Ohio IT Skills Blog

Best Cities For Jobs - Ohio is Challenged

Link: Best Cities For Jobs - Forbes.com.

According to the rankings released by Forbes.com, no Ohio city/region broke into the top half of the 100 Best Cities for Jobs.  Four Ohio cities fell into the "90's."

One of the key factors in the calculations - job growth - also left Ohio in the dust, with one exception.  Akron 33 in this area (overall rank 61), while the remaining Ohio cities fell into the bottom half.  Here's an extract of the charts for Ohio cities and 2 of the 8 ranking categories for 100 American cities:

                                                                                                                                                               

City	Overall rank	Improved	Job growth rank
Akron	61	*	33
Cincinnati (region)	56	*	53
Cleveland (region)	92	*	91
Columbus	65		70
Dayton	95		97
Toledo	96	*	86
Youngstown	98		87

What does this mean for Ohio employers and workforce?  It may mean that the focus of the last 10 years or so - whatever that focus might be - has been mis-directed.  Certainly a number of other cities who ranked relatively high, have faced considerable challenges in the changing economic flow.  Among these are Oklahoma City (21), Camden NJ (26), Poughkeepsie NY (27), Knoxville TN (37), Edison NJ (40) and Baton Rouge LA (43).

At his first inauguration - the height of the Great Depression - Franklin Roosevelt said: "Do something.  If it works, do it again.  If it doesn't, do something else."

No one can deny that our government infra-structure, our chambers and business groups, our schools - have all been doing something.  But the results - this Forbes.com survey being only the most recent - indicate a general back-sliding, and little progress toward higher productivity and a healthier economy.  The traditional business complaints about taxes can't play a significant role if you don't have a business capable of making money on a sustained basis.  Traditional labor complaints about benefits and health costs have no grounding if there is no job to support them.  The education system - from the bottom to the top - talks about reform, complains about funding, but the results show little apparent improvement in graduation rates, literacy, job fitness, etc. 

The problems are systemic, and the solutions must be conceived and attained with a collaborative - not an adversarial - approach, across community special interests.  This is not a zero sum game - unless everyone keeps fighting each other, continues to cling to old patterns of thought and behavior - in which case everyone gets zero.

It appears to be time for new ideas.  It may be time to do "something else."

(-- originally posted by Rich Bowers, Coordinator, Ohio IT Clearinghouse)

Took Time, But Finally Tech Jobs Are Rising Where You Would Expect Them

Link: Took Time, But Finally Tech Jobs Are Rising: Investor's Business Daily.

It's difficult not to judge the state of any aspect of the computer technology segment through the lens of Silicon Valley.  Even tough IT and computing-related hiring has increased steadily around the rest of the country - a solid, measurable rise in the cathedral of tech - Silicon Valley - makes it all seem so much more real.  For the investment community anyway.

This article points to increases last year that raise employment numbers - if not to pre-bubble-burst levels - then certainly to an encouraging degree. The region lost about 220,000 jobs when everything came tumbling down in 2000-2001 - a painful collapse, but - in retrospect - probably a necessary purge.  Now the numbers show an up-tick of 33,000 jobs in the first part of last year alone.

The cause is pegged to innovation as much as growth of established businesses.   New Web 2.0 ventures,  new services and new industry like the nano revolution  fuel new thinking about innovative products and services.  The feedback loop between vendors and their customers gets progressively stronger with exciting new functions and business models.  And, of course, growth among giants like YouTube and MySpace is certainly not trivial.

So it looks as though what good growth news there is here in Ohio, may be a little earlier, more stable and perhaps more dependable than growth based on what remains a hotbed of speculation in Silicon Valley.  The gold fields are not longer apparent, there's no reason to pack up the car and head west to pick up wealth just lying about on the ground.  But job health in a place considered one of the bellwethers of the industry - provides a good example and a heartening predictor for the rest of the country.

(-- originally posted by Rich Bowers, Coordinator, Ohio IT Clearinghouse)

Best Jobs: The Top 50 & More!!

Link: MONEY Magazine's Best Jobs: The Top 50.

Everybody loves lists - and there are an infinite number of ways to cut and compile information to make a list interesting.  But no matter how you shape it - IT jobs continue to float to the top of several recently released list of "good", or "top-paying" careers. 

The main link is from the CNN-Money Magazine site is a great place to start - the Top 50 jobs - by job growth and average pay - include two broad IT computer science-related job categories in the top 10: Software engineers (#1) and Computer/IT analyst (#7).  (In real life, these "categories" cover a number of actual job titles.)

