April 22, 2009 at 10:00 am
My 2 cents worth....It seems that your editorial addresses two items: jobs and careers...and there is a big difference. A career requires planning, education, 'jobs', advanced training, networking, seminar attendance and many more disciplines and events. Jobs, however, are stepping stones in your career. I've always felt that if I know what I want to do (or have "found my passion in life") then all things should support that idea/goal.
Everyone decides 'when' they have reached that goal. Some get sidetracked into specializations that they discover along the way. Some find that their choice while in the 'learning phase' is not panning out to be want they envisioned it to have been and they decide to change their goal or career. This could mean changing jobs, going to a tech school, going back to college...whatever.
Basically, you need a goal(career) and a plan. And stay flexible. Not everything goes your way in life or in work. Some times you have to work the crap schedule, or take on the crap tasks, or even jump at the opportunity to accept MORE responsibility in your current position. Anything that furthers your quest for the goal, be it more/less pay, a nicer office, a new position at a new company, getting married or whatever it may be. That's life.
April 22, 2009 at 10:20 am
I enjoy the work I do. After a career of 14 years in development, 11 of that consulting, I again accepted a permanent gig. The job is not rocket science but I am not a rocket scientist. Going back to a perm gig meant a large cut in pay but I am doing what I am good at and letting the kids' work in the sweatshops.
As to keeping up with technology, if it is moving to fast, have you considered moving to the darkside? Into management? That way you can view the tech from the 100ft level and not have to be up on the how-to's of the latest and greatest phase?
April 22, 2009 at 10:29 am
Something my previous manager told me that's stuck in my memory.
"When you accept a job, have a plan for what you want to do next."
Gail Shaw
Microsoft Certified Master: SQL Server, MVP, M.Sc (Comp Sci)
SQL In The Wild: Discussions on DB performance with occasional diversions into recoverability
April 22, 2009 at 10:55 am
I am very happy with my career right now. It can be difficult to steer, but it can be done. There have been two times in my working life when I decided to make a change: once, when I decided to become a programmer, and taught myself FORTRAN while working on a proprietary reporting database, and once when I decided to become a Data Architect after exposure to some very poorly designed databases in contracting. Both times it took some work, some luck, and some back pedaling as far as income and seniority (which is difficult but worth it if you have a goal). Both times I was able to find an employer willing to give me a chance and some time to come up to speed, that I believe was the luck part. But the fact that I have done it twice and succeeded points to a lot more than luck.
We have all been through the buffeting of the winds of change in IT. I didn't decide to become a so-called expert in SQL Server (or DB2 or Teradata), the jobs just found me and I took the opportunities. But that's not to say I had absolutely no control. You always have choices. If you choose not to decide you still have made a choice, as the song goes. Now, that may be a legitimate choice and the right one for you but you should recognize that is one. When you do you'll feel you have a lot more control over your life.
😎 Kate The Great :w00t:
If you don't have time to do it right the first time, where will you find time to do it again?
April 22, 2009 at 11:10 am
Thanks for a good "first day on the job" editorial, Steve. I completely agree. It's my career. I own it. I make sure that I've got the skills required and to always be looking for the next fun thing to move on to.
It ain't workin', if'n you love what you do! 😎
For anybody who's looking, there's an empty chair in Redmond that I vacated yesterday.
April 22, 2009 at 5:11 pm
I think that careers are only a source of true satisfaction to those of us with ambition and the abilities to go with it. For everyone else jobs are a source of income and to various degrees frustration, with the truly satisfying things in other areas of our lives - family, music, art, sport, food, travel, romance and so on. Only a small minority of people truly have their passion coincide with their career, for everyone else it is a compromise.
April 23, 2009 at 8:13 am
Pollmak (4/22/2009)
Regarding Careers, here's someting to think about:
You know you are doing your Dream Job when you still do it after you have won the lottery.
Well as soon as I win that lottery I'll let you know if this job is the one... 😀
I'm with pretty much everyone else here: a career in IT means you're choosing a profession, not a job. The companies, tools and standards change constantly and anyone not comfortable in such an environment is going to have a tough time enjoying their employment. I prefer learning and developing to simply resting atop what I know, so flipping from one task to another every few years suits me. On the other hand, I know myself well enough to avoid too much tummult so I tend to move around within my company instead of contracting or quitting and interviewing every 36 months. This works for me, but I think I'm in that minority Steve described that can float along and stay happy. The trick is to find what you like to do, avoid what will bother you, and figure out how much of your identity comes from your work.
