What will the future of work look like for IS professionals? The picture of Portugal

Abstract

Many professions, in the most diverse sectors of activity, have undergone great changes over time, largely due to the responsibility of technological evolution. The rapid evolution of information technologies will, certainly imply, that employment in general and employment in Information Systems (IS), in particular, undergoes major changes both in terms of creating new professions and even for the extinction of others, as indeed it has already happened when professions such as telephone operators, typists, telegram distributors, typographers and even encyclopedias sellers disappeared. The purpose of this article is to analyze the changes that can be expected in employment in IS for 2030 - how will work in IS be: what professions will be extinguished, which ones must adapt to the new reality and what the need for professions that do not yet exist. After a review of the literature on the evolution of employment in IS over the years, realizing the trends of its evolution, a guide was elaborated for semistructured interviews that were used in meetings with 6 (six) Portuguese organizations, in order to list their perceptions of the changes that are expected in the very near future. From the analysis of results, it will be possible to have a clearer idea of the changes that are already occurring today, as well as what still needs to be changed. This answer will allow us to reflect on how to prepare tomorrow’s professionals, in IS, for the job market in 2030.