Judah wrote:
Matt Whiting wrote in
:


Show me a better forecast. Or any forecast at all that supports your
claim...


The government, as well as some job search sites, seem to disagree with
Money Magazine...

I wish it weren't true either, since I am a computer programmer by trade,
and my current business is essentially computer software (although my
business' outlook would seem better than my trade's).

The other thing I will mention is that while the average salaries are
probably moving slightly up, the high and lows are moving closer to the
average. So as a leading, well-known, published programmer in the late 90's
I was able to easily command a very respectable rate at the top of the
curve, which was more than double the average. The top of the curve has
consistently gone down over the past 5 years to be more in line with the
average programmer who couldn't code his way out of a rubix cube.

Anyway, here are your sources. It didn't take me very long to find these on
Google, I am sure you could find many more on your own if you would like...

http://www.calmis.ca.gov/file/occguide/COMPUPRO.HTM

"The estimated number of job opportunities for Computer Programmers from
1998 through 2008 is expected to total 12,100. The Computer Programmer
occupation will grow slower than average compared with all occupations in
California."


http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos110.htm

"Employment of programmers is expected to grow more slowly than the average
for all occupations through the year 2014. Sophisticated computer software
now has the capability to write basic code, eliminating the need for many
programmers to do this routine work. The consolidation and centralization
of systems and applications, developments in packaged software, advances in
programming languages and tools, and the growing ability of users to
design, write, and implement more of their own programs mean that more of
the programming functions can be transferred from programmers to other
types of information workers, such as computer software engineers.

Another factor limiting growth in employment is the outsourcing of these
jobs to other countries. Computer programmers can perform their job
function from anywhere in the world and can digitally transmit their
programs to any location via e-mail. Programmers are at a much higher risk
of having their jobs outsourced abroad than are workers involved in more
complex and sophisticated information technology functions, such as
software engineering, because computer programming has become an
international language, requiring little localized or specialized
knowledge. Additionally, the work of computer programmers can be
routinized, once knowledge of a particular programming language is
mastered."

http://jobsearchtech.about.com/od/co...programmer.htm

"The U.S. job outlook for computer programmers is not as good as it used to
be. Through 2014, the occupation is forecasted to grow more slowly than the
average for all other occupations. That's mostly due to the loss of U.S.
programming jobs to overseas outsourcing, along with technological advances
that have almost eliminated routine programming tasks."

If you are a programmer by trade, then you should know that IT is not
synonymous with programming. Your claim was about IT, not programming.

Please try again.


Matt