This paper will review current practices and future trends in thermal barrier coatings from the perspective of a large independent job shop serving the turbomachinery industry. The evolution of TBC on purely flight hardware to IGT and the differences in service conditions will be discussed. The materials, processes and the resulting structures of such coatings will be addressed, especially in reference to the advanced technology hot section components. A systems approach that takes into account the bond coat, the top coat, and its interaction with the component alloy to constitute an appropriate TBC will be discussed.