Careers: Opinions

The state of today's economy has triggered many economists, job experts and hiring managers to warn of layoffs and hiring contractions, and tech pros themselves have become skeptical about job security and future opportunities. Despite these concerns, the outlook for US employment, particularly in the tech sector, is not as dismal as some fortunetellers would lead us to believe.

In the course of my career, I've seen my share of dysfunctional IT organizations. One of my most difficult assignments was as CIO for a large county government. It was also one of the best lessons in what it takes to energize IT professionals and serve clients ever more responsively.

With the economy ailing, the US presidential election in full swing and surveys showing cuts in next year's IT budgets, get ready to hear more and more about jobs. People will lose jobs. Evil corporations will export jobs. We will need more jobs. We will need better jobs. Not McJobs.

If you're not ready to find a new job, try reviving the one that went stale. You'll gain a clearer sense of what inspires you to do your best work, as well as the conditions that drain you

Would you compromise your personal integrity for $80? How about risk your IT career for $200? Of course not, you say. But you already have -- if you've ever used certification-examination "study materials" from TestKing, Pass4Sure or hundreds of test-preparation Web sites just like them.

Not every employee is chomping at the bit to telecommute. A survey commissioned by Steelcase, a manufacturer of office furniture, shows that professionals have decidedly mixed feelings about the option to work from home.

Mission statements help define an organization's direction and inspire employees to achieve corporate goals. Unfortunately, countless mission statements are meaningless, forgettable and totally ineffective. Many are merely an uninspiring collection of buzzwords that could have been written by Dilbert's boss. If that describes yours, you have work to do!

In case you missed it there was an extremely comprehensive post on the Oil Drum site the other week about teleworking.

You've worked your way up the ladder, from cable jockey to network technician to network administrator.

I finally decided to leave public service and go back to the private sector. The decision wasn't easy, because I hate to leave the team. My boss is adjusting, but he's not happy. I am very excited, though, to be going back to what I enjoy - security consulting.

With the economic downturn on everyone's mind, assumptions about job security come under question, and everyone starts reexamining their skills. There are lots and lots of valuable jobs performed in IT, but some skills are valued even more highly than others. With all the upheaval we're experiencing in IT, many new skills are in high demand or rapidly increasing in value. Here are my Top 7 skills that could help you not only keep that job, but secure an even better new job, positioning you to work on the next generation of IT applications and software products in the era of Web-delivered online applications.