WEEK8 What is an IT Professional

    I am going to compare IT professionals of two countries, Finland and Germany as the value of an IT expert has such different images.

    Stereotypical to the Scandinavian region, Finland’s IT workers are involved in societal development and occupy an important status. There is an extended 3/4G reception network, school are obligated to provide a course for students to pass the @-kortti, an IT-license and the IT industry is one of the largest in Finland. The government recognized the information era early and started adapting, informing the society, and raising awareness about its importance. The early engagement has proven fruitful, Finland provides many IT services and is recognized globally for to its contributions such as Nokia, and to the gaming industry e.g. Angry Birds and Supercell. Students are introduced to technology as a tool at an early age, which is promoted by government and private programs through financial virtues. Furthermore, Finland is the home to Slush, one of the worlds largest Start-up conferences, further promoting the image of IT to another demographic. This fosters an IT oriented society, leading to a modernized system in industrial, state, and educational sectors.

    This variety provides many different paths to become an IT “professional”. Whilst having an educational background is often seen as the definition to professionalism, success and also dedication are a recognized measure of professionalism in the IT sector in Finland. Differently in Germany, it strictly abides the to the educational diplomas. In Finland the dimension of IT being used for “fun” is one of the larger contrasts to Germany. One of the consequences of a more open perspective towards IT is probably the success of the gaming industry in Finland. Germany’s approach to IT is extremely educational and “professional” in an old-fashioned manner. Whilst being highly regarded, IT professionals in Germany face a problem when confronting society. The German IT sector has experienced many difficulties and is not as progressive as in e.g. Finland or Estonia. Many parts of the society resist any structural changes, whether it is in the government, education, work or in the day-to-day life, making tech-updates increasingly difficult. This contrast to Finland originates from cultural differences, as well as the late shift towards an information society by the German government.

    The demand of IT experts only increases, therefore also each year more students sign up for a course in that area, this Germany has succeeded in, increasing their educational capacities. However, due to Germany’s traditional views on professionalism the educational path becomes less optional, furthermore universities often do not offer courses such as Game Design or App development etc., to study more creative courses one needs to visit a private university or a “Hochschule”, which is not as highly regarded as the university courses. Furthermore, each German states has their own lower-educational system, some states have IT as an obligatory course in high school, whilst others do not even have it in their curriculum. Furthermore, although now increased due to the pandemic, the use of computers and technology in class is not a standard. Technology is not presented as essential in Germany as it is in Finland. IT is somewhat ironic, that a university diploma is part of the definition of a ”professional”, however IT is barely represented in lower education.

    Finland’s gaming industry and its acceptance in the society, shows the cultural differences and highlight the different definition of “professionalism”.

    In Germany, the stereotypes for an IT-guy are very specific, and from personal experience I can say that they usually apply, differently in Finland it is more difficult to pin down the “stereotypical” IT expert. In my opinion this again represents the cultural differences, and how the German society creates a stricter profile of an IT-professional, whilst Finland allows more variety.

    The main difference is the societal acceptance and relation towards IT in general, as that defines the professions importance in society. Finland has invested more in different sectors and spread demographics to aid the process. Germany’s more conservative culture has lead to a less flexible role of an IT-professional.