The executive recruiters were discussing an article that is being written for our aggressive Executive Search Division about “Executive’s Falling off in their 40’s” which led us to another similar topic and phenomenon that our IT Recruiters often witness. That topic happened to be why companies have such a hard time finding seasoned IT Professionals that are in their Mid-Career and beyond, something our technology recruiters experience daily as well.
It’s in plain sight that companies are hiring younger these days not only because of the need for fresh ideas but it’s also cost effective. But when it’s time to hire a senior network engineer or application developer the pool of high quality candidates dwindle quickly.
Since it is an active topic at JMJ Phillip I decided to ask one of the JMJ Phillip’s principals about his view on the topic.
Q. Why do we see the typical IT Professional Career Arc peak in the late 20’s early 30’s when typically it is the 30’s and beyond when you truly become an expert at something?
A. Technology fatigue, it is pretty much that simple. When I first started in IT I bought a 550 page Novell CNA book on Friday, read it twice over the weekend and went and sat (passed) the exam on Monday. Multiply that by the countless other certifications and sooner or later your burnt out.
Certs are not for everyone, in fact it was a lot of undue stress when I think about it, but let’s take that out of the equation. Even without the certifications you still had to deal with constantly changing technology. Several times a year you’re sitting down with a Sybex book the size of a smart car and your trying to keep up with all the new software, network devices, application, security and this never stops.
And it really never stops. You’re constantly in acronym hell for the rest of your life and it’s not like reading a business book on how to be a better manager, it’s more like taking organic chem over and over again. Add in the fact that people trade in their weeknights of reading technical books for spending time with their spouse and kids and all of a sudden you have an amazing IT Professional that is no longer on top of their game.
As an example, If you’re a Buyer or Cost Accountant your game doesn’t change a whole lot over 5 years. If a Systems Engineer walked away for 5 years and tried to step back into the role they wouldn’t know where to start. The continuing education aspect of Information Technology is grossly overlooked.
Technology isn’t going to slow down and the amount of new information IT Professionals are going to have to retain and apply is only going to grow so Technology Fatigue is going to continue to be an issue. Take a look around team and find those that have become uninspired and take a proactive approach to encourage them to keep learning and look for ways to keep them content before you have to give us a call to replace them.