IT- Still the Place to Be

It still seems IT is the place to be with employment numbers strong, revenues growing and a look at future trends opening up doors of opportunity. Here are some industry fast facts:

• IT employment reached an all-time high in June, according to the National Association of Computer Consultant Businesses (NACCB), which tracks monthly IT employment. The association reported that IT employment reached 3,907,800 in June, a record high. So far this year, IT has grown by almost 90,000 jobs. This is a sharp contrast to the general employment market.

• After growing revenue 13.1% in 2005 and 11.8% in 2006, the typical (median) IT services firm repeated its strong double-digit performance—posting revenue growth of 11.2%. While the typical firm saw strong revenue growth, the top quartile did even better—increasing 14.5% according to the National Association industry metrics of Computer Consultant Businesses 2008 Operating Practices Report just released. Read more...

• It might be time to sharpen your knowledge of open source development frameworks, and programming. A just-published study of available IT jobs found that 5 to 15 percent of the positions now on the market call for open source software skills. Read more... 

• CIO Magazine's 2008 State of the CIO report found that 56 percent of CIOs surveyed say long-term strategic thinking and planning is the executive leadership skill most critical in their current role, followed by collaboration and influence (47 percent) and expertise running IT (39 percent). Read more...