Computing as a career had its heyday in the 1970s and
1980s. Even the 1990s saw the young getting into telecoms,
e-security or web design. So what has gone wrong with IT as an
appealing career for young people?
According to a Computer Weekly poll (15 August), even those in
IT seem to advise their own kids to avoid IT as a career.
When I was doing A-levels (maths, further maths and physics),
the pressure was on to go into computers because it was seen to be
the career for the mathematically minded. But it was the last thing
I wanted to do.
Why? Well, it looked really boring and nobody could tell me what
to expect. Ten years later my cousin was advised by her careers
mistress to avoid computing because it was boring. She became an
admin clerk for the council instead.
Massive opportunities
Fortunately, over the past 40 years lots of people have seen the
massive opportunities and got into computing. Curiously, some of
the most successful in their careers have been the arts graduates.
This demonstrates the wide variety of skills required to deliver
successful IT support to a business.
But why have we come full circle in that IT is not at all the
subject or career of choice for the young? I thought I knew, but
wanted to check it out. Who better to ask than my 20-year-old
daughter and her friends?
Most of them did not do GCSE computing because it was: a)
boring, b) very boring or c) extremely boring. Why did they need to
know how to build a computer or how to mend a computer? It was in
other subjects that they learnt how to make use of a computer to
help them do their homework and exams better.
Those that did GCSE computing "chose" it because of parental
pressure - it was felt they would need computing to be successful
in business. So even their parents did not understand what GCSE
computing was about.
They were, however, correct about needing to be totally computer
literate to be successful in business.
They read it in the papers
They also remarked that because everything was being outsourced
to India, there would be no IT jobs left in the UK, so why go into
something that had limited opportunities for the future? Who says
teens do not read the newspapers?
Also, girls do not find computer science at degree level
attractive because they expect all the boy students to be nerds
only interested in sitting in front of a screen all day.
Maybe this image is a reflection of why a career in computing is
not understood properly. Maybe there needs to be more marketing of
what the huge range of careers within IT can offer an
individual.
I made the offer to my daughter's school for one of my female
managers to visit the sixth form to talk about her job. Despite
chasing several times, my offer was never taken up.
We all need to work to change the image that the young have of
computing and get them to see it as exciting, interesting, pretty
well-paid and with a huge array of opportunities to choose
from.
CV: Margaret Smith
Margaret Smith advises business and government on IT and skills
issues. Formerly chief executive of CIO Connect, she was also CIO
at Legal & General. She has been a non-executive director of
insurance standards body Origo Services and sat on the UK Cabinet
Office Portal Board.
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