4 ms·

Ask HN: Is it still worth it to try to get a job in IT

9 points by morpheos137 6mo ago

I am fascinated by systems but it seems hard to find how to make money.

blinkbat 6mo ago
IT is a broad field. narrow it down.
plytow 6mo ago
[dead]
smartypant 6mo ago
Of course, I mean yeah the coding agents are good but they are far from being perfect. Every time I use them I endup spending more time debugging the code and getting everything right and working according to my expectations. I doubt they will ever fully replace the good developers completely.
- asimovDev 6mo ago
  I think OP is from USA and there IT = sysadmin, while programming is Software Development / Engineering (to my crude understanding from browsing the interwebs). So what OP is asking if it's worth getting into IT to work on servers and such
  - morpheos137 5mo ago
    I am from usa but i was using IT as general handle for the sector informarion technolgy inclusive of software engineering, administrationn, networking and hardware.
beardyw 6mo ago
There are currently systems running COBOL. In another 50 years the stuff we currently use will still be around. Things don't change as quickly as you might be led to believe. Will it be a good career choice? Maybe so many people will be put off that there will be less competition. Nobody knows.
shalafister 6mo ago
[dead]
ferguess_k 6mo ago
If you want to make money, IT is still one of the best fields out there for people without much of a connection. It is also one of the fields that does have very complex systems. OS kernels, distributed database engines, AAA game engines, you name it.
- yulaow 6mo ago
  It is just in USA and some other few nations. In most of the rest of the world a sw dev is paid just a bit more than a standard office job
  - helij 6mo ago
    And sometimes that's enough for a good and fulfilling life.
CyberSapper 6mo ago
I firmly believe there are many opportunities in IT today. Again, that term "IT" is many factors broader in meaning today than it meant when I started over 35 years ago as an independent consultant in a very rural area of the midwest (US). When I started "tinkering" around, the term "Computer Science" started to emerge from "Electrical Engineering". I originally studied embedded systems and coded at what was considered then, the hardware level. Over the years, from my point of view, new terms were born. Terms such as "Information Systems" and "Computer Information Systems" (CIS). Over the years we land at "Information Technology", the currently very broad "IT". My explanation is not linear, but if I were drawing a graph you would see a crazy looking tree with many branches. "IT" would arguably be the entire tree at this point, depending on your point of view. My point is there are now potentially hundreds if not thousands of new branches of "IT". Pick a branch or a new leaflet that interests you and see how you might contribute to it in an economically gainful way. You'll go far.
alegd 6mo ago
[flagged]
shivang2607 6mo ago
Yes, But with the surging supply you have to come in at least top 20% of the developers to earn Good.
- kypro 6mo ago
  Top 5% imo. There's a large bottom 50-60% these days who are overseas talent and boot camp graduates who are competing.
hahooh 6mo ago
IT is very broad, and making money is always hard.
deleted 6mo ago
[deleted]
sminchev 6mo ago
If you love it, do it. It is not that easy to find a job as before, but if you are good and pro-active, and with passion, money will come... no matter what you actually do.
roymain 6mo ago
If you're genuinely fascinated by systems, yes is the answer. The point to understand is that the surface-level coding is what's getting cheaper, the systems work isn't.

9 points by morpheos137 6mo ago

I am fascinated by systems but it seems hard to find how to make money.

blinkbat 6mo ago

IT is a broad field. narrow it down.

plytow 6mo ago

[dead]

smartypant 6mo ago

Of course, I mean yeah the coding agents are good but they are far from being perfect. Every time I use them I endup spending more time debugging the code and getting everything right and working according to my expectations. I doubt they will ever fully replace the good developers completely.

asimovDev 6mo ago
I think OP is from USA and there IT = sysadmin, while programming is Software Development / Engineering (to my crude understanding from browsing the interwebs). So what OP is asking if it's worth getting into IT to work on servers and such
- morpheos137 5mo ago
  I am from usa but i was using IT as general handle for the sector informarion technolgy inclusive of software engineering, administrationn, networking and hardware.

beardyw 6mo ago

There are currently systems running COBOL. In another 50 years the stuff we currently use will still be around. Things don't change as quickly as you might be led to believe. Will it be a good career choice? Maybe so many people will be put off that there will be less competition. Nobody knows.

shalafister 6mo ago

[dead]

ferguess_k 6mo ago

If you want to make money, IT is still one of the best fields out there for people without much of a connection. It is also one of the fields that does have very complex systems. OS kernels, distributed database engines, AAA game engines, you name it.

yulaow 6mo ago
It is just in USA and some other few nations. In most of the rest of the world a sw dev is paid just a bit more than a standard office job
- helij 6mo ago
  And sometimes that's enough for a good and fulfilling life.

CyberSapper 6mo ago

I firmly believe there are many opportunities in IT today. Again, that term "IT" is many factors broader in meaning today than it meant when I started over 35 years ago as an independent consultant in a very rural area of the midwest (US). When I started "tinkering" around, the term "Computer Science" started to emerge from "Electrical Engineering". I originally studied embedded systems and coded at what was considered then, the hardware level. Over the years, from my point of view, new terms were born. Terms such as "Information Systems" and "Computer Information Systems" (CIS). Over the years we land at "Information Technology", the currently very broad "IT". My explanation is not linear, but if I were drawing a graph you would see a crazy looking tree with many branches. "IT" would arguably be the entire tree at this point, depending on your point of view. My point is there are now potentially hundreds if not thousands of new branches of "IT". Pick a branch or a new leaflet that interests you and see how you might contribute to it in an economically gainful way. You'll go far.

alegd 6mo ago

[flagged]

shivang2607 6mo ago

Yes, But with the surging supply you have to come in at least top 20% of the developers to earn Good.

kypro 6mo ago
Top 5% imo. There's a large bottom 50-60% these days who are overseas talent and boot camp graduates who are competing.

hahooh 6mo ago

IT is very broad, and making money is always hard.

deleted 6mo ago

[deleted]

sminchev 6mo ago

If you love it, do it. It is not that easy to find a job as before, but if you are good and pro-active, and with passion, money will come... no matter what you actually do.

roymain 6mo ago

If you're genuinely fascinated by systems, yes is the answer. The point to understand is that the surface-level coding is what's getting cheaper, the systems work isn't.