Why this is the worst time to be a techie

Information technology (IT) till recently happened to be one of the most promising sectors in India with many companies, good salary package and bright future prospects. But, currently, this sector is going through never-seen-before challenges which are creating uncertainty for the IT professionals. 

Here are a couple of immediate challenges that is making the life of techies difficult these days: 

1.    Visa issues: One of the lucrative parts of part of IT companies is job opportunities in abroad. The techies can either find a job abroad or be sent to abroad by Indian IT companies. But, recently the US, UK, Singapore, Australia, and New Zealand has put visa restrictions that will impact professionals as well as Indian IT companies. 

The benefit of going to abroad is salary package apart from the global exposure. The visa restrictions are expected to impact the salary structure in Indian IT sector. 

Also READ: H-1B Visa: TCS, Infosys, IT firms lose the 'Trump' card

2.    Automation: Technological advancement is directly impacting the IT industry. The entry level jobs will be replaced by automation soon and company heads from time to time have hinted that engineering students, as well as the courses, need to get upgraded to facilitate the demand of the industry. Software services and maintenance are the two leading areas in which IT sector of India dominates but jobs these areas are getting replaced by automation. This year, due to this, companies have reduced hiring from campuses. 

Also READ: 65% techies likely to lose jobs, says Capgemini India CEO

3.    Layoffs: Recently, Wipro decided to layoff somewhere between 600 to 2000 employees. Before that Cognizant also sacked thousands of employees and the number is expected to be somewhere near 10,000. In fact, the news of sacking has become a common occurrence in the IT sector. This has put to huge stress on the professionals as well as the industry itself. 

Also READ: After Cognizant, Wipro to lay off at least 600 employees: Will others follow?

4.    Other sectors defeating IT: At present, finance and insurance sector is doing better than IT in terms of salary, job opportunity and most importantly, stability.

However, this has encouraged other sectors to grow, start-ups to take better shape, and focus on improving the quality of courses in engineering colleges. There are also a couple of IT companies that are hinting that they would be hiring engineers in near future. But, since nothing is certain, it is important to focus on enhancing skills to be fit for future contingencies. 

• IT sector
• IT industry
• Indian IT industry