New Grads Shun IT Jobs As "Boring"

whencanistop writes "Despite good job prospects, graduates think that a job in IT would be boring. Is this because of the fact that Bill Gates has made the whole industry look nerdy? Surely with so many (especially young) people being 'web first' with not just their buying habits, but now in terms of what they do in their spare time, we'd expect more of them to want to get a career in it?"

Five Years Into the Job

[Van Cutter Romney]

I'd probably agree with them.

Different perspective

[thegameiam]

Then again, if most folks look at computers as an appliance, who wants to be an appliance repairman? Seriously - how many folks wanted to work for the phone company in the 60s and 70s?

Spelling

[ledow]

"spair time"? Seriously, who edited or approved an article with that in the summary, not to mention the punctuation?

Maybe THAT's why IT jobs are boring - you're required to spell!

Irony?

[Anonymous Coward]

Does it strike anyone else as ironic that a site that proclaims that it delivers news for nerds appears to be accusing Bill Gates of making the IT industry appear nerdy?

Re:Oh come on now...

[Anonymous Coward]

Sairiously, this is ridiculous.

Fixed that for you.

Ummmmm....

[rindeee]

I'm not a big fan of Bill, but blaming him for making IT look nerdy....? C'mon. I think we as a community handle that pretty well ourselves.

Re:If I had the power to do it all over again...

[wolfen]

I... I wanted to be! A lumberjack!

Leaping from tree to tree, as they float down the mighty rivers of British Columbia!

Re:Proofreading

[Mr. Sketch]

It's not that, he just doesn't have any spair time.

Thank god for Slashdot

[xpuppykickerx]

or the day would drag on for even longer.

IT just can't compare to.....

[Anonymous Coward]

the exciting fast paced life of working the drive through at the local burger barn for minimum wage.

It;'s All Relative

[Nerdfest]

I was once chatting with someone at a party. They asked me what I did. I said I wrote software. They then said "Isn't that boring?". I said "No, it's generally interesting, and even fun on occasion. What do you do".

"I'm an accountant."

Is this an intentional but subtle ob-Python?

[Anonymous Coward]

[If I had the power to do it all over again...] I would have gone into Economics.

Or maybe Forestry...

Sounds like you didn't want to be an IT drone. You wanted to be.... a lumberjack!

Re:Spelling

[damn_registrars]

Perhaps that (mis)-spelling was chosen because you can't spell despair without "spair".

Which of course is what oh-so-many IT jobs are - a source of despair.

Re:Let's spice up IT

[Bandman]

This isn't a lot different than the general decline of math and science careers in general. It's just a small sign that we're moving away from skilled knowledge-based industries into crap-service based industries.

Would you like fries with that?

Re:Oh come on now...

[NitroWolf]

Seriously, this is ridiculous.

Oh come now, you and I both know it's really rediculous ... Spair me.

Re:Let's spice up IT

[Tubal-Cain]

You'll probably have to spend 10-15 years working your way up through the IT chain to get to CIO/CSO before anyone is going to consider you for a board position.

That depends on how many people you have above you, your ability to fill their roles when they are gone, and how many you can eliminate in a day.

Re:Let's spice up IT

[happyemoticon]

My IT job is plenty spicy after I figured out how to make my desktop loop Destination Calabria [youtube.com].

Re:'boring'???

[morgan_greywolf]

That's right! IT is boring. Stay away. Far away. You won't like it. More money for m....hey look! A shiny object!

Re:Spelling

[Bodrius]

If Slashdot can prove anything, it's that the IT industry has no grammar or spelling requirements.

Re:Of course IT is boring!

[Blakey Rat]

And it's not because it's nerdy (as the summary opines). It's simply because its about maintenance of poorly-designed shit. You might as well call it glorified janitorial work.

In contrast, creating new stuff, as actual programmers and engineers do -- that's interesting!

So to sum up, maintaining poorly-designed shit is glorified janitorial work, but making new poorly-designed shit is interesting?

Roger.

Sniglet of the day

[TheMadcapZ]

Spair - n. The air found within the spare tire in your trunk.

Re:'boring'???

[knight24k]

Mamas, don't let your babies grow up to be IT types.
Don't let em play Guitar Hero or config that old MUX.
Let 'em be doctors and lawyers and such.


Sorry, couldn't resist after that doctor and lawyer line...

Re:Five Years Into the Job

[bitflip]

Are you kidding? Working in IT is like going to Disneyland!

Except all the lines are short because all the rides suck.

Re:Sniglet of the day

[Billy the Mountain]

Spair - Adj. Heightened feeling of well being. Opposite of despair.

That damned Yao Ming!

[unassimilatible]

Making the NBA look tall.

Re:Oh come on!

[nizo]

Slashdot really needs a "+1 Bitter" moderation. :-)

Comment removed

[account_deleted]

Comment removed based on user account deletion

Re:It;'s All Relative

[verbamour]

How do you tell an extroverted accountant?

He looks at _your_ shoes when he's talking to you.

(it's an oldie, but a goodie)

Re:What's IT?

[Anonymous Coward]

> ag research

antigravity research?

Re:Let's spice up IT

[brkello]

The TFA

I don't think TFA means what you think it means.

Re:What's IT?

[joleran]

I think being able to say "fixed laptops after pigs stepped on them" on my resume would make it all worthwhile.