When you work in a field that is constantly evolving, it is hard to keep up. During a global pandemic, things have only gotten crazier.
The field of IT has always been an interesting one, technology is constantly evolving whether it’s new CPUs, GPUs, motherboards, or servers you always have to stay on your toes.
I got my start in IT when I was very young, going with my dad to his office on the weekends and watching him handle the construction of the new studio. Throughout the years I’ve seen many people come and go in the industry. It never sits stagnant. I started really understanding and learning about the workings of IT at the start of my sophomore year of high school.
Before the COVID-19 pandemic hit “The IT field before Covid was very robust with lots of people and jobs especially in the office,” John Chybinski Assistant Director of Broadcast Technology at 6ABC said. This quote goes along with what a lot of industry is seeing: a large shift into online-only work. In an article from the New York times, it is said that the technology industry is thriving before and during this global pandemic. From first-hand knowledge, I can tell you it is very odd to walk into the office and see all of the empty desks and cubicles where I’m used to seeing people.
As a result of many computer parts being manufactured in China, many people feared that COVID-19 would kill the ability to buy new tech like normal. In the beginning
things were hard because very little was produced and things that were produced cost fourteen because of supply and demand.
“There were some issues in the very beginning getting equipment because that’s mainly because it’s built-in China,” Chybinski from 6ABC said. After the initial outbreak and the halt in factory work in China, many people feared this was the end of America’s technological advancements. For a week and even months, you saw tech stores such as Microcenter and BestBuy full of empty shelves only now staying to get back to normal inventory. this pandemic caused a huge uptick in PC gaming and PC building something I am very passionate about. An article from USA Today talks about how laptop availability was hit extremely hard with many first-time laptop buyers getting them to complete school and work. It was next to impossible to find laptops and ranging from $100 to $10,000 at the height of the pandemic.
At the onset of COVID-19, most people remained in the office until the lockdowns were put into place. These lockdowns have turned the office into a ghost town. Some departments are on track to never return to the office and will remain online only. With the growth of the work from the homeworld, many companies’ staffing and hours were effects in vastly different ways.
Chybinski from 6ABC said “It has changed my staffing in the fact that none is actually in the office. It hasn’t really affected our hours too much because we have coverage from early morning through very late at night.” Typically there would have been a full suite of staff members in the IT department daily anywhere from five to 10 technicians at one time but after COVID-19 hit it has dropped to only one employee in the department there during the day and that is John.
An article from Business News Daily says that before the COVID-19 pandemic remote working was only used for select circumstances, but now it has become the new norm. Thanks to the massive leaps in technology people from all over the world can connect digitally and make some of the largest companies run without a single person in the physical office. Remote working has worked so well for some companies such as REI that the companies are selling their massive corporate headquarters in Oregan.
Many people around the country and the world are asking where will we go next as a society. I can tell you the technology industry is asking the same question only with more uncertainty. The uncertainty of people returning to physical offices has caused many people to speculate that more IT technicians will be needed to cope with the increased geographical separation.
When asked for his thoughts on this question Chybinski from 6ABC said “there will be more people needed to support employees because they will be geographically dispersed as compared to being all in the same building.” With many people most likely to never return to
“Long View of Server Room” by camknows is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0
their normal office space IT support jobs will only become more prevalent. As a communication and computer science major, I have a very different look into the world as we know it. I get to see how journalism is changing as more reporters have to conduct online interviews. I also get to see how the IT field changes and how evolving technology adapts to new international regulations.
