He Wants to Restart Work in a Higher-Paying Mode

In the turbo-driven field of information technology, one message to hotshot techies is clear: Fall behind in your skills, and you’re as attractive to employers as a 15-year-old Commodore computer.

Even though thousands of IT jobs are begging to be filled, human resources representatives and IT recruiters routinely toss out resumes of “technosaurs”--unlucky souls who’ve reached what some tech workers call the point of no return.

“That’s when an IT worker’s skills are so outdated, so dead, nobody wants to hire him,” said David Schnitt, executive vice president of IT services for Re:Sources Connection in Los Angeles.

Stuart Magee, a 41-year-old programmer/analyst, worries that that will be his fate. For 14 years, he’s been working for a defense contractor in Santa Barbara County, using some applications and operating system versions that he believes are no longer in demand. Downsizing has all but squelched his promotion opportunities, he added.

So why hasn’t Magee jumped ship? He’s concerned that his skills won’t dazzle employers. And, more than that, he can’t decide what career path to take.

Magee consulted Jeff Hyman, co-founder of Career Central (https://www.careercentral.com), a top-ranked recruiting firm based in Silicon Valley.

Hyman assured Magee that his quandary is common. Many IT professionals who have remained with a single employer have become invaluable to their firms. Because of their intimate familiarity with the company’s technologies, they have allowed their skills to stagnate. Magee wants to

bolster his skills and increase his marketability. But he can do so only once he has targeted a specific vocation in his field.

Hyman and other IT experts had this advice for Magee:

* Build confidence. Magee must reboot his attitude, Hyman said. He’s been too pessimistic about job prospects. Contrary to his own perception, his skills are fundamentally good, said Bob Artner, editorial director of TechRepublic in Louisville, Ky. Magee’s familiarity with the Unix and VMS operating systems, and even his limited Oracle database knowledge, are respectable foundations upon which he can build additional expertise.

* Select a specialty. IT is an industry of specialties. Magee must decide what he wants to be before he rushes headfirst into the job market. Mainly, he’s torn between systems administration (maintaining a multi-user computer system) and database management (sorting, modifying and extracting information for a user group).

The two positions require very different training. A career in systems administration (which would pay $55,000 to $75,000 a year) would require Magee to upgrade his Unix skills. To focus on database management ($75,000 to $100,000), Magee would have to acquaint himself with the latest Oracle releases, and perhaps even get certified in the technology.

And because Magee’s also fascinated by the growing subfield of Internet applications, he would benefit from learning programming languages such as HTML, Java and Extensible Markup. Coupling this knowledge with proficiency in Oracle would give him greater career mobility, Artner said.

* Prioritize your aspirations. Magee wants it all: High pay, free training in cutting-edge technology and a fast-paced, generous workplace that offers great benefits and a friendly environment. He also hopes to leave the defense-related aerospace industry.

Hyman strongly urged Magee to set priorities before reentering the job market. Switching jobs and industries simultaneously amounts to “an enormous change,” Hyman said. Not only that, such a radical leap could mean a pay cut for Magee--an especially undesirable scenario considering the Santa Barbara resident is his family’s sole breadwinner. He and his wife, who is pregnant, have a 2-year-old daughter.

Magee shouldn’t so hastily leave aerospace, said Barry Heagren, president of Advanced Programming Resources in Columbus, Ohio. Many firms in this field use state-of-the-art technologies that he may find challenging.

Employers might appreciate Magee’s extensive knowledge of Fortran, a programming language used more commonly in scientific fields than in the business world. But if he’s determined to bail out of his industry, Heagren suggested, Magee should learn C programming language, which is Fortran’s equivalent in the commercial world.

Although Magee hopes he might find employment at a start-up firm, Hyman suggested that he reconsider this notion. “Ask yourself, is that consistent with your risk profile?” Hyman said. “Because about 70% to 80% of early-stage companies fail.” On top of this, the counselor added, most start-ups are seeking applicants who have cutting-edge skills in place. That’s why, at least for now, Magee should restrict his search to mature firms.

* Reconfigure the resume. Five IT experts unanimously concurred: Magee’s resume was so densely packed with employment data, it reads almost like a string of C++ code. Its two-page format was difficult to follow. Its type size was Lilliputian.

Magee agrees that a rewrite is in order. He needs to lead off with a focused objective, then list his positions and responsibilities chronologically, emphasizing skills that relate to his new career goal.

“Remember, that resume’s goal is to get you an interview,” Hyman said. “An HR person’s going to give it about a three-second read. When you get in front of the HR person’s face, then you can talk about your skills in detail.”

Hyman also suggested that Magee post his resume online, in the HTML programming language. This would give employers a sampling of his programming talents.

* Learn more, earn more. In a field dominated by hard-driving self-starters, IT experts expressed concern that Magee hadn’t taken more initiative to update his skills.

“It doesn’t look like he’s done enough to stay with the times,” Heagren said. “And he’s competing with people getting master’s [degrees] in computer science, who are keeping up with the changes.”

Magee said he’d hoped that a new employer would finance his training, which can cost thousands of dollars. But, Artner said, it would be far better for Magee to undertake the endeavor on his own. That would show potential hirers that he’s dedicated to staying on top of industry developments.

There are plenty of ways Magee can do this: By enrolling in Web-based education courses, taking university extension classes, attending seminars or even teaching himself new skills using do-it-yourself books and CD-ROMs.

* Consider consulting and contract work. Magee offers a rare blend of technical ability and people skills, said Mike Shebak, vice president of Kelly IT Resources in Troy, Mich. That’s a desirable combination for IT consultants.

Large consulting firms such as Cap Gemini America appreciate employees who have versatile technology backgrounds and can use their varied skills to solve clients’ problems.

Working as a consultant would hold other benefits for Magee, too, said Schnitt of Re:Sources Connection. It would expose him to an ever-changing array of technologies, enable him to develop new on-the-job skills and possibly allow him to double his income within a short period, Schnitt said.

Contract work may offer these same perks too. A growing number of IT professionals are opting for these shorter-term assignments “because they fear getting into situations like the one [Magee has] been in,” Schnitt said.

Many IT contract workers are able to hop from project to project easily, and they receive full benefit packages at most jobs. Magee said he’s considering these options.

* Prepare now. After Jan. 1, companies will be clamoring for help in remedying Y2K surprises. “There won’t be enough people to go around,” Heagren said.

Magee, who successfully managed his firm’s Unix and OpenVMS Y2K compliance projects, might find this potentially chaotic environment an ideal opportunity to impress employers and position himself for a new vocation.