Most IT Pros Happy with Their Current Jobs

A large majority of IT professionals are satisfied with their current jobs and have no plans to leave, according to a recent survey by IT staffing provider Modis.

In the midst of concerns over a continued economic slowdown and high unemployment rates, IT staffers have expressed some sense of optimism. Among the 500 IT pros surveyed, 89 percent are perfectly content with their present roles, leading to 64 percent who plan to stay put. Almost half (44 percent) are eyeing a raise next year, and only 26 percent expect their salaries to remain the same.

Those happy with their current jobs named several reasons why. A full 70 percent said their boss doesn’t micromanage, 62 percent pointed to a good salary and benefits, and 61 percent cited the ability to take advantage of training to learn new technical skills.

Looking forward to the next five years, a few key areas seem ripe for growth in the technology industry. Among those polled, 29 percent named cloud computing and Software as a Service (SaaS (News - Alert)) as a high-growth area, 21 percent listed security, and 18 percent cited mobile solutions. IT people on the front line and on the management side all see great potential in those three segments.

“When we talk to CIOs and IT decision makers, they regularly bring up these three key areas as vital within their organization,” said Modis president Jack Cullen. “Finding technologists with experience and skills in these areas is critical for their IT departments.”

The survey also uncovered a few other items of interest.

Those polled were “cautiously optimistic” about their department growing in size next year. Most (65 percent) think their IT team will remain the same size, while 28 percent think staff will be added either slightly or quite a bit.

Some seem confident about their job status even if the economy worsens, but many expressed apprehension. A full 42 percent said they wouldn’t be worried about losing their job, but 25 percent said they’d be very concerned and 32 percent said they’d be somewhat concerned.

Face-to-face networking is still the best way to find a new job, according to many of those surveyed. More than a third (35 percent) said that networking with IT colleagues is the most effective strategy for job seekers, while only 8 percent pointed to social networking sites such as Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter (News - Alert) as efficient job search tools.

And not surprisingly, cost savings was at the top of the “to do” list for most IT departments, named by a full 62 percent. Following closely behind, finding IT solutions for the internal needs of the business was cited by 61 percent, and improving communications with the rest of the company was mentioned by 52 percent.

One item uncovered in the survey especially caught my eye -- the 61 percent who said they’re happy in their current jobs because they can take training courses to learn new technical skills. This is always a key benefit in many jobs, and one that often survives the chopping block when other benefits are taken away or cut back. Whether they handle it through tuition reimbursement or internal department funding, many companies and IT organizations see the value in ongoing training, even in times of economic distress.

And as such, it’s one benefit that all IT professionals should pounce on. Taking classes to further your skills is always highly advisable whether you’re looking for a new job or plan to stay put. Few industries move as fast as IT does, so it’s imperative that IT pros keep up their skill set and take advantage of the ability to learn new technologies to make sure they remain knowledgeable and marketable.

Conducted by Braun Research on behalf of Modis, the survey questioned 502 IT professionals from October 7 through 14.