finIT is non-mainstream in techland (elite)

Update – Si-Valley also need elites – small number of expert developers.

Financial (esp. trading) IT feels like an elite sector – small number of specialists
– with multi-skilled track record
– familiar with rare, specialized tools — JNI, KDB, FIX, tibrv, sockets, sybase
– Also, Many mainstream tools used in finance IT are used to an advanced level — threading, memory, SQL tuning, large complex SQL

If you compare the track record and skills of a finance IT guy with a “mainstream” tech MNC consultant, the finance guy probably appears too specialized.

That’s one psychological resistance facing a strong techie contemplating a move into finance. It appears risky to move from mainstream into a specialized field.