Considering the growing prevalence of technology and computers, it might be hard to think of a better degree to have after graduation than computer science. However, a recent report indicated that job postings in the field of information technology have been steadily decreasing.
Concurrent with a national trend, the number of IT job postings across the state fell 7 percent in January and has been declining since July, according to a report by the North Carolina Technology Association.
The IT job market has fluctuated during the past two years. It peaked in March 2012, declined for eight months, peaked again in June and has been declining ever since.
Though the NCTA’s statistics might sound disheartening to students graduating with a computer science or technology degree in May, the lack of available IT jobs doesn’t necessarily mean there aren’t employment opportunities, according to Director of Communication Technologies Greg Sparks.
In fact, Sparks and other IT specialists at N.C. State aren’t deterred whatsoever by the NCTA’s findings.
Sparks, speaking from personal experience, said the IT job market appears to be declining due to a content workforce.
“Any time the job market picks up, people looking for a better job will jump ship because there are more opportunities,” Sparks said.
Then the companies that lost employees make a job posting and so do the other companies experiencing the turnover, creating a domino effect, Sparks said.
“Once everyone gets settled in with their new job, the market gravitates back to a normal rate of jobs and a small amount of turnover and new jobs,” Sparks said.
According to John Black, director of Infrastructure, Systems and Operations for the Office of Information Technology, the NCTA data might indicate that new technologies, such as cloud computing and big data, are shifting the skill sets required in the job market, but overall, the need for IT talent is increasing.
“While there may be sectors or regions [in IT] periodically exhibiting decline in job postings, the need for IT workers going forward remains strong,” Black said. “I would encourage anyone with the interest and aptitude for a career in IT to pursue it with vigor.”
This decline in job postings shouldn’t deter N.C. State students since new graduates tend to be hired for jobs that might not be listed by the NCTA, according to Assistant Director of the Career Development Center Leslie Rand-Pickett.
“That NCTA data is looking more for experienced jobs,” Rand-Pickett said. “For most students, they’re being hired into a program and recruited a little differently than ‘just-in-time jobs.’ They don’t see as much fluctuation in new-grad hiring as you might see in the job market in general.”
Ken Tate, director of development & external relations for the department of computer science, agreed with Rand-Pickett, and said he and his colleagues are concerned with the NCTA data as it “doesn’t seem to match their experience at all.”
“I think [the NCTA data] is focused on external job posting activity involving experienced hires and it fails to take into consideration the explosion in jobs we have experienced over the last few years in new grad hiring,” Tate said.
Tate, who recently participated in a conference call with Marc Montoro, the senior director of Programs and Communications for the NCTA, said he thinks the NCTA used a small group of relatively stable companies across the state and assessed their hiring plans, which may not be the correct “mix” to accurately reflect the current market.
Tate said the University has been closely working with the N.C. Department of Commerce to help recruit new companies, such as MetLife, Fidelity Investments, DB Global Technology and LexisNexis, to come to the state.
“The list goes on and on,” Tate said referring to companies recruiting N.C. State graduates with an IT background.
Rand-Pickett said IT has been a “hot field” for prospective companies because most companies need IT workers regardless of their specialty.
“It’s one of the most popular fields because everyone needs IT students, even if it’s not a technology company,” Rand-Pickett said. “Financial services, insurance and marketing companies, whatever it is, everyone needs IT. The CDC gets a variety of employers looking for the same types of roles because there’s such a strong need.”
According to Marc Hoit, Vice Chancellor for Information Technology and Chief Information Officer, companies want to integrate IT strategy into their business plan, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they want employees to have a computer science degree.
“As cloud service, for example, increases, organizations will own less of the hardware and software. It will be more about how they will integrate it into their business process,” Hoit said. “They may be looking for a business degree with focus in IT, or a degree in education with a focus in using tech for learning or it may be a data science degree.”
Though the job market for IT seems to be going strong despite the NCTA’s report, Sparks said some areas of the field will eventually become extinct.
Sparks said some people in the workforce aren’t comfortable with technology and don’t know how to use a computer effectively. Conversely, young adults were raised with computers and advanced technology, and though they might not have in-depth skills, they are at least comfortable with the concept.
“Some positions in IT—we call them IT generalists—involve people who are there to help others use computers,” Sparks said. “I used to spend 30 minutes just to teach someone about how to use a mouse.”
However, Sparks said these generalists won’t be needed in the future.
“We’re still in the midst of a transition,” Sparks said. “I think over time we’ll see that those jobs won’t exist anymore because you don’t need someone to teach someone how to use a computer for basic functions anymore. On the flip side, security jobs are going to take off. Not having strong cyber security is such a huge risk to everyone, and there are not enough folks to fill those jobs. Overall in terms of the number of IT jobs, it’s hard for me to believe there will be a decrease because technology continues to grow in complexity.”
