Dad keeps telling me about the potential dangers of being in the IT industry. So commonplace are ailments like lack of sleep, bone problems, eye problems blah blah and blah, that most often that not these perils do not figure in the course of discussions as these are foregone effects. However,his main contention is: what if there’s an IT meltdown? What if some lunatic plants a bomb in any of the major financial and IT capitals? Where will you be? Seems to be a pretty valid argument, and it got me thinking. While coming back after a nice dinner one Saturday, a friend of mine had mentioned something about the entire booming economy tied up with the IT industry. When one examines todays economic scene more closely we would find that most, if not all of the other industries, have had a resurgence because of the IT industry. For example, the high prices quoted for drinks and food in various pubs and restaurants in the city still does not see them suffering from any losses. The reason is because people have amassed a lot of disposable income. A vast majority of people visiting restaurants and pubs are IT professionals. With increased focus on attracting and retaining customers, comes a greater demand for providing security, ambience and other conveniences, thus creating a greater demand for bouncers, DJ’s, waiters, card reading machines, power and a lot more. In other words, when people spend money, they propel they economy skywards. The more money people have, the more likely they are to spend. The middle and upper middle class sections of society today have been, to a very large extent, the fruits of the IT revolution. Now, should one decide to quit IT and join some other industry, say the automobile industry, then how secure would that person’s job be? The answer is, I’m afraid, about as secure as the person’s current job in the IT field. The differences though, would be of salary hikes and promotions and job satisfaction.(Let us ignore those health effects from now.) That is something for people who seriously know what they want to do in life to worry about. For us ordinary mortals, I guess we should be happy about the relatively easy money we get. Let us take it and pursue our hobbies with content.