IT Pros Can Look to Alternative Fields for Work

The recession is heightening competition for a dwindling number of IT jobs, while exerting downward pressure on compensation.

Many IT professionals -- both employed and unemployed -- are considering changing careers, but are naturally concerned about wasting their investment in their education and experience. That concern can be dispelled by Debugging Your Information Technology Career (www.elegantfixpress.com), which features 20 alternative fields where computer professionals' technical knowledge will be advantageous. An added bonus: Most of these fields offer strong protection from both offshoring and recessions.

Janice Weinberg (www.janiceweinberg.com), the author, is a career consultant formerly with IBM and GE, whose IT background enabled her to identify the 20 careers she describes. While most of them aren't usually thought of as computer jobs, computer proficiency is a key qualification for success in each.

For example:

* An architect's knowledge of best practices in systems design would be a strong asset in a technology due diligence position.

* A business analyst who guided logistics staff in defining their IT requirements would be a credible candidate for a strategic alliance management position at a company marketing logistics software.

* A NOC manager who upgraded a change-management function would bring a valuable customer's perspective to a role as a change-management software product manager.

* A network security administrator could become a broker or underwriter of cyberliability insurance.

* A software engineer who supported CRM applications could parlay that experience into a position selling CRM software.

* Any IT professional who can assess the commercial potential of new computer technology could qualify for a position as an equity analyst covering the computer industry.

Most of the careers can be entered without further education beyond a BS in a computer-related discipline. Several -- for example, business continuity planner -- require a certification. Some readers may be motivated to become technology attorneys, forensic accountants or healthcare administrators. Many of the fields can be springboards for new consulting practices.

As Weinberg describes each career, readers will:

* Realize why computer expertise is an advantage in delivering top performance;

* Be able to imagine themselves in the field by reading the hour-by-hour Typical Workday;

* Understand how a recession could undermine job security, while learning career-planning strategies for minimizing or avoiding any negative impact.

Readers will learn job-hunting techniques tailored to specific fields, including guidance in identifying and approaching employers, and in selecting those aspects of their experience to highlight in their resumes and interviews for greatest impact. Although most of the fields are highly insulated from offshoring, where vulnerability exists, Weinberg suggests job-hunting techniques to minimize one's exposure.

While there are many books providing IT career advice, Weinberg's gives new - and broader - meaning to the term "computer job," demonstrating that an IT professional's knowledge constitutes precious currency in a world dependent on computer technology.