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Which IT Careers Are Hot and Which are Not?
necromante asks: "I've been working on different IT positions through my career: support; some networking; DBA; web development; project management; even working on the client side for a little while. However, I don't feel like I am really a specialist on any of those subjects and I feel I need to focus on a particular field. So, I decided to ask for some feedback before making my decision. I understand that this depends everyones tastes, likes and dislikes. However, I would like to have a better idea of which are the available options, and I hope the results of this discussion can benefit other readers. Is there any IT career that I should consider more than the others? Which are the emerging fields? Is there any industry I should focus on in particular? Which careers on IT are actually more in demand and which ones not? Is it a better path to focus on moving into management?"
I've worked for a number of people and myself one thing that seems to come up is that good techies don't always make good managers. So don't assume that managment is right for you (or that you would even enjoy it).
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Which careers on IT are actually more in demand and which ones not?
Editor who doesn't rely on spell check.
Your sig(k) has been stolen. There is a puff of smoke!
When you were young, did you ever play video games with an older sibling where they played and you watched? Your brother would insist that you were "a team" and wouldn't let you play. Being a manager is like being the little brother, but you do get to fire the other guy if he dies five times in a row on level 8-2.
Seriously, if you like something, why stop doing it and start just watching people do it?
Oh, money.
Use the Firehose to mod down Second Life stories!
I hear it's lovely over at tech support. You get to talk to n00bs all day and make them run around in circles because it's the "fixing ritual" and stuff.
No seriously. BOFH is the field you're after.
"Women are just like ninjas; They lie even when it is more convenient to tell the truth." ~ Unknown
I have to agree with this. I'm a business owner, with a partner. I'm the hardcore techie here, while my business partner has a background in video production and marketing. He tends to take on the true management role here while I worry about actually getting the work done. It works out well as I'm not a great manager but I can get the work done when it needs to be.
The thing I have noticed is that a lot of people in a more technical role feel that they would be better in charge but in reality would probably just hate the position. I love being in control (hence owning my own business) but at the same time I'd rather leave the more managerial duties up to my business partner while I really worry about the technical side of things.
I have been a manager at a few places and while I did a decent job and my staff liked working for me, but I didn't enjoy the role as much as I enjoy being in the forefront with my technical skills. I did learn a lot about running a business from these positions which is a benefit now, though, and don't regret having been a manager. I just didn't enjoy it.
rm -rf
Somebody's bitter.
... or, rather, my car.
I was bitter once. I got laid off after 9/11, couldn't find a job to save my life
You have to bounce back -- if you don't, you shouldn't be in the field to begin with. Same thing applies if you can't find a job today -- you probably need a new profession. IT is booming, the Internet bubble was a temporary setback. Not all IT is INTERNET.
Not everything can be offshored -- I've seen successful offshoring, but I've also seen a large number of disappointed businesses who feel they were overcharged for sub-par return on investment in off-shored projects.
There is always a need for business analysis and system architecting. Someone thousands of miles away is going to have a very difficult time truly knowing a business, and understanding its needs. There is ALWAYS going to be a need for capable, creative people who know the technology AND the business to be local.
I am, therefore you think.
I disagree. I'm a "jack of all trades, master of none" and I'm well paid. That means I'm pretty much stuck in my job unless I want to take a huge paycut.
It started off as a specialty position (graphics), and I was well paid for it. But it turned into a position where I was responsible for a lot of other, varied things, like the intra-departmental website, and eventually my grasp of modern graphics technologies started slipping.
Now, because it started off paying so well, I'm still paid well... but now my raises are crap, not enough over cost of living to make any difference. I while I like the company I work for, I hate the location, and would take an equally paying job (adjusted for location) just about anywhere else.
The problem is that when I look at available jobs, the ones that pay even moderately close to what I'm getting now require a specialty.
This really kills me - because I'm sure I could get a great raise here if I threatened to leave, but I wouldn't threaten to leave unless I could follow through on it (I'm not good BSing with empty threats).
So, OK, I'm giving my annecdotal experience, but I find it's true elsewhere. I've had this conversation with my manager and he agrees, and he'd like to see me be able to get back into graphics 100% of the time, but the company won't budget for another programmer (I'm in a unique position here). I like all the things I'm doing, but I wouldn't mind dropping the variety and concentrating on being great at one or two things, I'd still be happy and I'd be able to demand more at a different place.
Stupid sexy Flanders.
From what I've experienced again and again and again is that one of the reason (and there can be others) that techies don't make good managers is that they try to live in both worlds. The new techie manager still wants to get his hands dirty doing the day to day work. Part of this is that they are don't trust others to do it "right" or they are afraid of losing their technical skills. The new techie manager never really gives him/her self over to the dark side of management.
The new techie manager still wants to get his hands dirty doing the day to day work. Part of this is that they are don't trust others to do it "right" or they are afraid of losing their technical skills. The new techie manager never really gives him/her self over to the dark side of management.
You see, that IS the real "dark side" of managment -- when you become a micromanager or some other type of manager that constantly second-guesses their employees because you "know better." Even worse is the type that is constantly trying to make people prove themselves to them by withholding information to see if their subordinate is "smart enough" to come to the same conclusions (and then berate them if they don't either due to a difference of opinion or a crucial missing piece of information).
I've had four jobs since I entered the IT field. Every single manager I've had was a former programmer with the exception of one boss's boss (who was entirely awful because she was more interested in office politics and backstabbing for advancement... but I digress).
All the good bosses I've had gradually abandoned the programming side and learned to act as mentors. They used their knowledge of the system to give pointers on where to look when you were stuck on a problem and trusted you to get things done, only prodding every now and then when a schedule was threatened. All the bad bosses I've had (save the one mentioned above) second-guessed you constantly and either went around your work to put someone else on it (like themselves) or constantly made you justify ever single moment you spent your day on. In both cases, the attitude comes from the thought that they could do it better if they didn't have to do all this management crap instead.
In other words, the secret to going from a technical role to being a good manager is learning to let go. Use your skills and knowledge to aid your subordinates and shield them from upper management by understanding what they are doing. If necessary, use you knowledge to call their BS if they're actually slacking, but don't envy them or treat them as irritating time-wasters blocking you from doing "your real job." Otherwise, you're just demonstrating the Peter principle.
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