September 10, 2016 at 5:05 am
Comments posted to this topic are about the item Teaching a dog to sing
Best wishes,
Phil Factor
September 10, 2016 at 5:36 pm
Very good advice!
The available jobs are in a pyramid, the highest paying jobs are at the top of the pyramid. But, as one goes up a pyramid, there are fewer and fewer jobs.
Being able to get a job at any level on the pyramid is a great way to stay employed when times get tough.
September 11, 2016 at 11:05 am
This topic really resonates with me.
About 10 years ago, I was the sole developer supporting an important user group in a growing firm. As we brought on new IT staff to the group, my role gradually became more of an 'overseer' that a 'doer'.
I had a premonition that I would one day need to rely on my technical skills so I worked to maintain my SQL Server certifications and carved out the DBA and database developer duties for myself.
Now I find myself in my early 50s looking for work in a difficult economy. It is my SQL experience and certifications that are getting me interviews, not my team lead experience (although having that experience certainly doesn't hurt!).
September 11, 2016 at 2:59 pm
Well, I guess I did it backwards. After only a few years in IT in three separate jobs I moved to become manager of a small IT shop which I thought would give me both management experience and allow me to remain a 'techie' too. It worked pretty well except for needing to handle consultants the company hired and listened to because 'we're paying them to advise us on this'. My developers and I ended up re-developing most of the consultants work over the next year. I determined never again, and finished out a 42-year career doing what I loved and avoiding what I loathed (the consultants). Maybe I didn't make the salary of a manager, but I had the satisfaction of being asked to come back to work after I had taken retirement. Today I'm sitting on my deck in the remote mountains looking out across a peaceful valley toward the Continental Divide sharing a glass of merlot with my wife of many years who helped make this dream happen - without the hassles of management that I was admittedly not cut out for. My only advice for you younger folks is to think very carefully about where you want your working years to be spent. If meetings and budgets and hiring and firing are your gig, then go for it. But just remember that day when your first wrote a few lines of code and saw the results. And I say that knowing that these days you see it on a screen instead of on 11x14 paper the way I did. I have NEVER regretted going back to my first love, well, OK, my first love after my Love who shares my decades-long dream with me. I still love to write and test code, just for my own fun, and I haven't been in a meeting for years.
Rick
Disaster Recovery = Backup ( Backup ( Your Backup ) )
September 11, 2016 at 10:57 pm
Starting in the '60s, keying in 1's and 0's boot code to get mainframes to wake up, writing assembler code, DOS, ASP, Javascript, C, VB and more currently T-SQL and Android, I've never dropped my love of coding something - anything! All that time, though, I have earned my keep as a manager of service teams, a plant manager, a lab manager, consultant, and now Business Systems Analyst, managing the activities of those who write code.
When hiring, my key question in some form or another, has always been: "What are your current skills?". That looks beyond the titles on the resume, and the list of accomplishments, however impressive. It is a question that says: "If I hire you, and you are sitting at that desk on Monday morning, what is it that you can actually DO for us that will help this company make money, grow and succeed?"
We have a reasonable idea of what plumbers, roofers, electricians and welders can DO if you hire one of them. But do you know what you can DO that someone will want to pay you money for in your next job? Are you still good at it, and can you get that across the table at your next interview?
September 12, 2016 at 12:46 am
If you are further up the management pyramid it's not just the rarity of the opportunities but also where you have to go to get them.
LinkedIn being used to offer a fantastic opportunity in places you wouldn't feel safe to leave your car.
The hours of work can be pretty antisocial as well, and often unpredictably so. On the plus side there is the warm glow of making things possible for your team to do stuff. The downside is the one or two rotten apples can make management a burden and a curse.
My ideal position would be largely hands on with some management.
By the way, any recruiter who asks a successful manager "but what actual skills do you have" is probably very junior. Anyone who thinks management is a skill less discipline is woefully ignorant
September 12, 2016 at 7:46 am
netmikem (9/11/2016)
This topic really resonates with me.About 10 years ago, I was the sole developer supporting an important user group in a growing firm. As we brought on new IT staff to the group, my role gradually became more of an 'overseer' that a 'doer'.
I had a premonition that I would one day need to rely on my technical skills so I worked to maintain my SQL Server certifications and carved out the DBA and database developer duties for myself.
