Is the Cuts on Public spending going to affect me as an IT student in the future from being able to get a Job?

Question

I am an IT student are have the thought of the cuts from the govermet that it could give me less job prospects in the future and with the other partys comong out and saying that they will not bring back any of the money to the councils is there now any jobs in the IT industary for me to get in the future?

Answer 1

Public spending cuts are a direct reaction to the recession. The bad news is that both these things will affect future job prospects for some people.

The good news is that the publicity surrounding these financial traumas has made you worry. Yes, I say it is good that you worry now, because you have chance to do something about it. As a student, you are in a much better position than a public sector IT worker whose current income is at risk later this year, or one who has already lost their job. You have time to plan, and reduce your exposure to public sector job shortages.

Now, if this was just a public sector issue, I could advise you to switch your focus to private sector jobs, and plan your career accordingly. But, the recession is hitting all sectors of the economy, so no job is safe. This really needs an economic study to find the best types of employee to target in future, and that is beyond me. However, I can show you ways to learn enough about economics and related subjects so you can see where your best options are.

As with all my answers, you have to be clear about your goals and account for any restrictions you have. If you can travel anywhere, then it pays to investigate growing economies. For generations, people have been emigrating from poverty to find financial freedom. There was a time when IT jobs were thought to be future-proof, but you must be careful how you define that. Yes, the world will always need computer technicians for the forseeable future. Businesses will always need people to help process the growing amounts of information.

In my view, this is the ideal topic for an in-depth investigation. Now, it is perfectly feasible to work by yourself in a library, building your own knowledge about which economies, and which aspects of IT are set to become more popular, with better job prospects. I find that topics like this are much easier to understand and gain expertise in if you study openly. There are several economics forums and other ways to gain expertise. You can join one of those, or join in here and learn how to develop your own knowledge-base.

You'll be amazed how quickly you can gain enough expertise to make a difference. It might not lead you to the ultimate IT job, but it will make you much more aware of what you really want to do, and the best ways of achieving that.

As I develop this website, there will be more tools to help you make decisions. My goals for this website will always be the same:

• I will help you identify your fears and help you find ways to overcome them or use them
• I will help you identify where you need to improve knowledge and plan how to gain it
• These forums will introduce you to like-minded people, so you may have a chance to work together on knowledge building projects
• I will build a directory of resources that have helped other people find their freedom from fears of debt, loneliness, ill health, or any other freedoms they desire.

All this is really to say that, yes, spending cuts will affect your future as an IT student. I do not think anyone can give you an accurate answer as to exactly how you will be affected. In some sectors, there might even be more IT opportunities if cuts to labor-intensive industries mean a greater reliance on technology.

Keeping a close eye on trends in IT gives you your best chance of a secure future. The best way to achieve that is monitoring quality newswires and reading quality news reviews. One way to do that would be to group together with some like-minded people and work on something like IT-Trends.freedly.com - your own website where you can build IT industry knowledge to share and sell.

If we are really lucky, this discussion will attract other IT students who want to build a knowledge base about the IT industry to determine where the best job prospects are. If it doesn't, then I can advise ways to start the process of finding them so that you can be free from fears that there will be no suitable jobs in future.

Does anyone else have views on the future of the IT industry? Please add your comments to this answer. Or, preferably, please provide a better answer.

Comments

I think I was tired when I wrote this - it is a bit long-winded.

I will write more soon to be clearer. You are right to be concerned about your future, but we need to turn that into positive action that improves your chances of success. We do not want it to become negative fears that hold you back.

Keep checking back for clearer answers, or sign up for the free update service in the right sidebar above.

Answer 2

Let me answer your question again, and I will start by retracting my statement:

As a student, you are in a much better position than a public sector IT worker whose current income is at risk later this year, or one who has already lost their job.

It is wrong for me to imply that you are better or worse placed than anyone else. What we need to look at is the uncertainty caused by the announcements that you mention. Uncertainty and worry are early signs of fear. That fear is just as real if it relates to the present or the future. Obviously, the job at the end of your studies is the most important thing in your life right now, so let us deal with the fear.

There are two types of fear. Good fear and bad fear. Positive fear and negative fear. It can sometimes be hard to differentiate between the two, and knowledge is the key to resolving that.

Negative, or bad fear, is when you fear something that is not a threat. Your risk is that you will run from the fear, or stop moving towards your ambition because of the fear. If current lack of funding is irrelevant to your job prospects, then fear of those funding cuts might push you in the wrong direction. It may stop you studying hard, because your fears push you to think it is not worth the effort.

However, if lack of funding will reduce your chances of a job, then it is a positive fear that you should use to push you in a better direction.

I do not have enough information about your specific study options, and the type of job you want. That information might be enough for you to stop worrying. You may well see that you have so many options in future, that if one sector fails, you will find work in the best sector when you get near the end of your studies.

On the other hand, if you have set your heart on a job in public service, and you know that funding in your chosen sector will be limited, then you should use all the support services you can access to find different IT sectors that will be more secure.

I have written more about this in Freedom From Future Fears. Please ask a related question if either of my responses are not clear to you.

Comments

No that is fine this is very clear about how no job in the IT industary or any industary is safe and that every one will be effected by the cuts on public spending.

thank you for this answer i will have to have a long think about the answer and what job I want to do in the future,