This study investigates work relations and career perspectives of IT professionals in the information technology service industry. The research is based on the case of executives, managers and technical professionals which work in a large Brazilian company that provides consulting and systems development and implementation services, and reveals a considerable vulnerability in the relationship between the company and such professionals. The human resources business model adopted seems to impose restrictions to the development of the professionals, consequently limiting their future performance, and concurring for the continuing devaluation of IT as a profession. The sustainability of such a model is discussed, given its long term risks for the companies’ service quality and competitiveness, as well as its implications for the attractiveness of Information Technology as a career.