Saw a pie chart today labeled "The Benefits of Working in IT in 2025" (see below). The legend has categories like salary, wellness, stable mental health, and confidence in your future. The actual pie chart has none of those colors. Message received loud and clear.
Now, I have not worked in IT for a big company since the 90s, but even back then, I got it. The pay was decent if you were in management, but for the average tech worker, it was nothing special. The hours were terrible, job security was a joke, and burnout was practically guaranteed. I remember getting laid off from a startup after designing all the training materials and making sure the company ran like a well oiled machine. Once everything was in place, they let me go and brought in someone cheaper to teach from the materials I created. Classic move.
But that was then. I have been on my own since 1994, so I am curious. What is it like now? Those of you still working IT for a big company, does this chart hit home? Or have things improved? I know most of you here are small business owners, because lets be real, big companies do not use Microsoft Access nearly as much as they should. But that is a different argument altogether.
And I wonder how many IT jobs will be replaced by AI if corporate America has its way. Given that companies are constantly pushing for fewer "hands" on deck, while relying more and more on technology, it is no wonder this chart looks as it does. Where I work, it is already apparent that our IT department is staffed by few who actually understand how our system was designed (AS-400), they have broken more processes than they have fixed.
AS-400? Wow. I think my computer teacher IN HIGH SCHOOL used to work on those (and graduated in 1990). Blast from the past. But yeah, corporate America is all about efficiency and reducing the workforce. Just ask "The Bobs..."
Sami Shamma
@Reply 15 months ago
Darn, I owned an AS400 back in the day when I had my IT company back in the UK. A true Blast from the past.
Sami Shamma that's the movie I told you about at dinner... Office Space. Watch it. One of my favorites.
Sami Shamma
@Reply 15 months ago
Richard Rost will definitely watch it this week.
Thomas Gonder
@Reply 15 months ago
Like I told so many students, "The purpose of getting a "good job" is not for the pay, vacation time, benefits, satisfaction or experience to jump to the next job. The purpose, if you want to someday be financially independent, is to learn everything you can about that business so you can leverage it into something that customers want to buy from you. It doesn't have to be your own company; your existing employer should feel the need to pay you like an outrageously expensive consultant."
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