IT jobs

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The ST Digital Life reports that a whopping 55,000 IT jobs are up for grabs from now till 2015.

This is the projection of Infocomm Development Authority (IDA), which is currently seeking public consultation on its IT manpower development strategies as part of its iNtelligent Nation 2015 (iN2015) masterplan. IDA also maintains a talent development portal.

If you are an IT professional or plan to become one, here’s how you can prepare yourself:

  • Learn to bridge the gap between IT and business. Business needs IT innovation to lower costs and improve efficiencies. If you understand the business well (e.g. banking), and also has a firm grasp on the technologies that drive the business, you are well prepared.
  • Be a global citizen. Read widely, at least in area(s) you are targeting. Be aware of the going-ons in the region. Get to know about outsourcing, global technology developments, MNCs, government technology-related policies, cultural differences, and so on. Be prepared to travel when you work.
  • Keep learning. Things change very fast in IT. What you learn today may be obsoleted tomorrow.

Which sectors should you target? Digital Life highlights two. One is the digital media industry, which comes with some risks (of failure) in my opinion. The other is a much safer bet – the banking and finance industry.

To prepare yourself for the banking and finance industry, you need to know about the business – financial transactions, bank products such as deposits and loans, credit cards, payment, treasury, corporate finance, etc. – and the related technologies – mainframes, databases, message queueing, client/server, payment gateways, mobile technology, etc.

The Digital Times article also quoted a Robert Walters associate director:

“… these professionals are now drawing salaries of up to 15 to 20 per cent more than before.”

That doesn’t sound too enticing, does it?

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