Expert: Leigh Ishikawa - 11/17/2007

Question
Hi Leigh,

I plan on changing careers to enter the I.T. industry. I have another strong goal to start my own internet marketing business.
My concern is, I desire to enter an I.T. niche(s) or sector(s) where I would experience a lesser amount of worry about my job being outsourced to overseas vendors...a niche(s) or sector(s) where I may likely have the greatest chances of remaining employed by a company, or being self employed, to remain near my home. I live in Nashville, TN., a fairly large city.
Also, what sector(s) or niche(s) in the I.T. industry might provide me with training or background to assist me in growing/developing my own future internet marketing business?

Thank you greatly.

With best regards,

Mike E.


Answer
There are multiple questions here...

First of all, I do not know about Nashville, TN so I would recommend going to a local recruiter or go through a local tech event to understand who the big IT shops are in your area, and what skillset they are looking for.

What is safe from off-shoring?  The only job that may be safe are jobs that required a real person interaction in person.  Jobs that can be reduced to telephone, or email can be off-shored.  And you need to be realistic about that.  That includes jobs that may seem to require interaction, but if it can be done over the telephone, then off-shoring is a great possibility.  There's nothing protecting us from off-shoring.

Are there any IT industry company who provides training in the internet marketing business?  Not on purpose.  And if you do go into a field that is directly related, you could get into legal issues.  I would recommend staying away from companies that does this as their primary job, and go for a company who does it as part of their supporting business organization.

What about getting into the field?
Lots of companies do, but that depends on your salary requirement, and how much you bring to the table.  The tech boom is pretty much over so it would be rare for you to find companies who's willing hire anybody off the street and give them a training.  Getting into IT industry is hard.  Having a specific field you are interested is a good focus to have, but at the same time can limit the options that are available to you.  In this type of a market, unless you have a set of desirable skillset, I would get as many job offers and consider what opportunities are available within.

Good Luck,

L