Stay Competitive in a tight job market
As you know, the world economy is tighting up. Already we're seeing companies going into cost saving mode and reacting to lowered consumer confidence. It doesn't mean you'll be left out, but it does mean that you need to be more competitive with your skill set whether you're looking for a job or trying to keep one.
Education and certification is a great way to shore up your competitive outlook. You can't go wrong by increasing your skill set and showing proof that you've done so. Of course we're biased here, but we think the combination of our skill building methods with the added bonus of a certificate of professional development from the University of Illinois is a not only a great way to get or stay competitive but also a relatively economical one.
The good news is that education is always a positive thing. In hard economic times the extra education might give you edge over your competion. In times of growth education gives you more options so you ride the economic wave. From time to time we'll be looking for signals in the marketplace and let you know what we see.
Job Market Snapshot for the rest of 2008
A recent report on the US job market done by CareerBuilder expects a status quo but more competive landscape for job hunters and employees.
However the good news, is the IT industry is the healthiest job market of all, a quote from the article linked above says:
| Comparing industries, Information Technology continues to boast the greatest demand with 37 percent of IT employers planning to add full-time, permanent employees in the third quarter. |
Click here to see a snapshot of the IT job market trends - while there if you click on each bar you'll get the time dependent trend graph to see how the market is trending.
Need IT Career Advice? Ask Trish.
In her "Ask Trish" column, OST Guidance Counselor Trish Gray answers your questions about your IT career goals and how to reach them.
Today's column:
Landing a Web 2.0 Job >
Support Your Employees without Interfering with Their Jobs
As an IT manager, you need to maximize your employees' skills, while minimizing your time
and budget investment. Conference-style seminars can provide short-term training, but are
expensive and easily forgotten. Online courses can be inexpensive, yet restrictive - and
often are no more effective than books. Without real, ongoing practice and instructor feedback on the
actual technology being learned, employees find themselves starting at zero again when faced
with applying new technology skills in the workplace.
> more
Earn a Certificate
for Professional Development from the University of Illinois' Office of Continuing Education upon completion of a selected series of courses.
