The 7 Upsides to IT
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I caught this interesting blog post a few weeks back on the 7 downsides to IT. It's all in fun, but it points out the problems that we face as IT workers.
We've often gone against the grain here with our Worst Practices series and I like the various choices of downsides in the article, but I think there are some great upsides as well. So for a technical Friday poll...
What's the upside to being in IT?
I'll give you a few that I think make this a great career choice.
- The Hardware - Not all of us, but we do get some pretty cool hardware. Usually some of us get to try out new technologies, working out the bugs for the business people. And if you're a developer, you probably have a pretty sweat machine. I know in the smaller companies us IT guys have usually the highest powered machines.
- Working Remote - Sure we get called at all hours of the day or night, but how many of your non-IT friends can work at home? Or on the road? I have lots of friends that have to get to an office to work. Or meet clients, or any number of other things they can't do at home.
- Perks - I've had quite a few friends that worked in various businesses and there weren't too many perks. Late stays didn't result in dinner. Sodas weren't free and there was even a coffee fund. Not all of us get Google perks, but IT and the software industry brought in the idea of perks for workers.
- The Pay - There is always someone that earns more, but in how many career fields can the slightly above average worker make $75k? We get paid well, especially considering that many of us can be self-taught and move up quickly to the $100k level. Getting beyond that is hard, but it's hard for many professions.
- Changing the World - In which other professions can you make a change that is visible and helpful to hundreds or thousands of other people? Not too many, but we regularly develop applications, even tweak existing ones and make people's lives easier.
- Boredom - Not usually a problem in IT. We are constantly being trained on new technologies. Or getting the opportunity to work on new technologies. Mechanics? Not much change there, in fact, they seem to know less and less other than how to plug a computer into a data port on a car. Lawyers? Please, what a boring job that never changes: research and write. Doctors keep learning, but change is slow for many of them. Can't do a lot of "beta testing" on your clients. Heck I think everything we deliver sometimes is a beta, but we certainly can't complain about being bored.
- The Jokes - And lastly, how many industries have spawned so many jokes about our flubs, mistakes, and errors? Other than lawyers, we've got to be one of the most joked about professions.
I think IT is a cool profession and some days I miss it. As much as I enjoy the writing, I kind of miss having my phone ring and solving a problem for someone. Or building stored procedures that change the way things work.
So what do you think is great about IT?
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I'm a lawyer and a software developer and don't think you quite have it right about either profession. Either can be challenging and exciting or deadly dull. You really think a lot of developers are doing things that "change the world" ? Are you really that buzzed about writing a stored procedure that will "change the way things work" ? Sorry, but converting a subquery to a JOIN is not really a major buzz to me any more. Do you think it's boring to negotiate a licensing agreement for some developer who actually HAS written some code that might change the world ? I think it's every bit as challenging as any code I've ever written, if not more so.
There's a lot to like about IT and I'm glad you enjoy your work ... but try to keep an open mind about the work that others do; some day you may be doing it yourself. There's satisfaction to be had in any profession if you keep quality at the forefront.
-- Elizabeth
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I think certain parts of IT are very boring. Development can be a mind-numbing hole of depression, where you are forced to implement bad specifications without any hint of creativity. But, anyway this thread is about the upside so...
IT is easy money. It's not hard work. It's a doddle, in fact. Sure, it might be annoying and head scratching sometimes, but it's not hard. It's not like digging roads in the winter for a living, is it!
So, yeah that's the upside
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Complete Obliviousness - In the right circumstances, you'll have full control over what IT equipment, software, (or whatever), is used in the company, because no-one else will know anything about your job and thus can't tell you otherwise.
Note: I realise this isn't only in IT, and sometimes people's limited knowledge can annoy, but it's nice to have that power!
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It's good to see someone looking at the upsides for a change, I think its human nature to always highlight the downsides and sometimes we forget about the good things.
IT can be a lot fun and very boring. I remember as a developer having to trawl through many many lines of code for the Y2K. We found a couple of lines of code that needed changing but that was it. Not exactly a lot of fun! But I've also put systems live that I've developed and seen people using these and I got a buzz from that.
Even small things like spotting that missing index on a table that reduces a queries response time from minutes to seconds and the immediate effect it has that everyone can see.
I wouldn’t say this is my ideal job, I’ve always wanted to be a wood turner, but I’m able to do that as a hobby. Perhaps if I did do this as a full time job it wouldn’t be so enjoyable.
So yeah for now, I’m happy being a DBA and enjoy it, most of the time 😉
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Easy money... Couldn't agree more!!
