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Why Kids Aren't Going Into IT

It's a puzzling paradox of life here in America in the year 2005: On the one hand, information technology has woven itself into the very fabric of our lives, so much so that it's difficult to imagine how we managed to live life without the Web, e-mail, instant messaging, cell phones, and iPods. That's most truthful for young people who, as always, are the first and most enthusiastic to embrace new consumer technologies. Young people are very happy to consume information technology. They just don't want to create it. America's colleges and universities simply aren't turning out computer science graduates at a rate needed to fill the jobs available. What's the solution? Chris Murphy, our senior executive editor, news, says that IT recruiting starts at home. IT pros need to communicate to young people, starting with their own kids, that IT is still an exciting and rewarding profession to get into. InformationWeek Editorial Director Bob Evans says universities and colleges are failing in their obligation to educate. Both these things are true, but there's another institution to blame as well: businesses who hire IT managers.

Companies spent the last five years cutting wages, laying people off, and outsourcing jobs to India and China, where employees are willing to work for a fraction of the wages that Americans ask for. A recent study by Cap Gemini Ernst & Young found that computer programmers in India cost their employers an average of $20 per hour, compared with $65 per hour for an American with comparable age and experience.

True, the total number of people employed in IT has recovered, reaching 3.43 million people in the second quarter, up 3.9% year-over-year, and very close to the 2001 level of 3.46 million. But that's a recent development. Just last year, IT employment reached a low of 25% fewer jobs than existed in 2000.

After five years making IT an unstable and downwardly-mobile occupation, high-level business executives have no business looking hurt and betrayed when young people don't want to work for them, If you kick a dog regularly for five years, you shouldn't be surprised if he shies away when you reach out your hand to him, even if this time you're offering him a cookie.

Listen to the voices quoted in Chris's article:

- "Personally, I hope my kids never get into IT.... IT is still pretty much dark magic and not much higher than the neighborhood mechanic in many companies."--John Rosa

- "I would NOT recommend that my children look for an IT career. I would recommend that my children look for skills and an occupation that can last them a lifetime (40+ years) and not be stolen away from them by a cheaper worker/industry changes. An occupation where they become more valued and recognized as the older and more experienced they get.... I would prefer that they concentrate on the professions, such as medical, legal, financial, animal medicine, etc."--Erin Wells

Now, not all young people make career choices on long-term economic grounds. Some will choose jobs based on what's fun or glamorous. Some are looking to get rich. But many young people look for jobs that will provide a good living over the long term, and those young people are not choosing IT today. Can we really blame them?

Kids today know the world doesn't owe them a living. That's why they're looking for jobs that maximize their chances of earning a living. If businesses want more kids to go into IT -- if they want retain the technology core competence needed to remain competitive -- they need to make IT a more stable and lucrative job choice.

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