December 23, 2014 at 9:42 am
Should I make the move to a more structured IT firm?
Ultimately you should do what makes you happy and if you're enjoying what you're doing now then there's a strong argument for sticking with it. It'll probably end eventually and you can look at moving then but you certainly shouldn't agonise over any missed opportunities in the meantime because a) you don't really know whether they would have been positive or negative and b) there will still be opportunities when you are ready - IT is not going away.
That said, if you do think you're ready to start actively pursuing an IT career not then I'd recommend looking at small IT companies rather than big ones. Because they're small they tend to require everyone to muck in and you get to wear more hats than you would in a large organisation. You'll be a bit of a sys admin, a bit of a DB Admin, a bit of a developer, a bit of a salesperson, a bit of a systems analyst... you get the idea. That's the sort of position I've been in for most of my career and I've loved it.
only to lose it due to stupid Internet access problems
You should come up with a process to prevent that in future.
December 23, 2014 at 10:12 am
Funny that you should ask this...I'm on my way back to the most "fun" job I ever had.
I'll be working as a support technician for Dynamics SL (accounting software). The challenges were plenty without being overwhelming and the best rewards were grateful customers who got their issues fixed in a timely manner being sincerely appreciative of my work.
I'm looking foward to easing my way into semi-retirement in a job that I loved and the only new twist is that I will work at home.
December 23, 2014 at 10:17 am
I had the most fun in my early 30's working for a startup company. I was one of three programmers developing an accounting package that ended up selling well. I helped develop a product from the ground up that did well and I will always be proud of that. As far as learning new things, yes I learned a ton about programming but more than that I learned a ton about accounting. Today I can converse easily with our accounting department and relate their needs to IT.
December 23, 2014 at 10:25 am
batgirl (12/23/2014)
...I'm looking foward to easing my way into semi-retirement in a job that I loved and the only new twist is that I will work at home.
Good on you, this all sounds pretty great to me, as I think the commute is just another part of the multi-faceted soulgrind.
December 23, 2014 at 11:53 am
Being challenged and having the ability to implement better automated processes (in place of this is how we've always done it) makes for a fun job.
December 23, 2014 at 4:00 pm
Hope your easing into retirement is good for you. I'm in year 4 and I love it. Still PLAY with my computers daily, still design db's and write code but for fun and for myself now.
Current project is setting up our home office after relocating. It used to be the office for my wife's graphic design studio, but now is ours to relax and enjoy. We've instituted our daily 'merlot time' when we push back from the keyboard and relax on OUR schedule.
Rick
Disaster Recovery = Backup ( Backup ( Your Backup ) )
December 23, 2014 at 4:29 pm
I think it boils down to the ability to be creative...
When you're in a group of 3 or 4 responsible for everything from databases to pulling wire you get involved in everything.
You don't have time to be bored - and you have to be creative to solve problems on the fly.
Life is less structured but in the end you have fixed or built things using your own creativity.
For me it was mostly database applications beginning in the mid 80's.
I was learning the basics by reading books and from there building stuff on the fly.
Some projects are still in use now - and have even been passed to other organizations!
Those projects are truly satisfying 🙂
As I moved to other organizations in the 90's and 00's I moved to larger departments and companies (and helped create/improve structure that was sorely needed).
BUT - the downside inherent in the evolution of computing over the last 30 years is that most people involved in IT departments cannot be truly creative any longer.
We're building complex virtual infrastructures, upgrading database systems to newer more capable versions, moving data between systems, creating webpages to present the data, etc. etc. etc. with none of this really requiring on the fly creativity.
We follow manuals and installation lists because the software is too complicated to understand - unless you have worked with it for years (in that case you'd be working for the vendor - not for the IT dept).
We have to write code in a particular way so the next programmer that has to work with it after we leave can make heads or tails of it.
There are so many interactions between applications, their data, web pages, etc. that standard coding is a necessity.
Change control is important because small changes can break big applications.
I'm not saying this stuff is unimportant - it is - and it's required for systems to work properly, but the end result is that being a "computer programmer" just isn't "fun" any more.
You get a shot at "fun" for the first couple years you work in computers because everything is new, it's all a challenge, and you are learning.
After that, jobs are rare that allow you to be actually creative.
Early on most IT jobs were "fun" because the entire field was "new" - at least it was for non-mainframe IT folk. We were all learning - the only limit was how long you wanted to stay up each night (providing the Atomic Fireballs and Jolt Cola didn't run out).
Now IT has matured - I believe out of necessity because of it's complexity and interconnectedness...
As a result, the "fun factor" has decreased markedly - it's not fun following a manual or watching a vendor's tech install software via a GoToMeeting session.
Websites are one of the last creative areas in programming and that's explored an awful lot of what can be done with a keyboard, mouse and screen...
To echo one of the other posters above - I've actually returned to my original organization...