Now I find myself in my early 50s looking for work in a difficult economy. It is my SQL experience and certifications that are getting me interviews, not my team lead experience (although having that experience certainly doesn't hurt!).
SSChasing Mays, I really wish you well at this point in your career as you look for the right spot to continue. I agree that you have done the right thing in maintaining your technical skills. One of the things I did over the years was continue to keep myself current with new technology and develop a basis for new skills in IT by taking advantage of courses offered at community colleges both in Indiana and in Iowa. Most of these were self-financed and attended in the evening after work but they served well to get acquainted with various languages and develop a foundation in database design and development which is where I finished out the last 25 years of 42 years total. Several times I encouraged co-workers to take these classes with me and we worked and prepared together. The last few classes were offered online without requiring attendance which served well since we were more interested in learning than earning grades or certification. I was never certified in anything, but did accumulate a considerable list of areas of study.
Rick
Disaster Recovery = Backup ( Backup ( Your Backup ) )
September 12, 2016 at 7:57 am
Thanks Skeleton567.
Funny you should mention that ... I've been doing exactly that this year, though my courses have been in the business intelligence area, something I'm attempting to transition into (quite a challenge to repoint the direction of the career ship at this stage).
In addition to all those things you mentioned, one of the great benefits of doing this is all the contacts you make in the industry, including the instructors.
I've been fortunate to get a few referrals from these people that have recently led to conversations and even interviews.
Cheers.
September 12, 2016 at 8:23 am
My advice to managers is always to keep up with technology and maintain their technical skills.
Since getting into technology in 1999 I've worked for two types of bosses:
1. Those who were very technical and could do my job if they had to
2. Those who really had no idea what I do for a living because they've never done it
For me it goes very well for the first type of boss and not well for the second kind of boss. The first type of boss understands why something might have taken longer than originally planned or why we need to make a major course correction with respect to the direction of a project. Bosses like this seem to be equally swayed by the people they work for and the people they manage. The second type of boss never seems to work out.
-- Itzik Ben-Gan 2001
September 12, 2016 at 8:46 am
If someone were to choose only one programming language with which to learn and stay updated, I'd suggest SQL. Not only does most every corporate IT project require a SQL coder, but as an executive you can use it to query the database on your own rather than depending on someone else.
"Do not seek to follow in the footsteps of the wise. Instead, seek what they sought." - Matsuo Basho
September 12, 2016 at 9:59 am
I struggle to keep up with the latest in web development at the moment because there are so many "current" frameworks and they are changing all the time. I do keep up, to some degree, with C# and SQL. I think it is essential to be able to do it as well.
Gaz
-- Stop your grinnin' and drop your linen...they're everywhere!!!
September 12, 2016 at 11:21 am
I get a bit frustrated with the latest fanboy shiny ball that seems like the previous shiny ball with 10% of the features fixed and 10% of what worked now broken.
By the time you've learnt the new thing will it pay back in productivity what has been lost whilst learning it, or will it be superceded before we achieve ROI?
September 12, 2016 at 11:42 am
David.Poole (9/12/2016)
I get a bit frustrated with the latest fanboy shiny ball that seems like the previous shiny ball with 10% of the features fixed and 10% of what worked now broken.By the time you've learnt the new thing will it pay back in productivity what has been lost whilst learning it, or will it be superceded before we achieve ROI?
Yes, I think we're all bummed that the next iPhone won't have an audio port but will have yet another new power adapter.
"Do not seek to follow in the footsteps of the wise. Instead, seek what they sought." - Matsuo Basho
September 13, 2016 at 6:53 am
Eric M Russell (9/12/2016)
David.Poole (9/12/2016)
I get a bit frustrated with the latest fanboy shiny ball that seems like the previous shiny ball with 10% of the features fixed and 10% of what worked now broken.By the time you've learnt the new thing will it pay back in productivity what has been lost whilst learning it, or will it be superceded before we achieve ROI?
Yes, I think we're all bummed that the next iPhone won't have an audio port but will have yet another new power adapter.
I don't do iPhones. It isn't that I think they are inherently bad, just that the UI is counter intuitive to me.
As for the "latest fanboy shiny ball", I totally concur.
Gaz
-- Stop your grinnin' and drop your linen...they're everywhere!!!
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