A long time ago, but not until after I'd worked hard for years without looking up, it occurred to me that I didn't want my boss's job nor the jobs above that. The epiphany freed me from focussing on how poorly the place was being run or how I'd do things differently and let me just settle into my job. Management was there to provide work and pay and I was there to bury myself in the task at hand, enjoy the company of coworkers and go home at night. When the work couldn't hold my interest I found different work, sliding from app dev to BI to a sys admin gig and so forth. Much of my perspective changed with the birth of my first kid, and now that there are four the wave of volleyball games and cub scout mtgs and diapers more or less demands I set aside perl configuration problems at 5:30. It's the passion now, and that puts a lot less pressure on my career to satisfy and define me.
[font="Arial"]Are you lost daddy? I asked tenderly.
Shut up he explained.[/font]
- Ring Lardner
April 23, 2009 at 8:56 am
Chris,
Sounds like you're in a good place and managing your career well. Good for you!
April 23, 2009 at 10:15 am
That decision between management and worker has been on my mind many times. I've done considerable consulting, for over 30 companies. I worked as an employee a few times, including currently. I've run a small corp. I have maintained a form of sole-prop for over 10 years on the side, just for fun. Still, I love the flexibility I have being a worker bee, having a flexible schedule that allows time for what is more real to me: my family.
Sometimes it is give, and sometimes take. Current market conditions put employers in more control, but it will swing back again.
I like working with people I can respect and trust.
Money means little, as long as my needs and some of my wants are being met. Having a little buffer money in the bank to float between jobs is the biggest stress reliever in any market.
August 9, 2011 at 8:42 am
Hi Steve, we met briefly at SQL Saturday, and I am really glad to hear that someone as successful as yourself does nto define thier job as thier passion. I think that is totally an overrated concept. Someone said their dream job might be a literature proffessor... yea? better get started. oh and by the time you are one, you will have woken up. It isnt a dream job, it is just a dream. Its a heck of an insane amount of work, polititcs, and sacrifice....
Thats the thing about dream jobs, you love them, they pay well, and require little to no commitment.
Maybe the IT field just attracts intelligent people who's true passion (say snowboarding) doesnt pay as well as they would like. and much like the peddlers of old we have a wide range of skills that can be applied in many environments to increase efficiency and reduce waste. However, once the system is tuned (or the pots all banged out) we get bored, they get to pinching pennies, and the system starts to lag for lack of resources. So off we go to find a new sytem (village) where our skills are needed until the first system needs us to intervene directly agani...
Well that is what would like to do, continuously grow my skill set both vertically and horizontally so that I can come and go in any environment and ply my trade. think someone called it being an IT whore or some such, but thats sounds a lot more negative... Same concept, but as they say... it is all in the packaging.
August 9, 2011 at 9:10 am
weldredge (8/9/2011)
Hi Steve, we met briefly at SQL Saturday, and I am really glad to hear that someone as successful as yourself does nto define thier job as thier passion. I think that is totally an overrated concept. Someone said their dream job might be a literature proffessor... yea? better get started. oh and by the time you are one, you will have woken up. It isnt a dream job, it is just a dream. Its a heck of an insane amount of work, polititcs, and sacrifice....
Glad we met, and thanks.
The thing I've learned over time is that most jobs have a lot of work, a lot of drudgery, and political dealing with someone, maybe just your boss or co-worker, but it's there. I've worked for a lots of industries and many of them have a large degree of monotony over time. So my advice is that you pick something that you will enjoy, and can stand some monotony.
Lots of people wish they could pick their hobbies, but I think sometimes hobbies get ruined when you have to deal with all the other stuff. You want to do something you enjoy, which could be the work, the place, the hours, or the people. But pick something you don't hate. Being a professor is fine, just understand there are lots of things to do besides standing in front of students.
As far as the money goes, I know it's hard, but I really believe that you want to pick the job ahead of the money. We need some amount of money to survive, but I hope you try to live within the means of the job you want, not the other way around. It's up to you, but my thought is that a little less money for a much more enjoyable job is worth the trade.
October 18, 2012 at 11:49 am
I am a SQL server DBA in the San Fran Bay Area. I love what I do as a data professional and think I am well compensated. I believe I can really contribute to any company I work for. I also like my profession because most companies allow DBAs to work flex hours, open to telecommuting and to very relaxed dress codes. I am the most efficient and creative in the above settings. As for managing my career, I would love to work for a start up or some big name technology companies here in the Silicon Valley or on the Redwood Shores peninsula because of perceived challenges that I will have and the feeling of accomplishment that might follow. Yes, I want that risk and excitement. But most of them use MySQL or Oracle. I feel that I am left out of that fun arena as a MS SQL DBA. Guess you can't have everything...glass half full or glass half empty.
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