The blood is still being wiped off the floor. But after two awful years the IT industry is hoping the worst is over. Few expect an upturn in the short term and "consolidation" is the buzz word right now, but things are definitely better than a year or two ago.
Not that you would know it from the closure of firms like Logica and CMG. Well-qualified graduates, some of them software engineers, will now have to seek employment abroad because there are so few options here. Yet the industry insists recovery is just around the corner.
Some speculate that a war in Iraq could boost IT firms, particularly those supplying chips and other technology to the defence industry.
However, others believe war could set the industry back even further because events in the Middle East are likely to result in a loss of confidence.
Whatever the merits of these arguments, school-leavers must take a long-term view. They should not be concerned with the short-term fortunes of large multinationals. Instead they should enter the computer sector because they enjoy computers and have the sort of aptitude likely to help them succeed.
Computers are increasingly entering every domain of life, and nobody is suggesting the sector is in terminal decline. Some optimists in the US believe when the upturn comes it will be almost as voracious as that of the mid-1990s. The other point worth remembering is that most of the job losses of the last two years either came in assembly-type operations or web-based businesses.
These two areas remain under great pressure. The assembly-type operations are increasingly moving to lower-cost locations, while the web, as a business tool, has proved to be somewhat disappointing. If graduates steer clear of the weaker firms and target some of the more secure ones, good and well-paid jobs are still available.
DCU, which has a long established reputation in the IT area, remains confident about the sector's fundamentals.
Mr Alan Smeaton, dean of computer applications, said yesterday: "Despite the job loss announcements, Ireland still has a shortage of IT professionals. The Forfas Expert Group on Future Skills Needs report predicted the economy needed 2,500 new graduates each year.
"Part of the reason for the shortfall is the ubiquitous nature of IT in business. Over 50 per cent of computer graduates go into the business sector as IT experts, rather than into the IT sector itself."
Best approach
With the sector in a downturn, the best way to approach the CAO process is to pick a course that gives you as broad a skill base as possible. Highly specialised courses have their advantages, but in such an evolving market that may not be the right option.
The other thing to remember is you do not have to take a specifically IT-related course to end up in the industry. A whole array of engineering courses have a relevance to IT.
Intel, for example, has hired large numbers of electronic and chemical engineers over the last few years.
In the current environment it might be better to hedge your bets a little and take an electronic engineering or computer applications course, rather than a highly specialised computer course.
The universities tend to go in for more general degree options than the ITs, which offer a lot of niche courses.
However, the ITs are responding and are coming up with broader options which mix two skills rather than one.
This year there is a big change in relation to DCU's computer applications course (DC 121), traditionally a very popular option. The college has introduced a minimum points level of 300. No student with fewer points will be admitted.
This is a break from the tradition. Normally colleges do not set points totals before they have even received any applications. But DCU believes students with fewer than 300 points will not be able for the course.
Their approach has attracted a degree of controversy, but at least DCU is trying to grapple with the long-standing problem of students dropping out of computer courses.
Some parents think because their son or daughter is good at games or fixing problems on PCs, this automatically makes them suitable for a computer applications or computer science course. It does not.
Many of these courses involve complex and challenging maths sections, and unless you can navigate through those you could face problems. Colleges, which have developed linkages with reputable firms, are always worth considering in this area, with DCU and the University of Limerick in particular putting a lot of resources into this kind of activity.
The University of Limerick has developed links with firms such as Nokia, Molex, Bosch, Tellabs, Boston Scientific, Siemens, Ericssons, IBM, Motorola, Analog Devices, Boart, Intel and Dell.
Its college of informatics and electronics brings together academics from disciplines of mathematics, software, computing, communications and electronics.
This is unusual in the Irish system, and the university believes it is paying off.
ITs
The Institutes of Technology (ITs) also have a lot to offer in this area, with highly respected courses throughout the system.
This year, for example, computing students at Dundalk IT can benefit from a new State-funded research project on 3G services in its software technology research centre.
Dundalk IT has also introduced a six-month work placement for students on its Internet technologies degree course, to enhance graduate employment prospects in an era of reduced expansion in this sector generally.
The college, of course, is right. When jobs are so thin on the ground it is worth trying to develop points of contact with senior managers in firms via work experience programmes.
It is worth checking whether your chosen course includes this opportunity.
Also, the ITs are increasingly adding a language to their computer and software options.
For example, Cork offers a range of software development courses with French or German.
Like many ITs the college also mixes business studies with some of its computer courses. One example of this is CR 150, a degree in business studies and information systems.