The safest tech jobs in a recession

IT security and maintenance jobs should be safer than most

Since the dotcom boom and bust of the late 90s, techies have enjoyed the best part of a decade on the green side of the fence, with growth in every sector year on year.

Almost five percent of the UK workforce are IT wage slaves of some description, with three quarters of folks working with a computer in their daily grind. So, when Google makes cuts and Microsoft starts laying off staff, you know it's time to start worrying.

Experts claim that IT security remains a safe sector, too. "The Information Systems Audit and Control Association have identified information security officers and IT security and audit staff as the safest jobs in a recession," says Vernon Poole, Head of Business Consultancy for Sapphire Technologies Ltd. "2008 will go down as the year of the greatest number of security breaches - so protecting information is vital to be seen as 'trusted'".

Some IT workers may be better off accepting shorter contracts - if their skills are sufficiently in demand. If your job is aimed at cutting costs, then you might be in luck, too, claims Paul Williams, IT Governance Adviser to Protiviti: "Staff involved in projects designed to enable short to medium term costs savings and efficiencies may be safe, at least until the project concludes, whilst staff involved with longer term strategic initiatives may be deemed more at risk."

You'll also be safer if your job is making sure that everyday systems stay up and running. That's people like network administrators and IT maintenance staff. If your job involves tweaking HTML or looking after archives, though, watch your back. "Staff supporting business critical front line applications may be relatively secure whilst those supporting less critical applications may be deemed dispensable," says Williams.

Ironically, people at the lower end of the IT industry, those working in the trenches fixing PCs and installing software for home users are among the safest in the midst of recession. Most technology manufacturers are reporting a downturn in sales - which means there are more old machines in living rooms and spare bedrooms. And the older the machine, the more likely it is to need upgrades and repairs.