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It should be noted that IT has different colloquial meanings in British and American English. Based on the time this was posted, and the context, I'm guessing t

It should be noted that IT has different colloquial meanings in British and American English. Based on the time this was posted, and the context, I'm guessing this is about the British meaning of IT. But we are getting answers for both. British: Closer to the literal meaning of IT, it refers to pretty much any tech job, including software developer. American: Exclusively refers to jobs in corporate IT departments. Most software development jobs would not be considered IT. A sysadmin would be IT if working on the internal company systems, but would not be IT if working on production web infrastructure.

user5994461 10y ago
There are the two meanings of IT, either designating kinda any jobs in technology OR only the low income jobs in technology (e.g. support monkey). However, it's not about British vs American English at all. It's only a very few people who make that nuance, most of which are devs because they are the only one to actually understand it :D Truth is, you really don't want to be assimilated to IT anywhere in the world. Most people will think of you as the guy called when the computer breaks.
- CM30 10y ago
  > Truth is, you really don't want to be assimilated to IT anywhere in the world. Most people will think of you as the guy called when the computer breaks. I think people do this already. A lot of people I know seem to assume 'web developer' = 'expert in configuring/fixing Microsoft Windows'.
sidlls 10y ago
This isn't strictly true. A large number of employers (in America) of software developers do so under the umbrella of their "IT Department". This is especially true of businesses which don't think of themselves as technology companies but have a need for home-grown software developers (for internal or external facing applications).
dragonwriter 10y ago
> American: Exclusively refers to jobs in corporate IT departments I've frequently heard Americans with no particular reason for unusual degree of foriegn influence use it in what you claim is the British way; I've even heard some distinguish between the broader general sense of IT and internal IT. > A sysadmin would be IT if working on the internal company systems, but would not be IT if working on production web infrastructure. Outside of companies that view technology as the product rather than a tool to deliver it, yes, sysadmins working on production web architecture are often, in America considered part of IT and located in IT organizations, as are developers, testers, etc., working on the web (and other) apps.

user5994461 10y ago

There are the two meanings of IT, either designating kinda any jobs in technology OR only the low income jobs in technology (e.g. support monkey). However, it's not about British vs American English at all. It's only a very few people who make that nuance, most of which are devs because they are the only one to actually understand it :D Truth is, you really don't want to be assimilated to IT anywhere in the world. Most people will think of you as the guy called when the computer breaks.

CM30 10y ago
> Truth is, you really don't want to be assimilated to IT anywhere in the world. Most people will think of you as the guy called when the computer breaks. I think people do this already. A lot of people I know seem to assume 'web developer' = 'expert in configuring/fixing Microsoft Windows'.

sidlls 10y ago

This isn't strictly true. A large number of employers (in America) of software developers do so under the umbrella of their "IT Department". This is especially true of businesses which don't think of themselves as technology companies but have a need for home-grown software developers (for internal or external facing applications).

dragonwriter 10y ago

> American: Exclusively refers to jobs in corporate IT departments I've frequently heard Americans with no particular reason for unusual degree of foriegn influence use it in what you claim is the British way; I've even heard some distinguish between the broader general sense of IT and internal IT. > A sysadmin would be IT if working on the internal company systems, but would not be IT if working on production web infrastructure. Outside of companies that view technology as the product rather than a tool to deliver it, yes, sysadmins working on production web architecture are often, in America considered part of IT and located in IT organizations, as are developers, testers, etc., working on the web (and other) apps.