Are Tech Workers Obsolete?

jjrabbit

jjrabbit

Does anybody else feel like most IT work is bullshit? I mean, almost everything just works nowadays and seems like there really isn't that much to do. Yes, we still have patches to install but it's mostly setup then autopilot.

I feel like the people complaining about not having enough staff, or the ones constantly putting out fires are just bad at their job and have no clue WTF they're doing. You can give a monkey a million dollars and they'll still spend it on bananas.

Anyway, I thought maybe development was the way to go but just seems like there isn't anything that needs building now. Maybe I'm wrong.

How is everybody here coping?
 
Very very busy right now.

But yes plenty of BS out there and the AI-hype is unbelievable. There's some clever stuff and it looks like it can be a useful tool. But it's a long way from being able to understand what the humans want and to then make computers do that. And the humans will have got it wrong, so there will be iteration(s).

AI "experts" definitely in demand at the moment apparently. And demand for "green" tech.

The bubble will burst (like it did for blockchain, web 2.0, etc.) and we'll be left with something useful but (as before) not as much as the hyped-up vision.

People expect apps/computers to do more "thinking" for them - and that means a lot of programming - the easier for the end-user, the more lines of code, the more infrastructure, the more testing - the more work for IT specialists.

The hardware is amazing these days, the connectivity - it's a great time.

You might be looking in the wrong places. Or I might be completely wrong and just living in blissful ignorance!
 
jjrabbit said:
Does anybody else feel like most IT work is bullshit?
Click to expand...
I do, unfortunately. Though maybe I would not say all IT work is BS.

I was complaining about it 5 years ago or so, I wanted to change my job and do something different (though still IT related). But all offers I got seemed like: "out of the frying pan and into the fire". Also mortgage, kids made it a bit harder to risk changing the job. It does pay my bills, I can't complain about that.

I used to love my job. We had big, big international accounts (e.g. airplane manufacturers) with high end HW (most of it ia64), design challenges were great. Reboots were seldom and when they (crash) happened everybody was on their toes as it was a big thing (= lots of money could be lost very quickly). Every reboot was analyzed, explained and many times documented.
Nowadays? In essence: many cost reductions forced us to "different" scenarios. Rebooted happened ? Who cares if appl is up now. Is it stuck ? Reboot it and don't be bothered about it.
Automation is pushed by upper management to such degree it's plain idiocy (at the same level as "self evaluation" in the end of year).
 
_martin said:
I was complaining about it 5 years ago or so, I wanted to change my job and do something different (though still IT related). But all offers I got seemed like: "out of the frying pan and into the fire". Also mortgage, kids made it a bit harder to risk changing the job. It does pay my bills, I can't complain about that.
Click to expand...
But definitely a big "yes" to this as well. There's definitely work to be done - but is it fun? Might be a time-of-life thing, though.
 
richardtoohey2 said:
Very very busy right now.
Click to expand...

To anybody reading this thread -- this is what you have to tell people no matter WHAT your frickn' job is.

More seriously though, yeah I think so too, AI is going to take over eventually but it hasn't yet because it's still too complicated. Most of the "AI Hype" we get nowadays is because there's nothing else to talk about in tech right now. You can thank marketing for that one (they have plenty of time to come up with hype, believe me).

_martin said:
I do, unfortunately. Though maybe I would not say all IT work is BS.
Click to expand...

That's true martin, I would argue we aren't there yet.

For the time being though, who knows. I think I'm gonna tell people I'm very very busy right now ;)
 
richardtoohey2 said:
There's definitely work to be done - but is it fun? Might be a time-of-life thing, though.
Click to expand...
If you can make it so - always try to get a job where you feel that at least most of the work / most of the time you do is fun. Your quality of life will improve instantly.
 
If you think about it, you don't seem like the kind of person who enjoys being stuck in the same routine for your only life.
At the end of the day, it's all data in IT. The important thing is relationships, the purpose of your work and new faces from time to time, etc.
The golden age of IT is over.

