A new article in Computerworld discusses the skills someone will need to succeed in IT world (including Web Metrics - BTW) in just a couple of years 2010 to be exact).

"July 17, 2006 (Computerworld) — The most sought-after corporate IT workers in 2010 may be those with no deep-seated technical skills at all. The nuts-and-bolts programming and easy-to-document support jobs will have all gone to third-party providers in the U.S. or abroad. Instead, IT departments will be populated with "versatilists" — those with a technology background who also know the business sector inside and out, can architect and carry out IT plans that will add business value, and can cultivate relationships both inside and outside the company. "

How true - it’s already happening, and quickly and I’m seeing it happen.  Many, many jobs are going East - way, way East, if you know what I mean.  Many good people are being displaced in the relentless drive to lower operating costs.  Also the Global nature of communications today makes physical location of a worker a non-factor in many instances.

"What’s more, the skills required to land these future technical roles will be honed outside of IT. Some of these skills will come from artistic talents, math excellence or even a knack for public speaking — producing a combination of skills not commonly seen in the IT realm."

Way to Go!  Great for the Artistic Skills - not a great speaker though.

"By 2010, six out of 10 people affiliated with IT will assume business-facing roles, according to Gartner. What’s more, IT organizations in midsize and large companies will be at least 30% smaller than they were in 2005. Gartner also predicts that by 2010, 10% to 15% of IT professionals will leave their IT occupations as a result of the automation of tasks or because of a lack of interest in the sector.

Those are real numbers - and might even be conserative - it might be closer to 30%, in my opinion.

"Companies like Microsoft Corp. and IBM already know the gargantuan architecture tasks awaiting them in 2010 and are hiring expert- and guru-level enterprise architects. "They’re saying, ‘There’s a level of architecture that if we don’t have it, we’re [sunk],’" Foote adds.

As you build big sites with a lot of personalization and automation - you need to get it right or your site will be useless.

Technology Infrastructure and Services

Hot

 

• Systems analysis

   

• Systems design

   

• Network design

   

• Systems auditing

Cold

 

• Programming

   

• Routine coding

   

• Systems testing

   

• Support and help desk

   

• Operations — server hosting, telecommunications, operating systems

Makes sense as programming and routine coding jobs are going East, going offshore - where they can be done a lot more cheaply.  But the direction of those resources stays here, in the US, and there’s where the expertise in business is needed.

""If you want to work in IT, you want to work in Web application systems. But you’d better also really know the customer, because chances are your competitors have that type of talent," Foote explains. This kind of talent allows IT staffs to do more than simply build things; they can also communicate with co-workers who spend a lot of time with customers or connect with the customers themselves to quickly make changes to process.

Nothing here is really new or unexpected except how pervasive the changes are becoming - so much is being moved East, very far East.