Looking a little deeper though - the fact is that all but a handful of these 50 "top jobs" absolutely depend on strong - and in some cases - creative computer skills.  If you can't manipulate information, you aren't going to be a good Market Research Analyst (#6), Medical Scientist (#15), Engineer (#17), Actuary (#24), Financial Analyst (#42), or even a Registered Nurse (#47). 

Then - on the really high end of the scale - there are those jobs that pay in the $100,000+ range. Two of the "10 Jobs: Big Demand, good  pay" - also from CNN-Money Magazine - are heavy-duty IT job classes: #7 SQL database administrators and #8 .NET and Java developers.  Again these categories cover a  large number of possible job titles - but their functions - regardless of what they are called - are key and well-paid.

And Ohio is not shut out of this category at all:  Cleveland appears as one of the 16 cities in the US with the most $100,000+ jobs.  The potential is here, now and going forward.

Of course these opportunities don't come for free.  Some of the American Idol contestants think if they just convince themselves that they can be the winner - then the panel of judges must believe that also.  But, in fact, you don't become an American Idol just by wishing, and you don't get a high-end IT career without working and studying hard.  But it's sure good to know those rewards are out there!

And there are more of those jobs, than there are American Idols in a year - your odds are much, much better!

(-- originally posted by Rich Bowers, Coordinator, Ohio IT Clearinghouse)

The hidden engineering gender gap

Link: Venture Beat Contributors » The hidden engineering gender gap.

For whatever reasons - for a wide variety of reasons - women are not represented technical fields like engineering in anywhere near the proportion found in other careers.  States (such as the "We Are IT" initiative here in Ohio last fall), professional societies (e.g., NCWIT), independent business and even the US government have undertaken a number of programs to find out why this is true - and to encourage more women to take advantage of education and career opportunities.

This two-part article (be sure to scroll to the bottom for the second part - "Modest Proposal") - along with the comments that have been contributed to the discussion - shed some interesting light on the problem - and an intriguing possible solution.

(-- originally posted by Rich Bowers, Coordinator, Ohio IT Clearinghouse)

What's on Tap for IT Pros in 2007?

Link: What's on Tap for IT Pros in 2007?.

Thus begins the season of prognostication - Read this piece and then play yourself - What do you think the big issues in computing and technology will become in the coming year?

(-- originally posted by Rich Bowers, Coordinator, Ohio IT Clearinghouse)

2006 Salary Survey: Staff and Entry-level Positions

Link: 2006 Salary Survey: Staff and Entry-level Positions.

ComputerWorld has released it's 2006 Salary Survey for Staff and Entry-Level Positions - Bottom line - there's a lot of money to be made in IT. 

Reality - that opportunity is not going to come without effort and commitment - every study done for decades confirms - as does this one - the more education you, the more money an employer will be willing to pay.  Get smart - get paid.

(-- originally posted by Rich Bowers, Coordinator, Ohio IT Clearinghouse)

IT Women in the industry - Technology - smh.com.au

Link: IT Women in the industry - Technology - smh.com.au.

Women are valued in any technical field, and the opportunities for women are almost unlimited - wherever those opportunities may be.  This story from Australia simply confirms observations in the US and Britain (mentioning only English-speaking countries) - employers of IT specialists are begging for trained and talented personnel - and women have a real edge given the paucity of females in the field.

(-- originally posted by Rich Bowers, Coordinator, Ohio IT Clearinghouse)

The Chronicle: More American IT Jobs Than Ever, Study Shows

Link: The Chronicle: Wired Campus Blog: More American IT Jobs Than Ever, Study Shows.

According to this study commissioned by the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) there are more IT jobs available in the US today than at the height of the dot-com boom 6 years ago.

(-- originally posted by Rich Bowers, Coordinator, Ohio IT Clearinghouse)

Women in IT - Doors are wide open

I have written previously and enthusiastically about the statewide program providing some experience and encouragement for girls exploring IT as an educational and career option - especially the "We Are IT" program happening in 9 locations around the state on Nov 17. (The podcast is fun too!)

There is another opportunity to support women exploring IT and related options - the Ohio Celebration of Women in Computing - Feb 16-17 2007, at Deer Creek Resort just southwest of Columbus.  This event is a follow-up to a 2005 event, and is modeled after the Grace Hopper Celebrations held recently.

About 150 participants - primarily college-level students in IT and related fields - are expected.

