Preparing Students for Today’s IT Employment Market Ted Mullin Metro Market Manager

Places IT professionals on a project and full-time basis Robert Half International Inc. pioneered specialized staffing services Expert on career and management-related issues Robert Half Technology

Today’s Topics The IT employment environment Leading IT skills and specialties Non-technical skills in demand Starting salary ranges

The Employment Environment Pace of investment in technology has slowed since tech boom Companies cutting costs through outsourcing Offshore component in delivery of U.S. IT services estimated to be 23 percent by 2007

The Employment Environment Areas of IT investment –Capital expenditures –Spam/viruses –Wireless communication –Business intelligence –The Internet –Regulatory requirements

The Employment Environment CIOs initiating projects that were on hold Cautious approach to full-time hiring New employees brought in on temporary or project basis Companies use strategic staffing approach

The Employment Environment 63 percent of CIOs say it’s valuable to have a prospective employee work on a project basis as a means of evaluation for full-time employment. * Source: Robert Half Technology survey of 1,400 CIOs

The Employment Environment Long-term IT outlook is bright 49 percent of tech companies are hiring more this year than last Venture-capital funding increasing 9 percent of CIOs plan to add full-time staff this quarter

The Employment Environment Industries projecting strong growth in 2005: –Business services –Financial services –Real estate –Manufacturing –Construction

Leading IT Specialties

Networking –Hands-on experience with OS applications –Security-related hardware and software experience –Certification

Leading IT Specialties Technical support –Strong interpersonal and communication skills –Customer-service focus –Microsoft XP/2000/NT, UNIX and Microsoft Office applications experience

Leading IT Specialties Internet/intranet development –Experience in back-end web development –Java, JavaScript, Java 2 Enterprise Edition, Enterprise, JavaBeans; XML; CGI, Visual Basic or ASP; and C++ experience –Familiarity with.NET platform –Ability to create sites that align with business objectives and customer needs

Leading IT Specialties Database management –Understanding of relational database theory –Oracle8i/9i/10g, Microsoft SQL Server or IBM DB2 technologies –Certification

Top Technical Skills Technical skills include: –Windows administration –Visual Basic development –CheckPoint firewall administration –Cisco network administration –SQL Server management

The Importance of Soft Skills 98 percent of CIOs consider strong soft skills essential for IT professionals

Non-technical Skills in Demand Industry experience Communication skills Business fundamentals Interpersonal skills

Industry Experience Students can gain “real world” experience and firsthand knowledge of industry through: –Internships –Volunteer activities –Part-time work

Communication Skills Strong communication skills needed to clearly explain technical concepts to others English and business communication courses are helpful

Business Fundamentals Ability to explain how IT spending will benefit the organization Understanding of principles of finance and accounting is useful

Interpersonal Skills Interpersonal skills include: –Diplomacy –Tact –A team-oriented attitude Participation in group projects, on-campus organizations can be helpful Mentors provide guidance and advice

IT Salary Information Average starting salaries to remain stable in 2005 Projected average increase of 0.5 percent Increases expected in high-demand specialties Slight declines in other areas

The Ticket to Success Gain hands-on experience Develop in-demand technical skills Refine non-technical (soft) skills Explore job opportunities in the leading specialties

Preparing Students for Employment in Today’s IT Job Market