7 Common Myths About IT Professionals You Did Not Know Earlier

If you are working in the tech industry for decades, there are chances that you might be overqualified or have failed to keep pace with the latest technologies. Atleast, that’s what the majority of people think. The good news is that this might not necessarily be true. In fact, these are just common myths that people believe in, which have nothing to do with reality.

You might think of seasoned IT pros as stressed out, less productive, and rigid but that is not always the case. Wondering what other myths you might be believing in about the technology industry? You are at the right place.  In this article, you will learn about seven common myths about IT professionals you wished you knew earlier.

7 Common Myths About IT Professionals You Should Stop Believing In

Here are seven common myths about seasoned IT professionals you should ditch right now.

1. They Are Rigid

One of the biggest reasons why hiring managers are reluctant when hiring experienced IT professionals is because they believe that they are inflexible. This is not always the case. Seasoned IT professionals do a much better job when it comes to solving complex problems. They have a much better understanding of client requirements, which enables them to deliver the best solution to them.

You can always learn hard skills if you don’t have them but their soft skills such as adaptability and emotional intelligence give them a clear advantage over their younger counterparts. Since younger tech professionals are just starting their careers they are usually working on polishing their soft skills so they can never match the soft skills possessed by experienced IT pros.

In addition to this, they also have a clear edge over younger employees when it comes to critical thinking, organizing and streamlining everything and communication. What’s more, you don’t have to train an experienced professional which makes the onboarding process much easier as compared to a fresh graduate.

2. Don’t Embrace Latest Technology

Another common misconception that is prevalent among tech industry is that elder tech professionals do not do a good job when it comes to embracing latest technologies or adopting them. The experience and skill these IT pros bring to the table makes them a valuable asset for organization. Moreover, they can act as a mentor for younger employees as they continue to share useful resources to train fresh employees.

What really makes them stand out is their ability to identify cybersecurity gaps and help younger professionals fill in those gaps. Since they have been around for long enough, they have seen technology evolve. This means that they know which technology trends you should hop on and which ones to avoid. This makes their experience extremely valuable for an organziation. This saves your business from jumping on trends that will go away in few years.

3. Stay Disconnected

Another crotocosm experienced IT pros usually face is that they are disconnected from the latest development taking place in the industry. This is also not true. Yes, they might not get excited about the latest and greatest technology as much as the younger counterparts.

Despite all the advancement in technology, the basics still remain the same and so do the challenges. For instance, you need the best dedicated server, databases, and networks server no matter what. With experienced IT professionals faring much better than younger ones in these two aspects, you can easily see why companies are willing to pay hefty amounts to hire an experienced professional instead of cutting the corners and settling for a fresh graduate.

4. Stress and Anxiety

Work related stress is a major concern for the IT industry. IT professionals have to be present 24/7 for monitoring and support purposes. With understaffed IT teams and heavy workloads, most IT professionals have to wear multiple hats at once. This can easily overwhelm new employees and make it tough for them to settle in their new roles. On the flipside, seasoned IT professionals can handle such pressure in a much better way as compared to fresh candidates. They don’t get panicked when things go wrong and maintain a cool head. Did you know why? Because they have been there and know exactly what steps they should take to overcome these issues.

5. Over Qualification

Hiring managers face a weird problem when they are hiring for senior IT roles. They find candidates that are either too qualified for the role or have more experience they need for the position. Instead of thinking of it as a shortcoming, hiring managers should look at it positively. Why? Because they have more experience with workflows, have better understanding of company policies and procedures and can settle into the new environment much quickly. They know how to work on different platforms so if your company is using multiple platforms at once, an experienced professional might be a better choice.

6. Less Productive

Most organizations prefer hiring a younger employee because they are more energetic and more productive. That does not mean that older employees are not productive. There is no relationship between increasing age and declining productivity. Your experienced employees can solve complex problems much more quickly than your younger employees. The time your younger IT professionals take to understand the problem and act on it can be saved as seasoned pros can immediately identify the issue and take action quickly.

7. Lacks Self Learning Capabilities

Thanks to the internet, anyone can learn any skill. There are tons of resources out there that facilitate you in learning. This has made it more accessible for anyone at any age to enter the tech and IT industry. Despite this, there is a common misconception that only younger employees benefit from these resources while older ones don’t, which is not true. Since these IT professionals have seen an age where the internet was not as common as it is today, they still think that there is not much in it for them, which is totally wrong. They also benefit from the internet the same way as younger tech professionals do.

Which common myths about IT professionals do you still believe in? Share it with us in the comments section below.