Important: Translated automatically from Spanish by 🌐💬 Aphra 1.0.0
It’s common to see IT-related job offers with an endless list of technologies that the candidate must master, even demanding more years of experience than the technology itself has been around, as absurd as it may seem. That’s why I wasn’t surprised at all by the article: When a job offer asks for more years of experience in a software than have passed since it was created1.
I don’t know of any other sector where this happens. They usually ask for the corresponding degree, previous experience, languages, and not much else. But when you read a job offer related to IT, it’s enough to send shivers down your spine2. A huge list of specific mandatory technologies and a few more desirable ones is the norm. And you end up throwing your hands up in despair3 when you see the salary: 20,000 euros gross annually4. Seriously?
So today I feel like dedicating a few words to:
Business owners (male and female)5: If you find a candidate who meets all the requirements and accepts the salary and conditions you propose, be suspicious. They may appear to know, but they don’t. You basically have two options:
- If you need someone who is really an expert in something (a need that 99% of companies don’t have), offer a very good salary. And count on them not staying with you for too long.
- If you need someone versatile, who knows many technologies and can manage them, offer it and don’t demand it. That is, look for graduates open to learning, who are in constant movement, and explain to them the technologies they will need to learn, as well as that they will be offered the necessary time to do so. Even if they have no previous experience. The market changes rapidly, and so do technologies. What is used today won’t be used tomorrow. If you’re looking for experts in specific technologies, they might become obsolete as workers sooner than you think.
Computer Science and IT students: Don’t stop learning, don’t stand still. It’s not necessary to be an expert in everything, because it’s not possible either. Choose a path you like, have a basic control of everything you can about it. You should inform yourself about what a term or technology means if you hear it and don’t know it. At least know what it’s about. And demand what you can demand, always proportional to what you know and what you’re capable of generating. If you don’t give value to the sector, no one will do it for you.
IT teachers: Continue to broaden horizons. Keep giving tools for learning autonomy in this world. Keep updating the syllabus each course to adapt it to new trends. Keep looking for the perfect form, task, practice for all students to understand that concept. Keep encouraging never to stop learning. Keep personalizing itineraries so that everyone can reach as far as they want to go. Keep instilling the need to value the profession.
See you in the next post.
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Genbeta is a popular Spanish technology blog that covers various topics related to software, hardware, and digital trends. ↩︎
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This is a translation of the Spanish idiomatic expression “es para echarse a temblar,” which literally means “it’s enough to make you tremble” and is used to express extreme fear or apprehension. ↩︎
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This phrase translates the Spanish idiom “echarte las manos a la cabeza,” which literally means “to throw your hands to your head” and is used to express shock or dismay. ↩︎
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In Spain, salaries are often expressed in annual gross amounts. 20,000 euros gross annually is considered a relatively low salary for an IT professional in Spain. ↩︎
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The original Spanish “Empresarios/as” uses a gender-inclusive form. This translation attempts to maintain that inclusivity. ↩︎
