Griffin, senior research analyst for global delivery services research at IDC Asia-Pacific, says that Bangalore and New Delhi are attractive due to existing infrastructure, large quantity of skilled workers as well as competitive pricing.
Auckland and Beijing made significant progress over last year, moving up five and three notches, respectively. Griffin says that Auckland's ranking was influenced by factors such as greater government support, an increased emphasis toward a digital economy and currency depreciation.
On the other hand, China’s investment in Beijing's infrastructure and the environment for the upcoming Olympic Games has sharpened the city's competitive edge, she added.
Beijing, Shanghai, Dalian Make Top 10
"With prices on the rise in India, locations like Beijing with established infrastructure and lower costs will be in demand," Griffin points out. "Beijing also has a highly skilled workforce, supported by a strong education network."
The Chinese cities of Shanghai and Dalian were also counted by IDC as among the top 10 global delivery locations. Dalian, however, slipped from No. 4 in 2007 to the current No. 9.
According to Griffin, there will be an increase in the number of Chinese cities considered as optimal global delivery locations by 2012. Xian, for instance, will become a top 10 off-shoring destination for businesses.
“Jobs Beyond Borders”
Meanwhile, a new study released by Careerbuilder.com and the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania identifies the top three technology jobs at risk for moving offshore. The study, titled “Jobs Beyond Borders,” includes research from 3,000 hiring managers and HR professionals as well as 6,700 U.S. workers.
The study suggests that 32 percent of computer programmer and software developer jobs and 16 percent of systems analysts jobs are at risk. According to the study, "More firms are off-shoring high-wage, high-skill jobs that were once though to be immune to global competition."
In fact, the study says, 28 percent of employers have already off-shored high-skill services positions overseas to third parties or foreign affiliates. What's more, 69 percent of employers who offshore believe high-skill services positions are more likely to be off-shored than low-skill jobs.
Saving Money is the Big Reason
The majority of employers surveyed listed saving money as the reason for off-shoring jobs. According to the study, nearly half of the employers who did off-shore information technology jobs reported saving an average of $20,000 per person.
Of the workers who were displaced by off-shoring, only one in five were reassigned within the company. Of those who were let go or left the company, 81 percent went to another employer who was not aggressively off-shoring.
Matt Gerguson, CEO of Careerbuilder.com, says that in order for most employers to compete with other companies worldwide they ship jobs offshore. "Among employers who off-shore, half said they believe off-shoring is necessary to compete in a global economy and 15 percent project more than 20 percent of their jobs will eventually be sent overseas."
While high-skilled jobs are at risk for being off-shored, Gerguson is positive about the U.S. job market. "One-in-four employers who offshore said it has enabled them to create a greater number of better jobs here in the U.S.," says Gerguson.
I have been neglectful of CareerThoughts and I have a big reveal over memorial day, but in the mean time I couldn't help but share this great post by Andrew.
http://www.legalandrew.com/2008/05/20/lessons-learned-by-being-laid-off/
On Friday, May 9, one of the vice presidents walked into my office and fired me. Little did I know that I was the second casualty of five (10% of the staff) to be laid off on that Black Friday.
I’m headed to a better life with my own solo law firm. I have a small, growing client base, and new opportunities pop up every day.
But I want to highlight a couple things I learned by being laid off. It was unexpected, shocking, surreal, and enraging. Here is what it taught me:
Last August was the first time in my life that I ever had dental insurance. My parents always took us for regular cleanings, but payments were out-of-pocket. When we were hired, my wife and I opted to get on the company dental plan, which really paid off.
Since August, I had my wisdom teeth extracted and three small cavities filled. Of course, I’ve had two regular cleanings as well. Most of the expense was paid by for by the dental insurance company!
Now that I’m self-employed, dental insurance sure is expensive, so I’m not going to get it. My teeth are all taken care of now, so I can afford to just pay for my cleanings.
It’s best to maintain your teeth, since you never know when that spiffy insurance will dry up.
Have you opted into your employer’s flexible health savings plan? Here’s why you should.
In January, we decided to have $3,900 taken out for medical expenses for the year. At the time of our lay-off, we had spent about $3,200 on medical expenses. You can do that because you get the entire flexible spending amount on January 1. It’s sort-of like a medical expenses loan that gets taken out of your paycheck each week.
But the cool part is that only about $1,500 had been withheld from my paycheck by the time I was laid off. I was a bit worried that we’d have to pay the difference from my small severance pay, but we don’t. The employer bears the risk that you’ll leave the company in the hole with your health savings plan. Neat, isn’t it?
I chose not to seek out another full time employment position. But if I had, my resume was ready. It’s always updated and at-the-ready.
To make my resume 100% ready for use, all I had to do was add the final date of my previous employment. I also made sure that my list of duties was accurate and updated.
Since you never know when opportunity will knock (or when you’ll be kicked to the curb), you should always have a resume ready. Here are my 52 resume tips, and Daily Writing Tips has 44 tips of their own.
As an attorney, I’m a member of several professional associations and the Virginia State Bar. They all require contact information.
When I registered with these groups, I gave them my work address, phone, and email. But I see now that it was a mistake. One of the first things I had to do was update all this address information.
For this reason, I suggest considering the address that you use when registering with professional organizations. Your home address might be a good, stable choice.
That’s what I’ve learned so far. I’m trying to take this life change in stride. A door has closed, but God’s opening up many others.
And now I have to do some work for clients. That’s a good thing!
