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I started my career as a regular old software dev but realized that at most companies that aren't specifically tech companies, IT is simply treated as highly sk

by bane 10y ago

I started my career as a regular old software dev but realized that at most companies that aren't specifically tech companies, IT is simply treated as highly skilled janitorial staff. At the time there wasn't as robust of a tech industry where I wanted to live a there is now, so I left to become an industry analyst, then moved into management roles. It turns out lots of fields benefit from having tech people join them. For example, a surprising number of technical research/analyst jobs are filled by absolute non-tech people (those fields seem to grab liberal arts majors at incredibly high rates), but they need people who can understand technology at very deep levels. So I made a name for myself by applying technical knowledge in those domains (not by doing tech work, but by knowing how tech worked). In management and business roles it's very much the same. Most managers tend to enter management by either growing vertically into more and more senior positions within their domain, then suddenly need to learn all the other skills needed to manage effectively or they go to some kind of management school or business school then head directly into management without learning how any of the workforce actually operates. Very few are cross disciplinarians who understand tech and soft skills and management at any kind of functional level. I find that tech is a part of the portfolio of what I manage, but I've made a name for myself by being an effective bridge between corporate operations and technology and the technologists appreciate (I think) not being treated like maintenance staff and being able to have a reasonable conversation with somebody about what they do. I think startups are very interesting in the sense that they really combine all the skills in one area and I bounce back and forth to startups as my career path today. I sometimes regret not staying in pure IT, but I also don't regret avoiding many of the very negative (to me at least) aspects of that life.

intopieces 10y ago
Your description sounds like who I might be later in my career and I am pleased to have read about your path. I have also positioned myself inside a research role as someone who can communicate across disciplines. I am frequently the only manager who avoids abstracting significant dev work into magic and that seems to be appreciated by our developers.
pjbster 10y ago
To avoid having to explain themselves, some IT execs simply outsource their imaginations and adopt ITIL. It's not hard to find a variety of diagrams purporting to illustrate how the myriad management functions in ITIL fit together. You'll see lots of silos with names beginning with "Service..." this and that (because, in a massive injection of double-speak, IT likes to describe itself as a service rather than what it really is: a racket). Here's a typical example: http://www.itsm.hr/brosure/ITSM_CHART_V2.0.pdf http://www.itsm.hr/brosure/ITSM_CHART_V2.0.pdf I dare you to find an appropriate place in this diagram to place your dev team. Pity the poor CIO: not only does he/she have to decide whether to buy or build but the build option comes with strings such as also having to invent a management process to go with it! So, again, most "Service Design" managers don't bother: they just hire the nearest TOGAF-certified architect team and hand over all development to them. It's hardly surprising that corporate dev team managers often find themselves in the role of "supplier", on the outside looking in. No-one with ambitions in the organisation wants the job and anyone who ends up in there has probably done something wrong or emerged as a natural also-ran in previous political games. What this means to devs (particularly) and some testers (depending on which box they live in) is this: They Are (so) Fscked. I saw my role become disenfranchised over the course of 6 years as a result of a regime change which imposed ITIL upon us. I avoided suicide by jumping into the contractor market and, through nothing more than sheer luck, have found myself working for a small autonomous team looking after an important business function (worldwide royalty payments). My boss has a rebellious streak which I strongly identify with and she also has sufficient career capital to keep her team identity intact. I'd like to leave IT and do something which delivers more personal self-worth (pimp or drug dealer at a minimum; international arms dealer if I just can't do without the Bond lifestyle) but I need to clear some capital debts first so it's contracting for the next 5 years or so. Beyond that? I'm just hoping there's still a world left to walk out into.

by bane 10y ago

intopieces 10y ago

Your description sounds like who I might be later in my career and I am pleased to have read about your path. I have also positioned myself inside a research role as someone who can communicate across disciplines. I am frequently the only manager who avoids abstracting significant dev work into magic and that seems to be appreciated by our developers.

pjbster 10y ago

To avoid having to explain themselves, some IT execs simply outsource their imaginations and adopt ITIL. It's not hard to find a variety of diagrams purporting to illustrate how the myriad management functions in ITIL fit together. You'll see lots of silos with names beginning with "Service..." this and that (because, in a massive injection of double-speak, IT likes to describe itself as a service rather than what it really is: a racket). Here's a typical example: http://www.itsm.hr/brosure/ITSM_CHART_V2.0.pdf http://www.itsm.hr/brosure/ITSM_CHART_V2.0.pdf I dare you to find an appropriate place in this diagram to place your dev team. Pity the poor CIO: not only does he/she have to decide whether to buy or build but the build option comes with strings such as also having to invent a management process to go with it! So, again, most "Service Design" managers don't bother: they just hire the nearest TOGAF-certified architect team and hand over all development to them. It's hardly surprising that corporate dev team managers often find themselves in the role of "supplier", on the outside looking in. No-one with ambitions in the organisation wants the job and anyone who ends up in there has probably done something wrong or emerged as a natural also-ran in previous political games. What this means to devs (particularly) and some testers (depending on which box they live in) is this: They Are (so) Fscked. I saw my role become disenfranchised over the course of 6 years as a result of a regime change which imposed ITIL upon us. I avoided suicide by jumping into the contractor market and, through nothing more than sheer luck, have found myself working for a small autonomous team looking after an important business function (worldwide royalty payments). My boss has a rebellious streak which I strongly identify with and she also has sufficient career capital to keep her team identity intact. I'd like to leave IT and do something which delivers more personal self-worth (pimp or drug dealer at a minimum; international arms dealer if I just can't do without the Bond lifestyle) but I need to clear some capital debts first so it's contracting for the next 5 years or so. Beyond that? I'm just hoping there's still a world left to walk out into.