But - it's not fun like it used to be...
It's comfortable, some of my friends are still here, I enjoy the environment and all but it's not the same.
Why?
Because our field isn't the same any more... it's mature...
To use an old gold prospector phrase - "It's panned out."
It's time for us to figuratively "find somewhere new" or "find something new" or "create something new".
Maybe it's robotics...
Maybe it will be "nano-programs"...
Who knows???
Happy Christmas and Happy Creating 🙂
December 23, 2014 at 4:58 pm
The job I enjoyed the most let me see the smiles on my users' faces when I delivered a good product. As soon as I have no interaction with the end users, and especially when I don't get even indirect feedback from them, I stop having fun. It doesn't matter how challenging it is or how much I learn. I need to know I'm making a difference.
December 23, 2014 at 9:39 pm
"We have to write code in a particular way so the next programmer that has to work with it after we leave can make heads or tails of it."
Well, this is certainly true, but seldom happened. I found the best code often contained more comments than code. The best documentation is often within the code itself.
Rick
Disaster Recovery = Backup ( Backup ( Your Backup ) )
December 29, 2014 at 7:33 am
Jessica, I hope you enjoyed the discussion all the more after commenting! Thanks for reading and commenting.
All - thanks for your thoughts. I continue to try to sort through this and I'll try to do a follow up in 2015. Right now I'm thinking about how in many ways we're trying to make IT work like a factory.
December 29, 2014 at 1:43 pm
Andy Warren (12/29/2014)
Jessica, I hope you enjoyed the discussion all the more after commenting! Thanks for reading and commenting.All - thanks for your thoughts. I continue to try to sort through this and I'll try to do a follow up in 2015. Right now I'm thinking about how in many ways we're trying to make IT work like a factory.
Yeah, I don't like the factory comparison. IT should be more like a sterile operating theatre where we keep clutter and contamination (non-IT project managers in particular) out and strive for 'clean and neat' and orderly. My worst days in IT were those spent dealing with managers who had no clue. THEY should have been in the factory, not us.
Rick
Disaster Recovery = Backup ( Backup ( Your Backup ) )
December 30, 2014 at 9:17 am
I think the most important characteristics for me is flexible management and a good environment with good co-workers. I've worked in environments with various permutations of those factors contribute to me being a happy campercoder/DBA. And a change in one can really upset the balance and ruin an environment.
Case in point: my previous job, the IT director when I was hired received an offer he could not refuse and he left only a couple of months after I started. A disliked guy was put in his place, a real micro-manager. Loved scheduling meetings at the end of your day or right after you got in, that's when I set Outlook to show me as privately busy for the first and last hour of my day. Five people went to the city manager to complain, we didn't know that he was in the pocket of the IT director, as was the HR director. Within 18 months four of those five were forced out. And after the city manager left, the IT director lasted less than six months because of the other directors that he'd burned over the years.
Current gig is good. Small IT department: we are now nine people, and I'm the only DB guy. Our boss is awesome, as is the school superintendent. They've been very satisfied with what I've done so far, and I'm enjoying it: once again I have a private office! They respect talent and pay decently for it and give me a good environment, so I think it'll suit me well for a while.
-----
[font="Arial"]Knowledge is of two kinds. We know a subject ourselves or we know where we can find information upon it. --Samuel Johnson[/font]
December 30, 2014 at 7:13 pm
I say this after having been an IT manager for 11 years early in my 42 year IT career. A good manager will realize that the sheer fact that he is a manager largely removes him from the arena and will be smart enough to listen to his people out on the lines, and will NOT micro-manage them. At the same time, he will be responsible enough to, having listened, take responsibility for his people and their actions, whatever the costs. This is the only way he will be able to keep the good ones.
Rick
Disaster Recovery = Backup ( Backup ( Your Backup ) )
February 18, 2019 at 2:47 am
I always had and have fun when I could experiment, when I tried to have the things done and hadn't had these guys holding strict to protocol only to protect their own arses and when I could do a bit of everything from designing to coding and testing and solving runtime problems.
February 18, 2019 at 6:24 am
Fun is solving the problem. Its even more fun if an approach is found that is new, and sustainable, with emphasis on sustainable. If I can't re-use it and improve it, it stops being fun, and becomes a member of the "remember when" category. But my most fun has been being handed a file, and some sketchy documentation about the file layout, and figuring out how to extract and load that data for downstream use. One of those times was translating COBOL layouts into SAS and an IBM tool called Data Analyzer, the other was learning how to load 2000 census data into a simplified proximity search utility for finding stats and demographics for a neighborhood by zip code.
I would not go back to those specific employers, at least I don't think I would, but I always find more fun in those types of situations and requests.
Viewing 15 posts - 16 through 30 (of 35 total)
You must be logged in to reply to this topic. Login to reply