April 18, 2008
5 IT Skills Almost No One Needs Any More
Just in time for graduation, InfoWorld outlines five skills that just don’t cut it in today’s IT industry:
HTML
Evidently AJAX and XML are putting the traditional mark-up language in the back seat. Besides that, who doesn’t know at least a little HTML?
“Legacy” programming languages
As Wired Campus reported last week, old mainframe programming skills—think COBOL and FORTRAN—don’t command the prestige, or the salary, that they used to.
NetWare
Does anyone remember this? Some business are still using this Novell-produced networking software, which had its heyday in the 90s, but Linux and Windows Server now rule the roost.
Non-IP Networking
There was a time when networks were set up on mainframes using IBM’s SNA protocol. It has since fallen out of fashion, replaced by server-based networks.
PC Tech Support
A survey from the Computer Technology Industry Association says that employers aren’t hiring as many hardware tinkerers as before—and that salaries are declining for those who do get hired. —Hurley Goodall
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It’s COBOL (COmmon Business Oriented Language), not COBAL.
— S. Britchky Apr 18, 03:59 PM #
HA! I wish more people at my institution HAD HTML skills! We have never gotten there with most faculty, and now it is obsolete?
— Kate Apr 18, 05:28 PM #
I think it will be quite some time before HTML and PC support are no longer valued tech skills. However, numbers are skewed since lots of places outsource or contract these.
— Chadwick Apr 18, 05:36 PM #
Is The Chronicle website (or any website for that matter) pure AJAX/XML? Looking at the source code, I’d have to disagree. Actually, looking at your job board, I’d really disagree. Cheers!
— Steve Bailey Apr 18, 05:40 PM #
While I do agree that possessing only HTML skills would not help a recent graduate much in the job market, HTML itself is still very much in use. XHTML is what is replacing HTML, not XML specifically. XHTML is essentially HTML in an XML format, but the same basic skills still apply.
To really shine, upcoming graduates should learn some CSS.
— Matt Buck, developer at OrgSync.com Apr 18, 05:54 PM #
PC Tech Support is invaluable to students, faculty, and staff. Anyone who predicts its demise, hasn’t been paying attention to the throngs seeking advice from PC Support staff. Info World should change its name to DisInformation World.
ASC
— Art Clifford Apr 18, 05:55 PM #
Saying you “know HTML” is like saying that someone can “speak English.” It says nothing about proficiency, concepts of structure, presentation, and layout, etc. Some folks can communicate with style and grace while others are only at the point of asking “where is the bathroom?”
A same comparison can be said about saying someone “knows” MS-Word or Excel …
— Rob Butera Apr 20, 09:04 AM #
HTML is like knowing DOS commands. It is the foundation to build upon. Anyone that works with computers knows that at some point, you have to revert back.
Things change, HTML, ASP, XHTML, .NET, Ajax, blah, blah. I still use asp files. I just have to figure out where I want to jump back in and learn….and then be ready for change.
— Darrin Apr 21, 07:57 AM #
I wouldn’t define Fortran as a legacy programming language. Maybe in some areas, but Fortran is still alive and well in others. I think the post means Fortran programming for mainframes, not Fortran programming overall.
— me Apr 21, 08:27 AM #
I would add the ability to send and receive emails to the list, particularly among those who have a need to communicate with students……..they don’t read them anymore, people.
— maxsdadeo Apr 21, 08:42 AM #
As far as legacy languages, there are still billions of lines of code that must be maintained. I don’t see this changing much over the next 10 years, and as the number of those with these skills diminishes, the price will go up.
— Charles L. Geigner Apr 21, 09:07 AM #
Almost No One Needs HTML? Perhaps it is expected by everyone to know, kinda like almost no one needs to know how to write in cursive cause we have computers and can type everything?
— John Apr 21, 09:19 AM #
I can’t imagine why PC Tech Support would be reduced. While it may morph somewhat, it seems that this is one area that will always be with us…. in some form.
— James D Apr 21, 09:57 AM #
I can accept the comment about PC Tech Support if it means ‘hardware support’ as indicated by the explaining text; we really don’t have much need anymore for people who can open the box up and mess with its guts. But what remains ever-so-strongly needed is people who can help people USE the box and keep it healthy, safe, and operational. Local support need remains, and may even be growing. It’s changing from “can you install this software and how do I use it?” to “why is my machine so slow and locking up?”
— Brian Apr 21, 10:58 AM #
Anyone who believes COBOL is gone is obviously not a PeopleSoft user. PeopleSoft is a widely used system and continues to add users.
— Gene G Apr 21, 10:59 AM #
I’ve been alive forever,
And I wrote the very first program.
I put the ones and the zeroes together,
I am geekster,
And I write the code.
I write the code that make the whole world sing.
I write the code of love and special thing s.
I write the code that make the young girls cry.
I write the code, I write the code.
My home lies deep within Mac,
And I’ve got my own place in your PC.
Now, when I look out through your LCD,
I’m C++ again, even though I’m very cobolly.
Chorus
Oh my code makes you dance
And gives your spirit to take a chance,
And I wrote some applications so you can move.
Code fills your heart,
Well, that’s a real fine place to start.
It’s from me it’s for you,
It’s from you, it’s from me,
It’s a world wide ASCII.
Chorus
I am geekster, and I write the code.
(with apologies to Barry Manilow)
— first marci Apr 21, 03:04 PM #
I know I should be learning some IT skills but then I read posts like the one above and I think “I don’t care if I could triple my salary, I want no part in this culture”.
— Spanky Context Apr 21, 05:32 PM #
“No program’s that perfect,” they said with a shrug.
“The customer’s happy, what’s one little bug?”
But he was determined, the others went home.
He dug out the flowchart. Deserted, alone.
Cold coffee, chain smoking, logic, deduction.
“I’ve got it!” he said, “Just change one instruction!”
Then two, then three more,
And as year followed year,
People would comment, “Is that guy still here?”
He died at that console of hunger and thirst.
They buried him next day – face down, 9-edge first.
His wife through her tears,
Accepting her fate, said
“He’s not really gone, he’s just working late.”
— FORTRAN-COBOL Forever! Apr 29, 12:41 PM #
NetWare… Does anyone remember this? … but Linux and Windows Server now rule the roost.
Obviously no one read this that has any technical merit before it was published. Maybe a technical advisor needs to be brought in to verify the information is correct before being published. http://www.novell.com/linux/ I just don’t understand why an expensive easy hacked system keeps trying to grasp for straws and giving others the “kool-aid” to drink.
— Larry May 2, 10:34 AM #