November 27, 2002 at 12:00 am
Comments posted to this topic are about the content posted at http://www.sqlservercentral.com/columnists/cduncan/prodeveloperimprovingyourcareerinanyeconomy.asp
Chistopher Duncan
Author of (Apress) The Career Programmer
Unite the Tribes (Apress)
November 27, 2002 at 10:09 am
Chris,
I'd like to say that you're right on with your main points here. In the last 3 years I have more than doubled my bill rate, and yes that's while the whole dot-com crash occurred. And the reason I have been able to do that is precisely what you mention in the conclusion of your article... I'm not the "typical" developer. I like to joke with people and tell them that I'm tri-lingual... I speak English, geek, and executive. And it's the executive part that really counts. And there's very little "competition" out there that does the same things.
Unlike the typical developer, my degree is in business administration, not computer science. I run my own company, so I understand many of the nuances from a business owner / manager's perspective. And I have spent a lot of time over the last few years working on better communication skills. And now I'm reaping the financial reward for that. Yes, I have improved my technical skills & experience too, but the bigger reward comes from being able to talk to managers in their own language about what's important to them.
November 27, 2002 at 2:43 pm
quote:
Chris,I'd like to say that you're right on with your main points here. In the last 3 years I have more than doubled my bill rate, and yes that's while the whole dot-com crash occurred.
Thanks, man.
I love seeing posts like this, because I believe that it helps reinforce to others how much control they have over their own careers if they'll just approach it in a manner that includes some other perspectives. I hope your success helps to inspire others to reach for the brass ring regardless of what conventional wisdom tells them!
Chistopher Duncan
Author - The Career Programmer: Guerilla Tactics for an Imperfect World (Apress)
http://www.showprogramming.com/TheCareerProgrammer.asp
Chistopher Duncan
Author of (Apress) The Career Programmer
Unite the Tribes (Apress)
December 3, 2002 at 1:46 pm
Your article points out something that is all to often missing in the IT world. Businesses do not exist to support IT, IT exists to support the business. Out of the 30+ computer people in my company, I'm the only one who has worked on the business side of the company. As a result, I've got a better relationship with the business units, which does help when there are things that we want/need.
December 3, 2002 at 4:01 pm
Nice article and good points.
In most businesses, IT does support the business. Exceptions occur, like my company, JD Edwards, where we build software. In this case, part of IT is the business, part is in support.
I think by improving your value, you can grow and succeed in any economy.
Steve Jones
December 3, 2002 at 5:00 pm
Very good article. I also agree with John and Steve. IT DOES exist to support the business and all too often IT holds the business hostage due to the technical knowledge and ability to do what's needed. IT is even publically acknowledged to be this way. Who hasn't seen the commercials with the wild little geek showing his boss how to do something and acting outrageous calling him dude and such. Or the one where they pass the sandwich through the ladder of people in the elevator to the boss who gives it to the geek to get his E-mail fixed that day, etc... Burns me up.
IT should be given its due, no doubt, as the business wouldn't exist in many cases without them, but if more people looked at it the way you represent in your article, I don't believe the division would be so pronounced. Classic case of seeing what's needed from the big picture and acting on it. People representing themselves and acting in a manner such as that very obviously stand out from the crowd and benefit the company in the long run.
My experience in the area comes from owning a business for roughly three years before selling out (at quite a profit I might add), and 16 years of contracting.
Kudos to you Show.
Edited by - scorpion_66 on 12/03/2002 5:03:09 PM
December 3, 2002 at 6:46 pm
Where I work IT supports the entire infrastructure and personnel. And my group supports the IT help desk for the entire corporation by developing tools to ease their load. If IT was there none of us would have jobs. Good article.
December 5, 2002 at 6:11 pm
You guys are all on the money. If more programmers & developers had the same insights & perspective and understood that without the Suits there would be no money, we could get a heckuva lot more done, couldn't we?
Chistopher Duncan
Author - The Career Programmer: Guerilla Tactics for an Imperfect World (Apress)
http://www.showprogramming.com/TheCareerProgrammer.asp
Chistopher Duncan
Author of (Apress) The Career Programmer
Unite the Tribes (Apress)
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