How lucrative is an IT career and will AI replace it?

I hate coding and super advanced computer stuff. But I've noticed many govt. IT jobs where they mostly set up equipment and call a help line to be walked through trouble shooting. How difficult, lucrative, indemand, and AI resistant is IT work?

Edited by hamluis, 10 May 2022 - 10:10 AM.
Moved from Gen Sec to Certs - Hamluis.

IT is so broad now that you can get anything from a barely-above-minimum wage job to a six-figure job (and beyond if you set up your own business).

The Bureau of Labor Statistics in the US posts US job projections frequently, and many fields of IT are projected to grow dramatically in the next 10 years.

Here is just one example: Information Security Analysts : Occupational Outlook Handbook: : U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (bls.gov) (33% projected growth - much faster than average)

AI is starting to replace some jobs, but there are definitely jobs in IT that can't be automated away: Manual code analysis, many aspects of cybersecurity, AI development itself, etc.

Some AI products are untrusted - they may throw out recommendations that are irrelevant or in some cases debilitating. Some AI chat bots are being used, but some people will opt to talk to someone on the phone.

One thing to take note of is that Cloud-related jobs are growing - this can lead to a shrinking (but by no means non-existent) demand for traditional server system admins.

I would definitely never discourage anyone from entering IT. If you like computers and technology, it may not even seem like work at times. Someone once discouraged me from getting a Computer Science degree because they said programming would be obsolete in the future (this happened over 25 years ago), and I always regret that one decision to not pursue it (but I made up for it in other ways).

As cknoettg said, IT is very broad.  You can go from answering phones on a Help Desk to managing databases, and a whole lot in between.  I do level 2 support, desk side, the people who come to your desk to fix your problem.  However there is a lot more to the job. I'm currently making about $65K plus over time and on call.  But, I've been doing this for over 20 years. I'm also working at a non-profit.

You can make over $100K in a lot of the other IT areas, but you can't start there without certifications and a degree.

IT work can be as easy or difficult as you want to deal with.  The easier it is, the less it pays. Though as one person pointed out to me, things that are easy for me, may not be easy for someone else.

As far as being replaced by AI, not going to happen for most IT worker roles any time in the near future. There may be some things that AI can be used for, but AI doesn't handle the unexpected very well and IT is full of the unexpected.

As far as being in demand there are very few companies that don't have computers in one form or another. I've worked in banking, manufacturing, government, health care, and other industries. They all have computers to help them get the job done.

IT is still a very lucrative career path, especially if you try and think ahead/keep up on emerging tech. Right now, businesses need Cloud people of all sorts, Azure and AWS being the top things to know about. Azure will let you see almost everything they have to offer by paying $20 a month for a single enterprise level account. Things like Docker and Kubernetes are emerging in many markets as tech companies want to use for their applications, and all things cybersecurity are in a huge push right now. Big data and AI tech is certainly a high priority, but if you don't want to code all day there are many things you can do instead that still pay $100k+ involving infrastructure, networks, and security.

No one can predict the future.

I'm mildly autistic and was employed on the Floor of the London Stock Exchange to give lightening answers to my team of Dealers financial questions. Then, along came computers that could be used by Small Companies, and later, even by individuals. 

Actually, I'd burned out long before Individual PCs arrived on the scene. But, the jobs for my kind of person were already gone.

Whatever you chose to do, you need to prepare for a life of constant retraining. In some ways, very exciting, in other ways, terrifying

Edited by wee-eddie, 27 May 2022 - 05:03 PM.

Like the others have mentioned. IT is still a very lucrative career and there are more options than ever before. Most jobs are safe from AI but you need to be prepared to pivot, because IT is a industry that can change very quickly. 

In terms of AI replacing IT jobs, it's true that automation and machine learning are becoming more prevalent in many industries, including IT. However, there will always be a need for human IT professionals to manage and maintain these systems. Additionally, the rise of cloud computing has created a huge demand for IT professionals with expertise in cloud solutions like AWS. Speaking of AWS, if you're interested in cloud computing, I would highly recommend checking out the aws cloud practitioner essentials course. It's a great way to get started with AWS and learn more about cloud computing in general.

Edited by AlexBarkat, 23 May 2023 - 02:40 AM.

AI is really quite good, so long as the answer is known.

However, if the solution has not been previously recorded, it is lost