Autonomic Computing

The Dynamics of the IT Labor Market

After the recession years of the early 1990s, the IT market picked up rapidly as new systems were required and the Internet started to have its impact. The market for IT staff reached a fever pitch by the middle of 1996. Corporations could not recruit or retain IT staff fast enough. Outrageous deals in salaries, bonuses, stock options, and other compensation were made to attract the right staff. As a result of this, job-hopping became rampant. By 1998, another problem was looming that would last for several years—the year 2000 or Y2K bug. The year 2000—thanks to the open question of whether legacy computer systems would be able to handle the rollover in century—posed one of the most significant challenges ever ...