An example:

James Gosling joins Liquid Robotics | Liquid Robotics

Liquid Robotics®, an ocean data services provider and developer of the Wave Glider®, the first wave-powered marine robot, today announced that James Gosling, formerly of Google, has joined the company as chief software architect. The addition of Gosling comes at a time when the company is...
www.liquid-robotics.com www.liquid-robotics.com
 
jjrabbit said:
Anyway, I thought maybe development was the way to go but just seems like there isn't anything that needs building now. Maybe I'm wrong.
Click to expand...
In theory, I do agree but I notice that in practice, the "industry" keeps breaking stuff, creating a constant flow of work for developers.

Graphics APIs are a big one. DirectX 9 / OpenGL 2.x to { Vulkan, Metal, OpenGL 4 } is quite lucrative. Potentially Wayland is going to create a mass extinction of software in the future. But even just updating software to run on gimmicks / phones / tablets / etc can be a very good source of work.

Basically the "open-source" guy in me thinks needless change is quite absurd. But it really is handy in terms of being paid to maintain my lifestyle and ThinkPad addiction.
 
When young people ask me about going into the computer business, I tell them to be a plumber instead.

Plumbing work cannot be outsourced to India.
Consider this: it is Sunday night, on a holiday weekend.
You have four inches of black water belched out of your toilet and all over the floor.

Q: are you gonna call a lawyer, an IT guy or a plumber?
At holiday, weekend, and off-hour rates...
 
I like the sentiment. I would say become an electrician.
bgavin said:
I tell them to be a plumber instead.
Click to expand...
Same deal though.
Purchase Van. Limited tooling required. Fishtape and meter.
Get Contractor License (Bonded Class A)
Proffit.

No grey water just insulation and attics.
 
bgavin said:
Q: are you gonna call a lawyer, an IT guy or a plumber?
At holiday, weekend, and off-hour rates...
Click to expand...
At the current rates, the lawyer may even be cheaper. And as people keep looking down on blue collar guys, this will get worse.
 
I thought about making a move into Marine Electronics. This is helm navigation equipment and comms.

But the more I think about it there is much undignified work into getting wiring into place on a boat.
Thinking glorified cable puller. One problem everything is steel and needs kickpipes. So unlike an electrician who uses a cordless holesaw on wood, on the boat it takes great effort to transverse watertight spaces.
Plus working under the helm reminds me of working on car radios. Laying on back under dash..... Just like a helm.

I think I will keep my cushy greasy job inside.

Marine Electronics look cool when working that don't mean I want to do it for a living... It could be an option for me.

 
A friend of mine was in marine electrics (navy). They got a new boat and checked it over while on sea trial. Removed all the wiring bugs. Meanwhile the skipper pushed it to the limits, as in "you go to shap H to take a leak and suddenly you find yourself head down feet up in the stall in the other side of the lane, 'cause they hit a wave hard".
Upon return they connected the ship to harbor electric, and in these few feet of cableing was the last bug. Ship was on fire. Nobody was hurt.
 
jjrabbit said:
You can give a monkey a million dollars and they'll still spend it on bananas.
Click to expand...
I like this quote.

IT needs to be more invisible. I think that's the future, along with embedded devices and their interoperability.
Specific tasks rather than general systems. Think factories, farms, power distribution, traffic systems, point of sale, safety/security systems, acquisition systems, delivery systems, etc. This is also harder to outsource.

The days of large server interoperability, I think, is nearly done.
 
bgavin said:
When young people ask me about going into the computer business, I tell them to be a plumber instead.
Click to expand...
Great advise! Electricians too, they don't need that much muscles, maybe a little more brain?

But always try to be at the end of the food chain. So what about being an undertaker? Population growth just before peaking. Great business opportunities while climate changes and boomers aren't that resilient to heat.

So that would be more black-collar than blue-collar. And don't forget the also black parasite niches: The priests an preachers. :)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top