Many people are familiar with the gig economy and its influence on the transportation sector. Now, anyone with a car can apply to drive for Uber or Lyft and potentially make money with their vehicle by getting people in their communities where they need to go.
But, the gig economy is thoroughly disrupting the IT industry as well. Let’s take a look at some of the things already happening.
The IT industry is vast, with hundreds of career opportunities and plenty of room for personal growth and achievement. It also happens to be in high demand for the foreseeable future. Many organizations, businesses, and even smaller teams need IT professionals with experience across a variety of languages, devices, platforms, and software.
But because it’s so massive, and because there are so many choices, that makes it a difficult career path to choose. Boiling your options down to a single opportunity is difficult, especially when the list of choices is seemingly endless. Information technology — or the general industry — is much too broad to focus on. What do you want to do specifically?
Would you like to be a software developer? Are you more interested in modern cybersecurity or network operations? Would you prefer to be a support analyst or consultant for any number of IT firms? Then, there’s the matter of skills. What would your IT and tech talents be best suited for?
Thanks to modern technologies, lots of incoming and outgoing data, and plenty of newer, optimized management systems the healthcare industry is seeing considerable growth in regards to IT and related services. In fact, many organizations in the industry are considering implementing their own, on-site IT services—if they haven’t already. When you look at the sheer demand and scope of the systems they require it makes sense to have a locally placed, and highly capable IT network available.
But a local system or network isn’t the only solution. IT services can actually be outsourced, or remotely connected to your organization. This places the burden of maintaining the system and hardware in the hands of a third-party.
According to a recent poll conducted by Black Book—which involved 1,600 hospital executives—34% expect to increase their current levels of IT outsourcing over the next few years. 58% have plans to retain their existing outsourcing setup through 2019.
Just like any department, IT is not immune to the looming threat of automation. Seven percent of U.S. jobs will be replaced by artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning and automation by 2025. The United States isn’t the only country being affected as IT service hubs like India also project automation to replace low skilled jobs within the next five years.
To some, these doom and gloom forecasts represent the end of IT jobs as we know it, but the future doesn’t look so dark for those who embrace change and prepare for it.
There’s something to be said about the power and nature of diversity in an industry. It’s easy to generalize an entire group or demographic, but a lot of times, that’s how things naturally work out. For instance, the tech industry is primarily dominated by white males with a toxic masculinity behind their decisions and actions. This leads to the question of whether or not the startups and tech appearing in said industry are largely driven by these influential leaders. Would a female or African-American leader come up with a completely different type of device or platform, for instance?
More important to the systemic operation of the industry is how diverse individuals are treated and welcomed into the space. There are multitudes of stories and tales of sexual harassment, abuse and even neglect by influential professionals in the tech world. There are far-reaching implications for anyone working in the industry regarding these problems, but there’s another aspect of it all — though not necessarily one you may expect.
The correlation between artificial intelligence (AI) and cybersecurity in the current IT landscape is divisive. Some cybersecurity experts and analysts believe AI will improve security and privacy for many, especially in the enterprise world. Others predict exactly the opposite: It will harm the industry, making it easier for hackers and the unscrupulous to carry out attacks. You cannot fully understand either side of this argument, however, without delving further into their supporting points.
If you’re stuck in a field you don’t love, and you’re thinking IT might be the career for you, don’t worry—there are ways to get you out of that job and into IT. Here’s how you can make the transition.
