IS Field

[Brad Bartram]

First - I think that as time goes on and the skills become more of a commodity 
that can be shifted at will, corporate decision makers will come to more 
critically analyze the cost/benefit ratio of outsourcing.  The biggest 
complaint I've heard against outsourcing is the quality of the staff employed 
as well as the quality of the final product.  As those two criticisms are 
reduced or eliminated, the programmer or other producers will be forced to 
compete solely on price, in which case outsourcing will become the norm.

The other side to that coin is the system administrator.  The sysadmin that 
supports the non-outsourcable business resources and human resources will 
maintain in his job, although I could forsee the shift of the profession 
being from knowledge work to that of the corner mechanic.

The people that will make out and continue to be given responsibility, 
promotions and more money will be the managers of the outsourced resources.  
The project managers or coordinators that act as the bridge between the 
outsourced resource and the corporate goals.

In all, I think the best advise I heard was if your job consists of burying 
yourself in your cubicle and you don't communicate with anyone else, your job 
is in danger.

Just my $.02

brad

On Thursday 11 March 2004 08:34 am, Carl Yost Jr wrote:
> I have a question for anyone in the IS field right now? Where do you guys
> see it going in the next 10 years? Do you see a lot of the outsourcing
> right now ? What about System Engineers? Do you see this group being
> outsourced also ? Outside of programmers has anyone seen other area's of IS
> getting outsourced ? On a lot of the Cisco groups I am in, I see people
> complaining about it all day. Was starting to think is the US IS field
> going the way of the Steel Industry ? Has anyone thought about changing
> careers ? The one think I love about the Linux/Cisco stuff it is world
> wide. Sure you got MS all over also, but that seems to be always more hands
> on day to day admin stuff. Anyone have any opinions ? I was starting to
> wonder if it was time to finish up my current Cisco stuff, and maybe go
> back to school in another field...... I don't want to get caught in
> something like the steel industry in 15 years.......