And this easy money is funding my part-time Degree studies in to Psychology. I spent 3 years in HM Forces figuring out how radios, jammers, and sat-comms worked and now I know. I've spent the last 5 years in IT figuring out how SQL Server works and developing 'thinking' applications and now I'm moving on to how the most complex processor in the world works - the brain.
So for me, IT has been a mere (but extremely useful and enjoyable) stepping-stone on my path of "how stuff works" (hope I don't get picked up for copyright or trademarking or whatever there!!). I've met some really interesting people - and some really dull ones too (but apart from circuses, which industry doesn't have it's fair share of those).
Whatever profession you've chosen, or chose you(!!), you should be getting the most out of it. Anyone who can't go home saying "I've done a good, purposeful job today" should change career.
And that's my 26 pence worth.
(23p spent on brackets I think!!!!) -
I love the hysteria generated by the news media about our industry! Another Y2K is about to hit!
Scott
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The toys.
Oh, and the ridiculous perceptions of non-IT people that we somehow have the ability to recode their very DNA if they irritate us to much...
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C8H10N4O2
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The dress code (or lack of one). Where else could shorts, a t-shirt and sandles be acceptable for a highly skilled profession? I live in the upper midwest and this is still the dress code of choice for me even in the winter.
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I very much enjoy my job. It probably helps that I work for a mid-size university with only 2 mainstream developers, myself included. It's nice because we're always being asked to work on problems of various sorts for the departments on campus so it keeps the work interesting and varied. And being so small a university I can definitely see the impact my work has on people which is a major buzz!
And I finally got dual monitors last year too!! Another major buzz. 
The flip side of seeing my work impact people is the latent knowledge that in a lot of ways IT has power over other departments. I never try to abuse it but every now and then some b*tch of a department head demands this and that, and, well, it just never seems to get done on time for him.
Other departments are as nice as can be though. I get cakes, cookies, brownies, home made meals, you name it from some. Yeah, I like my job. -
seriously, though - the portability of skills.
I first taught myself programming when I was working in Korea, then did dome work in the states, and now I'm working in South Africa. And I've been using exactly the same hardware and software in each country.
there aren't many professions with that level of geographical flexibility.
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C8H10N4O2
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Anyone know any good IT jokes? Most of the ones I know end with a punchline about keeping the user away from the machine...
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I feel so lucky to have found this career. I got a degree in Business Administration with an emphasis in Marketing and took a job out of college as a “Marketing Coordinator”. After three months of mind numbing boredom, I started tinkering with the sales lead database. One thing led to another, and I eventually landed in a role as programmer. I’ve been coding for 12 years, make damn good money, am mentally challenged and absolutely get a high out of writing some cool .NET and SQL code. The users are thrilled when we can make their lives easier and I find that very rewarding. Where can you make this kind of money and not have to manage anyone or meet a quota??? I’m sure there’s something, but this is what works for me!
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I actually did a rebuttal to the other blog before I realized I was on the wrong forum. I think the guy is just not an IT person. I tend to see things more like Steve does, in a positive light:
I get a lot of respect. I'm building the tools my company needs and they know it. I treat them with respect too.
I don't agree on chicks... I'm hot enough, and I've worked with some really cute developers. I've also noticed that the guys in IT are getting better-looking all the time.
Not sure what happened to you, but I make more money than I deserve for doing something I actually enjoy.
Working in cubes is OK, it doesn't bother me, and most geeks aren't bothered by it either. That said, I have a nice large office with a door and everything. Again, my company respects me. I've worked in cubes and in one place where I didn't even have a cube, I had a table. None of that bothered me - I just want to make cool software.
I like the learning curve. If it wasn't constantly changing I would get bored pretty fast. If you're not that kind of person then you shouldn't be a programmer for sure. After 25 years I'm not tired of it.
If you've been coding for 2 years on something, it should at least require a CD. This says to me that you aren't being productive over a long period of time and you probably are not enjoying your job. A little temporary burn-out is ok, but you've been burned out for years, it's time for something new.
I think people need to assert themselves more. If you feel you deserve more money or you are not getting the respect you deserve, say something about it (to actual people)! If nobody responds, go somewhere else... they will quickly realize how much they needed you and they will be more respectful to the next person. If you don't like your job, have some respect for yourself and find something else!
People know my name, some people find my job interesting, I've got the money for necessities and cool toys, and my family knows better than to ask me anything about computer problems. Pretty good overall I think.
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I put out a thread about 7 down sides of IT (same article), not many people responded.
http://www.sqlservercentral.com/forums/shwmessage.aspx?forumid=61&messageid=345848
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