Relationship Equity by Walker Richard;

Author:Walker, Richard; [Walker, Richard]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: General Fiction
Publisher: Advantage Media Group
Published: 2023-11-18T00:00:00+00:00

6

BREAKING DOWN THE BARRIERS

I have a confession to make: I’m about as technical as a pint of Guinness.

I do not fit the stereotype of an “IT guy.” It can be a struggle for me to turn on my computer in the morning. I appreciate technology, of course, and have devoted my career to advancing it—yet I still have to ask my kids to help me get Netflix going.

Developing relationships, though, is what comes naturally to me. I like to be out and about, making conversation with people I don’t know. I genuinely look forward to meeting people and making friends but, more importantly, to keeping in touch. That is not how most people would describe the typical IT guy or gal. They are often seen as lone wolves.

The geek stereotype is unfortunate but not always inaccurate. I have met plenty of people in my field whose concept of networking lies solely in the digital realm. Generally speaking, techies don’t tend to be talkers. They are technically brilliant, and sometimes this translates into a different kind of social interaction. Most people lie somewhere between the extremes, of course, but I can say with confidence that the IT world as a whole is weighted more toward the introverted end of the continuum.

Our industry needs both types. We need those smart analytical minds, and we also need people who are adept at making connections and zeroing in on the needs and wants of individuals and the marketplace. One part is not possible without the other, and together they can come up with the best IT solutions.

Most IT leaders would agree, though, that it has become increasingly hard to find qualified technical talent. The traditional place to locate it has been on college campuses. The problem we have found, though, is that everyone is fishing in that same pond—and the resources are dwindling as the demand continues to grow.

In a 2021 survey by Gartner Inc., IT executives identified the lack of available talent as the biggest barrier to adopting new technologies.2 At the same time, a poll of twelve hundred tech and IT workers, published by TalentLMS and software company Workable, found that 72 percent of them were considering quitting or exploring other job opportunities within the year.3

Meanwhile, the pool of college graduates will be getting increasingly smaller, according to projections.4 A college degree, whether in information technology, computer science, or engineering of some sort, is the traditional path to enter the industry. Students do their internship, get that piece of paper, and they are in. In recent years, though, the US college system has been producing too few graduates with the credentials to meet the rising demand.

At the same time, a college diploma is becoming less and less crucial to having a career in IT. Don’t get me wrong—a degree is a major accomplishment, and many companies still require one for entry-level positions and further promotions. The good news is that things are changing. The more innovative companies focus less on credentials and more on evaluating a person’s technical acuity and ability to learn new concepts.

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