Programmers, systems analysts, and programmer analysts are being heavily recruited by staffing services because they have skills that are in demand. Many organizations do not employ any of these three types of information technology people; they depend on consultants and the staffing industry to send in individuals or teams of experts to help them with their information technology needs and to solve their problems. Information technology is changing so fast that it is often more cost effective to outsource this function to staffing services than for a company to try to hire and keep a staff of experts trained in house to meet its needs.
Programmers in software development who elect to work for a staffing service may be assigned to a team of experts from various fields to create software either programs designed for specific clients or packaged software for general use ranging from games and educational software to programs for desktop publishing, financial planning, and spreadsheets. Much of the programming being done today is the preparation of packaged software, one of the most rapidly growing segments of the computer industry. But despite the prevalence of packaged software, many programmers who become professional technical temps may be sent out on jobs that involve updating, repairing, and modifying codes for existing programs.
The professional technical temp who is a programmer is also in demand by staffing services for another important reason debugging skill. When a program is ready to be tested, programmers run it to ensure that the instructions are correct and will produce the desired information. They prepare sample data that test every part of the program and, after trial runs, review the results to see if any errors were made. If errors do occur, the programmer must make the appropriate changes and recheck the program until it produces the correct results. This is called debugging the program. Therefore, many staffing services are looking for programmers who can debug or check a program for mistakes. More and more software programs are being developed, so there is a need for experienced programmers with this skill.
Finally, programmers working in a mainframe environment prepare instructions for the computer operator who will run the program. They may also contribute to a user's manual for the program. That means the programmer who is a professional technical temp can go in and work on a project that involves writing instructions for various operator's manuals. Once again, for the professional technical temp, it all goes back to supply and demand. For the programmer, that means developing very specific skills in programming so that the programmer's skills are always in demand or needed. The more in demand the skills are, the more the programmer can make as a professional technical temp or consultant.
Programs vary depending on the type of information to be accessed or generated. Some instructions for programming in the field of information technology are very simple. Others are complex. If several programmers work together as a team under a senior programmer's supervision, the person supervising should be paid more. The professional technical temp who is a senior programmer can expect to make more money than those he or she supervises.
Both applications and systems programmers can work today as professional technical temporaries or consultants. Applications programmers who become professional technical temps may work in business, engineering, or science. They can use their technical skills as temps to write software or to handle specific jobs, such as a program used in an inventory control system. They also may work alone or as part of a team of other professional technical temporaries and revise existing packaged software.
Systems programmers often maintain the software that controls the operation of an entire computer system. As a professional technical temp, a systems programmer could program or develop commands for terminals, printers, and disk drives. Because of their knowledge of the entire computer system, systems programmers who become professional technical temps may help other professional technical temps who are applications programmers determine the sources of problems that may occur with their programs. Therefore, both systems and applications programmers are often part of a team of experts when they work as professional technical temps.
Those in the information technology profession who work as professional technical temps can expect to work in a variety of businesses including, but certainly not limited to, data processing service organizations, firms that write and sell software, firms that provide engineering and management services, manufacturers of computer and office equipment, financial institutions, insurance carriers, educational institutions, and government agencies. The professional technical temp who is an applications programmer may work for all types of firms, whereas systems programmers who are temps will work for organizations with large computer centers or for firms that manufacture computers or develop software. The way technology is evolving will certainly change where these types of professional technical temps work. They may be able to choose to work from a home office that will allow them to use their skills through a network set up from home. The Watson Wyatt International consulting firm recently concluded in a survey that 51% of large information technology and telecommunications corporations allow their employees to telecommute today and 90% anticipate such telecommuting work policies within the next three years.
A growing number of programmers are employed on a temporary or contract basis. Rather than hiring programmers as permanent employees and then laying them off after a job is completed, employers increasingly are contracting with staffing services. A marketing firm, for example, may require the services of several programmers only to write and debug the software necessary to get a new database management system running. Such jobs may last from several months to a year or longer.
There are no universal training requirements for programmers, because employers' needs are so varied. Computer applications have become so widespread that computer programming is taught at most public and private vocational schools, community and junior colleges, and universities. However, the level of education and quality of training that employers seek have been rising due to the growth in the number of qualified applicants and the increasing complexity of programming tasks.
What does this mean to the professional technical temp? Many staffing services have their own testing and training programs. In fact, many staffing services call the professional technical temp a consultant so that this skilled person will have a better image. More and more staffing services are offering to pay these consultants or professional technical temps an annual salary rather than by the hour or by the project, so that the professional technical temp with these skills will work exclusively for their staffing service rather than go earn money for another service.
How does this pertain to training for the professional technical temp? It means that when the professional technical temp who is skilled in areas of information technology is not working, the staffing service will send the consultant or temp to a training facility. The professional technical temp, or consultant, stays on the payroll of the staffing service. That means that you, the professional technical temp, can continue to earn a salary from the staffing service and at the same time learn the latest skills that are in demand by businesses. The service who supplies the most temps with the skills most in demand wins!
