The IT landscape continues to evolve at an unprecedented pace. We’ve seen discussions about IT professionals feeling overwhelmed, with some even leaving the field due to anxiety or debating whether they picked the wrong career. In the Spiceworks Community, we’ve seen topics like, 'Anyone else thinking of leaving IT? ’ From the rise of artificial intelligence to the ever-present threat of cyberattacks, IT professionals navigate an increasingly complex terrain. This week, we want to address these concerns head-on: What scares you most about the future of IT?
And just a friendly reminder, while we do like to keep it spicy here, we also like to keep it classy. So let’s make sure we’re discussing things about IT, not berating each other.
What scares you most as an IT professional in 2025?
- AI-driven job displacement
- Sophisticated ransomware/cyberattacks
- Increasing regulatory compliance burdens
- The growing skills gap/talent shortage
- Unpredictable cloud costs/complexity
- Lack of budget to properly secure the network
- Increased workload/burnout due to staffing shortages
- Frequent organizational restructuring/layoffs
- Difficulty keeping up with the rapid pace of technology
- Other, let us know below
Got an idea for our weekly the-voice-of-it or other polls? Let us know below or email us at community@spiceworks.com.
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21 Spice ups
While not necessarily IT and I’m unsure if this actually counts as ironic (it probably does not), something that woke me up tonight is when somehow a voice in the back of my head asking… Hey Sean, did you set up the Poll of the Week to be published and the first email sent out for APAC? Apparently I had not! So sorry for this being a few hours late!
14 Spice ups
That’s not just worrying, that’s practically a crime!
3 Spice ups
Samael1
(Samael1)
7
Why say that? I was out last week and found these
I have named them Sausage & Bacon.
I also met this lovely lady, named Sally.
I was prevented from sneaking out with Sally, apparently a fully grown pig is not a pet or so my wife told me
9 Spice ups
I am right there with you. I set two emails to be delayed in Outlook and worried it actually sent them when I set the delay.
I can’t tell since the sent time is the time I sent with the delay.
One email was to be delivered at 2 am ET and the other 8 am ET.
4 Spice ups
dmc1981
(DMC1981)
9
AI is my least favorite aspect of technology these days. To me, there are more cons than pros.
I also dislike new cars. Other than that, my kids are usually what keeps me up at night 
9 Spice ups
SamGates1
(SamGates1)
10
The theme of our age… It’s not going to all be alright in the end
4 Spice ups
I’m in IT in K-12. If there’s anything that keeps me up at night, it’s wondering how I will keep my knowledge ahead of the kids. While we work to keep them safe, they work to get around that safety net.
20 Spice ups
Upskilling and the changing dynamic of IT from hardware and on site to everything being cloud managed via a web portal. I started my career at the tail end of those halcyon days.
Not that things are necessarily better or worse but having the skills to keep up these days is a non-stop struggle. I know its the nature of the job, but it feels like things change exponentially more rapidly than ever before.
I mean I need to have a spreadsheet just to keep track of all these M$ services that change their names daily/weekly it seems, and for no good reason that I can think of.
7 Spice ups
somedude2
(somedude2)
14
It can be worse. The last guy before me left me a notebook with
non functional admin passwords for the servers and a complete DNS configuration
for a provider that we were paying and not actually using for anything…
Rule 12: Always keep a few candles in the desk drawer…just in case.
4 Spice ups
What keeps me up at night is the fact that I can’t handle this anymore…too much work, too little help, can’t find any even remotely qualified help and no one coming to save me.
I like the money I make…I just don’t like the work any more mostly because I don’t want to be the only one doing it.
13 Spice ups
MSouthworth
(Great and Powerful Admin)
17
Users, it always been users!
13 Spice ups
Nothing really keeps me up at night. I’ve gotten much better at not stressing over things I cannot control.
But if there were something to keep me up at night, in addition to the one I selected above, I would add “Forced Obsolescence” e.g. Windows 11 requiring new computers when old ones are still working perfectly fine.
10 Spice ups
Due to a brain haemorrhage, micro management , chronic pain and fatigue. I threw in the towel in 2014. Been in IT since 1992. My last position was IT Manager. But like most of you. I had no budget and was a one man show. I was over worked and burnt out. When I asked my manager for help. He ignored me. When I told him I was burnt out. He said he didn’t care. He dropped dead from a heart attack a year after he retired. I don’t want anything to do with computers now. I was forced to retire. No company is worth losing your health to.
14 Spice ups
Other: AI-driven malware delivery and users who click on links they shouldn’t…
6 Spice ups
Users. They don’t listen, want me to do their job (a shell script could TBH), and want to do things their way and not the proper way.
5 Spice ups
