6 ms·
Similarly, within a company you should aim to work as close to the product & customer as possible in a revenue-generating role instead of support roles classifi
by seancoleman 13y ago
Similarly, within a company you should aim to work as close to the product & customer as possible in a revenue-generating role instead of support roles classified as overhead including LOB applications, internal tools, etc.
- patio11 13y agoI agree. I've got company-specific career advice in a separate essay from a few years ago, but hate repeating myself, and it was semi-offtopic for this one so I excised it. http://www.kalzumeus.com/2011/10/28/dont-call-yourself-a-programmer/ http://www.kalzumeus.com/2011/10/28/dont-call-yourself-a-pro...
- eropple 13y agoI still really enjoy the comments on that article. The visceral, knee-jerk hatred you managed to engender for pointing out pretty obvious stuff was amazing.
- dba7dba 13y agoEarlier in my career, I was warned IT was hated by management because it's seen as a black hole of budget. My advise is stay away from IT as a career. Go with a career where you can create something that's marketable.
- mooreds 13y agoMy hope is that IT is now seen as a partner in making the business better (not sure how long ago you were warned). But, I agree, it is always better to be on the revenue side than the cost side of the equation.
- deleted 13y ago[deleted]
- eterm 13y agoMost people get mad every time they have to pay for a tank of gas. Its not rational, they know they can't go without it but they still hate it.
- matwood 13y agoManagement doesn't hate IT, they hate cost centers. Like patio11 says above do not be a programmer, but be someone who generates revenue (or cuts cost) using software. Align your interests with managements interests of cost saving and revenue generation and management will love you. It is not always easy though. A lot of management simply does not understand what is possible with IT. That is where the communication angle comes in (and business savvy). It is ITs job to not just do the work, but to help the business understand what is possible with great IT work. Having a great IT department working with business can be a huge multiplier and competitive advantage when done properly.
- dba7dba 13y agoAs an IT worker (network admin, helpdesk, server admin), you can only cut cost so much. Often you need periodic infusions of capital to function. But for a programmer, every line of code you write is used to bring in revenue. That's how management (edit: mainly in tech startups) sees it.
- patio11 13y agoIf it were only true that management viewed all programmers' contributions as being additive to revenue. Alas, the grass is barely greener on this side of the fence.
- dba7dba 13y agopatio11, Haha. Sorry but most of my career has been in dotcoms and startups. Never in a traditional corporation. So my view may be a bit biased but they pretty much valued programmers as kings (of course better ones are treated better), much as hospitals treat doctors as kings.
- __--__ 13y ago... no. they make programmers feel like kings so they don't mind giving up their nights and weekends working for free.
- MattGrommes 13y agoI worked at an insurance company doing mainly 3 things: maintaining an existing system, being lead on swapping out a different system for something newer, and rewriting a small bit of the business to be automated. I was never treated better than on that last project because I could say "This new thing will save the company $XX,000 a week." Feature-creep and hassles are significantly reduced when you can put direct dollar values on things.