My advice, is to learn other skills along side it as well. Just being able to be a SQL developer won't serve you too well in the meantime. Try to get experience in development planning, integration management, technical lead etc as well.

IT massively rewards specialist technical skills, but usually only for about 5-10 years, and by that time the day rates slump down to a reasonable average (400 a day isn't all that much as IT day rates go, I've worked with Project Management Officers who earn that).

The SQL bubble won't last. It contracting market has seen many of these patterns (when I started in IT web developers were king, now its a really competitive field with most of the people who were 'just capable' having been long since pushed out of the market).

The trick to IT is to develop non-technical skills sets if you want it to last - because IT has always lacked people without pure IT skills.

Things like Configuration Management, Change Management, Technical Writing, Release Management, Development and Integration Manager, Defect Management, Project Management, Technical Officer etc have a longer career span for a contractor, and most techie contractors long term end up moving into these kind of areas.

What my business does can never be replaced by robots. Ha! f*** you robots.

Edited by Brentmiester_General (29 Jun 2017 10.50am)

It is inevitable and the people that will complain and try and stop it are no different to those smashing the spinning Jenny. It's a matter of time, we have a service based economy and we live in a country with incredibly poor productivity and a lack of investment in STEM. We really need to start prepping in this country for the robot revolution and have high skill high wage jobs in place for the next generation to go in to.

Also agree with Jamie regarding, do what you like and are good at and if you excel the money will follow.

Pretty much agree.

I think compared to most countries we are preparing better than most.

I fear for the poorest countries with automation.

It is an interesting subject. In finance people have been discussing this for some time but as yet the take up is small. The problem being is the age of the decision makers. They are all, a bit like myself c 50 and thinking I have another decade or so left. So let’s put this off and let the next generation deal with it. So the take up will be a lot slower than people think.