When I started working in IT, back in 1978, nobody really knew, how this “EDP” thing was supposed to work. Anybody without fear of breaking stuff was more than welcome to try their hand at it. We were explorers.
I punched little holes in cards, I fed those cards into the cardreader, I threaded magnetic tape into vacuum channels, I started programs on the master terminal console, I put tractor paper in the printer, I carried heavy disk drives around, I debugged code on a mainframe… all that without ever really receiving any formal training. We were hunters and gatherers.
Over the years the field evolved. People actually got trained, had job titles, passed tests and had to show certificates, or diplomas, to prove their worth for employers. I was really glad, that I didn’t have to go through this, because I was already “in”. We were mainstream.
As technology trickled down from the scientific top level, through big corporations, into family businesses, and finally everybody’s homes, new skills were needed faster; more people had to learn, and re-learn, how to do anything related to IT. Mainframes, client/server, PC’s – it became increasingly hard to stay abreast of all the new ideas, tools, and objects in our jobs – and lives. We were clutter.
When you realize, that you can’t know it “all” – because there’s just too much of it – you focus on the one area that looks most promising for the future. So many interesting topics, so many newly emerging technologies, shiny objects all around me – but will I pick the right one? Client/server, maybe? What if companies don’t use this, or that, or the other, anymore five years from now? The circumstances picked a niche for me, and many others. We were specialists.
The bigger the company you work for, the more complex their processes are, the harder it becomes to innovate. Especially big, old IT systems are increasingly hard to replace. Stuff that runs at the core of your organization – built over decades – can’t be replaced every time a new, better, faster, cheaper way of doing things emerges. It’s like trying to change a flat tire while the car is in motion. That’s where we are now with mainframe IT. Systems that we developed since the early 1980’s are still being used daily by big companies. The specialists, who developed those systems are at (or beyond) retirement age. We are undertakers.
Twenty years ago I worried about my skillset becoming “outdated” – and myself becoming “unemployable” – if I didn’t keep up with the ever changing world of IT. Today I’m baffled and flattered by the amount of serious job offers I (old dog with old tricks up her sleeve) get. My “antique” skillset is apparently highly sought after. We will be the last resort.