Are IT careers losing their sheen?

Updated on: Monday, July 26, 2010

The rush for IT related courses is still on. In fact, medicine, engineering and IT have not waned in popularity.

A Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) study indicates that there will be 7.5-8 million new jobs on offer in Andhra Pradesh alone by 2015 and that employment opportunities are likely to be in the IT and ITeS, textiles, engineering, construction, pharmaceuticals and biotech, tourism, healthcare and financial services sectors. According to NASSCOM, the premier trade body and the Chamber of Commerce for the IT-BPO industries in India, “The war for talent is expected to get extremely acute in 2010, with most industry sectors, including the sunrise IT-BPO segment facing a challenge in terms of hiring right and holding on to expertise.’’

So, what does this mean for students? Quite simply, that professional courses in IT could open up new career vistas. But with the many fly-by-night operators out there, how do you go about selecting the right course and the right institute?

First, be aware of the pitfalls
* Be wary of advertisements that lure you with heavy discounts or companies that suddenly close down — quite a few were in the news like Wintech, Advanced Technology Labs, Zap and Paradigm Infoways, etc.

* Check the track record of the company. Look at the revenue data of computer training companies in India and the number of years the one you have selected has been around.

Examine the support infrastructure

* This includes everything, from the courseware to the faculty, the hardware and the software.

* Check with the institute’s students — ask if the institute develops and constantly updates its courseware in tune with its teaching methodology? Or does it simply refer the students to whatever books happen to be currently available on the subject?

* Does it have a teaching model that is standardised across its various centres?

* Is the institute cutting corners by using pirated software?

* Is there a good client-server set-up on a Local Area Network (LAN) to practice on centralised databases?

Check the credentials

* An institute’s credentials can be gauged by industry acceptance of its courses and students. There are some known market leaders in this field — NIIT, Aptech, SSI, etc. Some of these, like NIIT, for instance, offer work experience as part of their course.

* Does the institute have a full-fledged placement division and how many students get placed in well-paid jobs?

* What is the quality and depth of partnerships it has forged with cutting-edge technology providers? This will ensure that the courseware is updated all the time.

Now go ahead and see the world of career options unfold!

Are IT careers losing their sheen?

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