February 1, 2011 at 9:27 pm
Comments posted to this topic are about the item Hybrid Hires
February 2, 2011 at 3:22 am
This isn't specific to hybrids, but here in Indiana, there's a proposed bill for vehicles which are considered "primarily" an electrical vehicle (which allows for some hybrids) will be taxed by the state to cover for the money which would ordinarily be received via gas taxes.
So you're supposed to want to be green with certain incentives such as money and the process will start taxing you for things you aren't using?
What they forget is these vehicles generally exert less wear & tear on the roads.
February 2, 2011 at 6:26 am
Steve,
I think what you're describing is a business analyst. Someone who understands the business and the data and can bridge the gap.
My business degrees and experience receive the same amount of attention in my resume and interviews as my technology degrees and experience. I'd like to think that having both has kept me working in lean times.
February 2, 2011 at 7:57 am
The org chart says I'm a database developer, but on a normal day I spend more time writing ad-hoc SQL queries and researching data issues than I do writing T-SQL procedures, data modeling, or performance tuning. Often times this involves working in tandem with a business analyst or department head.
"Do not seek to follow in the footsteps of the wise. Instead, seek what they sought." - Matsuo Basho
February 2, 2011 at 8:04 am
Steve,
I agree that professionals that bridge the gap between understanding how to mine and apply data for decision making are critical skills that are missing in the marketplace. What I disagree with is where those skills belong, and who should be developing them.
Business leaders who grew up in an era without technology think that it is an IT responsibility to perform data analysis. But I disagree that this is an IT role. IT is a discipline that should be providing tools and access to data while protecting inappropriate data from probing eyes. What I believe is missing is the education of business leaders in how to use and exploit both tools and data already at thier disposal.
There are two extremes: first we can make data access so simplistic the e-Trade baby can do it (and if left up to many business leaders, that is the toolset IT would always deliver). The other extreme is to make data access so complicated and restrictive, that only a SQL programmer can access it. In some respects, that is the level of application interface that business has accepted because UI development is the most expensive part of any project, and it is inevitably short circuited in the development process. We in IT have also put business users in this situation because as developers we often fail to see the application through the eyes of the typical user (I'm probably older than you, but I can remember an era when IT people expected users to learn Structured Query Language to perform thier jobs).
The challenge we have in IT is to deliver toolsets that allow users access to data without having to anticipate every question that will potentially be asked of that data (because no matter how much effort we take in documenting requirements, there will always be a requirement or feature that someone cannot anticipate until they have a tool at thier disposal).
If as an IT professional your career objectives are to move away from heads down technology and focus instead on business, then I agree with your post - emphasis your ability to analyze and perform decision making based on data. Unlike IT, which has become commoditized, business analysis can never be outsourced as there must always be someone to analyze and present data in a way that decision makers can understand and act on it. And as more and more IT becomes commoditized and outsourced, that may be a good strategy if one should find oneself without a job and with skills that are no longer in demand.
But if your career goals are to continue to focus on technology and its application and use, my opinion is that you are better off to update your skills, and then emphasize your ability to understand business challenges, understand user needs, and with that understanding provide flexible and useable tools that will lead to better and better decision making within an organization.
Just my 2 cents.
February 2, 2011 at 8:37 am
Hybrid Analyst Technician? Could be the next thing, HAT! We seem to be wearing a lot of hats these days. I like what Eric and OCTom added. Keep learning about tech, biz, everything! What ever the business needs, where ever the work is to be had, that's the hat I'm wearing. 😀
February 2, 2011 at 9:08 am
Mammals survived the Cretaceous asteriod impact because they were warm blooded, able to immediately adapt to both warm or cold environments. That, plus the fact that they were omnivores, feeding off both plants and the carcasus left behind by all the dead dinosaurs.
If you want to survive in IT, you can't allow yourself to get too comfortable or specialized with your current circumstances. You've got to be adapable, agile, and open minded about where your next project comes from.
"Do not seek to follow in the footsteps of the wise. Instead, seek what they sought." - Matsuo Basho
February 2, 2011 at 9:43 am
Dan,
I'm not necessarily saying that hybrids need to be in IT, but rather that we need these hybrids, and the IT guys could fill some of these roles, if they want to. The strong IT skills, coupled with business knowledge, could give the IT people a chance to find a newer or different job.
February 2, 2011 at 9:54 am
Steve, I agree. I believe IT resources and people are an untapped, strategic advantage because many business leaders fail to look at them beyond thier 'techie' capabilities, instead of seeing them as they really are: technical experts who return value to the bottom line.
February 2, 2011 at 10:40 am
The challenge we have in IT is to deliver toolsets that allow users access to data without having to anticipate every question that will potentially be asked of that data (because no matter how much effort we take in documenting requirements, there will always be a requirement or feature that someone cannot anticipate until they have a tool at thier disposal).
Our manager doesn't like to deliver solutions that both mine a lot of data AND perform analysis on it. Sure, we have apps that do this, but his take is that one bunch of users will invariably want to see this set of calculations on the mined data and another group of users will want to use different set of calculations. Just pull the data for them and let them reach their own conclusions.
This editorial is timely. Most companies (like ours) just got done with year end appraisals and upcoming performance agreements. I'll say it, our manager is telling us that if we want to move to the next level then we have to become more familiar with our business and become technical liaisons to them, period.
Ken
February 2, 2011 at 12:22 pm
dan trate (2/2/2011)
...I can remember an era when IT people expected users to learn Structured Query Language to perform thier jobs).The challenge we have in IT is to deliver toolsets that allow users access to data without having to anticipate every question that will potentially be asked of that data (because no matter how much effort we take in documenting requirements, there will always be a requirement or feature that someone cannot anticipate until they have a tool at thier disposal).
The more your job involves sitting in a cube and doing heads-down programming or other technical work, with no or minimal contact with the business people in your organization, the more vulnerable your job is to outsourcing, to the Cloud, and to new COTS software solutions being introduced into your organization.
The more your job includes bridging the gap between IT and the business, and adding clear business value (as opposed to hard-to-recognize business value) the less vulnerable your job will be to all of the above.
The term "Business Intelligence" has not been mentioned yet in this discussion, but it is central to many of the ideas expressed here so far. I would strongly recommend learning about it and how to effectively provide it for your organization. If you do that, you will be adding real business value, which really is the only reason any business employs anyone.
February 9, 2011 at 3:17 pm
Yes hybrids are necessary. People that understand the business well and that understand IT can do a lot of good for a business.
Jason...AKA CirqueDeSQLeil
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