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This will most likely apply to those of you in the greater New York City region only, but seeing as it’s the most populated metropolitan area of the United States, it should resonate a bit. There are technology jobs in the area with startups, and while that may be attractive to some, I don’t imagine it’s attractive to everyone who had Wall Street-style perks.
The challenge is in knowing what exactly is happening to IT on Wall Street now.
This report out of Crain’s New York Business speaks to the issues going on and says other industries should be able to gobble up technology workers. This has a few issues, but the conclusions are mainly positive.
From the Crain’s article:
“During the first half of this year, Wall Street laid off 22,000 workers, and there are thousands more to come. In the past seven months, the city has added 1,100 tech jobs for a total of about 42,700, according to an analysis of state Department of Labor figures by Eastern Consolidated, a real estate investment firm. Strength in tech hiring outside of the finance sector has kept employment up, experts say.“
But that may change. Also, from the same article:
“Traditionally, Wall Street has been the tech industry’s stiffest competition on the hiring front. Banks typically beat out tech firms because they offer bigger paychecks and better benefits … Banks have been willing to pay $250,000 base salaries plus a bonus for top talent, said Michael Flannery, managing director of Redwood Partners, an executive search firm. “That made these people untouchable,” he added. But the changing landscape on Wall Street will help level the playing field.“
The leveling of the field is admittedly a tad gloomy for salaries and benefits, perhaps, but I think we’ve all been seeing that across the board. Technology is not immune to “corrections in the market.”
Former Editor of Baseline Tom Steinert-Threlkeld has a nice post examining the venture capital factor in New York City for tech workers who either have or will be leaving the challenged financial services sector. His post on ZDNet has some interesting charted info from N.Y.-based Union Square Ventures that shows the rise in VC-funded startups in Silicon Alley since 1995.
What’s missing from all of our Wall Street coverage right now is information on the kinds of IT systems that will be staying on with many of the firms and for exactly how long. Those systems and the people who manage them aren’t just going to be turned off with the light switches, and I would guess, changes aren’t happening right away.
What are you hearing about the IT impact within the financial services industry?