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> I think the thing we learned most of all there was that breaking into travel is really hard. There are a lot of big players and most travel companies aren’t t

> I think the thing we learned most of all there was that breaking into travel is really hard. There are a lot of big players and most travel companies aren’t technology companies. I can’t tell you how many times I was on a call and the other person on the phone was referring to their engineering staff as “IT.” And then they both laugh about it for several lines. I don't get it. Is IT not what they're doing? I like being called an "engineer" as much as the next coder, but there's been plenty of ink spilled over how modern dev work has none of the discipline and care found in "real" engineering disciplines, which is why shit breaks all the time. Insisting that you do "engineering" instead of IT seems like naive egotism at best.

erik 10y ago
IT is often used to refer to working with technology in a supporting role in an organization. For example, someone who makes sure the files are backed up and the anti-virus is up to date on the desktops of a company is part of the IT department. Someone in a group that develops software, particularly if it is part of a customer facing product or service, is not considered to be in IT. I think it comes down to the naming convention in common use, as opposed to the literal meaning of the words. The reason why they are laughing about it is presumably because the person on the phone is referring to the people that fix the printers, when they should be talking about the people that write the software, and that these are different groups.
jnbiche 10y ago
In the US at least, "IT" is the support staff that maintains networks, provides staff support, approves/rejects new employee software requests (mostly rejects), etc. Software developers/engineers design new products for a company. It's a significant difference. I personally don't mind being called "coder", "programmer", "software developer", or "software engineer" (the last two have been part of my formal titles), but please don't call me "IT".
- PhasmaFelis 10y ago
  I'm a coder and I've done all of those things, often at the same job where I was coding. Insisting on a sharply-drawn distinction sounds like it's just a way for coders to tell themselves that they're better than support monkeys.

erik 10y ago

IT is often used to refer to working with technology in a supporting role in an organization. For example, someone who makes sure the files are backed up and the anti-virus is up to date on the desktops of a company is part of the IT department. Someone in a group that develops software, particularly if it is part of a customer facing product or service, is not considered to be in IT. I think it comes down to the naming convention in common use, as opposed to the literal meaning of the words. The reason why they are laughing about it is presumably because the person on the phone is referring to the people that fix the printers, when they should be talking about the people that write the software, and that these are different groups.

jnbiche 10y ago

In the US at least, "IT" is the support staff that maintains networks, provides staff support, approves/rejects new employee software requests (mostly rejects), etc. Software developers/engineers design new products for a company. It's a significant difference. I personally don't mind being called "coder", "programmer", "software developer", or "software engineer" (the last two have been part of my formal titles), but please don't call me "IT".

PhasmaFelis 10y ago
I'm a coder and I've done all of those things, often at the same job where I was coding. Insisting on a sharply-drawn distinction sounds like it's just a way for coders to tell themselves that they're better than support monkeys.