I wrote most of this newsletter while on vacation in Spain. We wanted to get away from the UK’s pale imitation of a summer and get some real warmth, which we got – spectacular weather while we were there.

Now that we are safely back in England, with tans fading rapidly, I notice on the news that the region we were in, Mojacar, has experienced severe bushfires with hundreds of people being evacuated. It looks like our timing was pretty good!

I did notice one odd thing on the beaches of Spain, and I suppose it’s much the same on all beaches. As women’s swimwear gets ever smaller – men’s swimwear is getting ever bigger.

Women’s swimwear is now at the point where it’s a few square inches of fabric held together by bits of string, while men are wearing “shorts” which go from waist to knee.

You don’t seem to see many men in Speedos any more, especially among the young. Is this a new trend? Personally I would have thought that running around in wet bathers that big would be somewhat uncomfortable – and you don’t even get tanned legs to take home!

This article covers much the same ground as the newsletter of June 26. That was one of the newsletters that went astray, but the topic it covers is so important I thought I would repeat it for those of you who missed it.

How do you get an IT Job? This is a question that is often asked. The IT industry is desperate for good people, yet the way you get a job is very obscure. Part of the reason for that is that the technology is constantly changing – and by “technology” I don’t mean just the hardware and software, which is bad enough, I also mean the methods used and the way you do your job.

Some of these changes are just fashions, and not really of any value, but, if you want to get a job you have to be able to “walk the walk and talk the talk”.

I have a niece who worked hard to get her degree. In fact her degree was in IT so obviously when she came to look for her first job, she had an advantage over non-IT-degree candidates and was able to fast track her career.

I must have a chat with her to discover how much of what she covered in her degree is of real value today. I have watched her career and I think her undoubted success is due to her competence and hard work.

I think the degree is very secondary. While IT degrees do an admirable job of teaching you the basics and the principles of IT, what most employers want is actual recent experience in particular jobs or products.

This is a real dilemma for young people starting out on an IT career. You can spend three years getting your degree – and being impoverished, or you work in junior jobs in IT and earn some money along the way. By junior jobs I mean typically call centre work or junior level (i.e. gopher jobs) support work. The end result may be much the same.

For the record I think that the degree path is a better option if your temperament and financial position are able to support it. At least, once you have a degree you always have it – it can be very hard work to go back and get a degree once you have a career in motion.

However, it’s not the only way. I know many people who have come from a humble background, with no degree, and have prospered in the IT world.

One great thing about IT – it basically runs on talent and current usefulness. What you did 4 or 5 years ago is of little interest. It’s what you can do today that counts. So while a degree may get you that first job quicker, and maybe a better start, after a few years it’s largely irrelevant.

If I were to describe what I was doing in IT 20 years ago, younger people would laugh. It would be like an ace formula 1 technician describing how he used to work on his grandfather’s Goggomobile!

So, as a person of let’s say ”mature years”, in other professions I might be respected for my depth and years of experience, in IT I have to keep up with current trends and technologies or I’m history. The wolves are always at the door. (Some of you might have noticed I'm an Eagles fan!). In this case the wolves are bright, energetic young people.

I’ve run on a bit here. Next week we’ll talk about some actual case histories – how real people got into the IT industry, and dramatically increased their income, by following some unconventional approaches. So if you want to get into IT, or wonder how to get a better job, check out next week’s newsletter.

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