This is a program for women, by women - and the organizers are looking for volunteers who can help deliver some papers, discuss career options, talk about internships and employment - and generally provide some mentoring for prospective women professionals.

Such events are really important for many people.  They provide an opportunity for students to make some contacts in the professional world, and to gain insights into the world of work in such a fast-changing and fast-paced world.  There are some videos that address these issues, but there's really no substitute for a face-to-face conversation between a bright and interested student - and an experienced professional who can help guide through the various pathways to success.

As with most such events, sponsorships from the private and corporate sectors play a key enabling role.  If you or your organization can contribute, please check out the sponsorship options.

Because of bad news after the crash of the Internet bubble, and a lot of hollering about out-sourcing and a supposedly shrinking IT field, many women have over-looked opportunities for which they might be particularly well-suited.  The fact is, the IT profession is in more demand than ever - and the prospects are for that need to accelerate over the next decade and beyond.  As Boomers retire, and more of the world grows to depend on IT for processing and communications - the talented and education IT professional is now - and will continue to be - much in demand. 

This is a progressive profession, and women should make sure they weigh their potential here - for strong, forward-thinking, challenging and well-paying jobs - along with all their other options.

And support "We Are IT" and the OCWIC programs!

(-- originally posted by Rich Bowers, Coordinator, Ohio IT Clearinghouse)

Ohio Girls Discover IT!

Check out the podcast on this event!

One of the highlights of my job is sometimes getting to see the results of the programs and events planned to reach young people – the energy, the curiosity the talent - you see in these kids is inspiring!

We have a massive problem in IT in Ohio and around the country. As a result of all the press over the past few years about out-sourcing and the supposed death of IT careers, kids (and their parents) have not perceived Information Sciences and Technologies as worthwhile fields to explore for their education or career.

The facts are clearly just the opposite – Outsourcing has not become the factor we feared it to be – and as the Boomers retire and IT becomes an ever-increasing aspect of every enterprise on the planet – we’ve got to boost the amount of talent in the education pipeline - to provide the IT creativity and productivity we are going to need desperately in just a few years.

Girls have tremendous opportunity in this field - but they are so often tragically turned off – if not turned away – by scientific and technical fields – when in fact girls bring some of the most desirable assets to those fields.

Being successful in IT is not just a matter of knowing how to write a computer program.  Far from it – to a great degree, IT is rapidly becoming a service industry.  The technical knowledge is necessary – but not sufficient to succeed. Because, in addition to the technology, you need to be able to communicate well, to seek out unspoken or unrecognized needs, to solve problems, to plan many steps ahead and always be on the look-out for unintended consequences. These are skills that – in our culture – girls tend to develop early and on their own – while boys often take longer and more effort. The genders focus on different things in their development:  that’s not bad!  But it also means that there is at least equal need for both sets of world-views and perceptions and skills.

So we’ve got to introduce more girls to the real world of IT – all the facets and connections it can have – and hopefully interest more of them to explore the field and perhaps make it their career. To do this Patti Ross of Edison Community College, and Sara Mazak, IT program coordinator of the Career Technical and Adult Education unit of the Ohio Dept of Education - and itWORKS OHIO – hatched a plan. They decided that merely talking about opportunity – printing brochures and the like – was not enough. They needed to provide an experience that girls could share and think about as they made their plans.

Thus began the "We Are IT" program in Ohio. Patti Ross and Edison hosted the pilot program last Friday.  185 girls attended, plus perhaps 100 support personnel from Edison, presenters of the break-out sessions, lunchtime mentors, participating schools' teachers and chaperons.

Nine other schools will mount similar programs – all on the same day – November 17^th – all across Ohio.  Here's a list of locations and associated Web sites:

• Columbus State Community College (Columbus)  
• Edison Community College (Piqua)(October 6 Pilot)  
• Hocking College (Nelsonville)
• Lakeland Community College (Kirtland)
• North Central State College (Mansfield)
• Owens Community College (Toledo)
• Sinclair Community College (Dayton)
• University of Akron
• University of Cincinnati, Clermont (Batavia) 
• Youngstown State University (Youngstown)

For more informtion about girls/women in IT, and resources for girls/women wanting to explore and advance in IT-related fields, check out the Web site of the Ohio Business Advisory Network for the itWORKS OHIO program.

A report on the November 17th multiple state-wide events will most certainly appear in this blog!

(-- originally posted by Rich Bowers, Coordinator, Ohio IT Clearinghouse)