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Newsletter – 3 April 2009 – G20 or G4?
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G20
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Hi,
Here in London life is returning to normal as the G20 juggernaut rolls out of
town.
We’ve all listened to the silken words of the world leaders, we’ve admired the
grace and poise of Mrs Obama, and we’ve put up with the inevitable transport
problems caused by the security for the event.
I’m not sure if many of us understand what was actually agreed, or whether it
will make any difference, but the press reaction so far has been mildly
positive.
From a jobs point of view, anything that sets the world economies humming again
has to be a good thing, although we seem to have let the idea of a radical green
start slip away.
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IT Jobs in a Global Recession – Part 2
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My last newsletter mentioned the current pressures on the IT jobs market.
Here are some interesting statistics.
We conducted a global survey last year of one day’s job adverts using the job
site www.jobserve.com
We conducted the same survey yesterday – the day of the G2 summit.
The results are:
Permanent Jobs
Country August 2008 April 2009
Percentage
USA/Canada 6367
1815 29
UK
4440 1197
27
Australia
461 108
23
Contract Jobs
USA / Canada 1932 861
45
UK
2209 827
37
Australia
309 131
42
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So, even though our survey is not particularly scientific, you can see some
undeniable trends.
In all regions of the world surveyed, permanent jobs on offer are less than 30%
of what was on offer last year,
while contract jobs have actually held up rather better being down to “only”
around 40% of last years volumes.
So we have a long way to travel.
We will now repeat the survey on a more regular basis to see if things will get
any better after G20.
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So what’s this about G4?
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In our e-book “Jack’s Guide to Lots More Money”, we discuss the concept that not
all knowledge is equal when it comes to getting a better job and/or more money
in the IT world.
We called them Groups 1, 2, 3 and 4 So in the spirit of the age we’ve now called
them G1, G2, G3, G4
If you have limited time or budget, which applies to most of us, you need to get
the “biggest bangs for your buck”.
G1 knowledge are those super skills which have wide application, suit lots of
jobs and are relatively quick and easy to learn.
Examples are Project Management skills, particularly Prince2 and PMP.
These skills give you the knowledge AND the certification and open the doors to
lots of very well paid jobs / contracts in all regions.
And guess what – a Prince 2 course takes one week – That’s right only 1 week.
And they cost only about £1200 or $2000.
If you really can’t afford that, you can even study at home from books or the
internet and take the exams without doing a course.
That’s value.
Other G1 skills include things such as ITIL and Business Analysis.
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G2 skills are knowledge of some of the essential technologies employed in IT.
For many jobs you don’t have to be a guru; you just need a broad understanding
of the subjects.
Examples of G2 topics are:
Software development methods (including Agile).
Microsoft .Net
Software testing techniques
Business Intelligence / Data Mining / SQL
You need to have a level of understanding of these technologies to function in
most team leader, analysis or managerial roles in IT, and the investment in
learning them pays handsome dividends.
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G3 skills are those which business people who are close to IT need.
Examples are:
Customer Relationship Management Systems
Balanced scorecards
Help desk and call centre management
These skills have less importance than the G1 or G2 skills.
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G4 skills are those relating to very specific technologies and are those which
most people probably think of when you mention IT:
Java
UNIX and Linux
Virtualisation
Messaging systems
Programming in C++
These skills are generally very specific and are not readily transportable to
other areas in IT.
They can pay very well but can also act as a trap when you want to move on.
Also they usually take a lot of time, effort and money to acquire.
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Here at Jack’s Guides we talk about the IT world being divided into Generalists
and Specialists, which we have talked about in previous newsletters.
The generalist skills, which are much more portable and offer a great return on
your investment are those which we have classified as G1 or G2.
They are the ones we have concentrated on when authoring our Jack’s Guides.
These topics are discussed at length in our e-book “Jack’s Guide to Lots More
Money” available at
http://www.jacksguides.com/more-money.html
If you are ready to make he leap into a much better paid job or contract, and be
perfectly positioned as the recession eases, see our website at
www.jacksguides.com
More about Generalists and specialists in future newsletters.
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Previous newsletters. In response to several requests, we have published many of
our older newsletters. You can find them at
http://www.jacksguides.com/news.html
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This newsletter is published by Kevin Ramsey for Jack's Guides.
Copyright (c) 2001 - 2009, all rights reserved.
No portion of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted without the
express written consent of the publisher or contributing editors and or writers.
DISCLAIMER: We disclaim any liability for the use of Any contributed information
contained herein.
I hope you've enjoyed this issue of our newsletter.
Please let me know if you have any questions, suggestions or requests.
( kevin@jacksguides.com )
Enjoy and prosper in your chosen career. (even in a recession)
Till the next issue.
Kevin Ramsey
Founder of Jack's Guides