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Has the Glory Gone Out of Working In IT?
An anonymous reader writes to wonder if the glory has gone out of IT. One blogger remembered his first impression upon entering a profession in IT that made it seem like the place to be, with a new shiny around every corner. What experiences have others had? Has a more pervasive technical culture forced our IT gurus into obsolescence?
To be honest, I don't even understand what question is being asked.
What does he/she mean by "glory"?
And a "new shiny" what? "around every corner"?
Just like the proud, self-made carpenter, who used to do everything himself by hand, has to install pre-fab kitchen's in a day these days (and never mind how it's done, just make sure that it's installed in a single day), yes, the 'glory' has gone out of IT for *most* (if not *all*) people in IT these days. It might still be a *fun* job, because you get to 'play' with computers all day, but most of the glory has been lost to 'professionalism'.
Seriously -- I work in IT because it is stable work, it's something I can stand doing, and I make enough scratch to get all my bills paid and live fairly comfortably. I was never aware of there being anything even resembling 'glory' associated with IT.
To the haters: You can't win. If you mod me down, I shall become more powerful than you could possibly imagine
If you'd find something you like doing, you could end up having fun at your job, and kill 2 birds with one stone, maybe ? At least, that's what the IT field is for me!
Oh don't get me wrong, it isn't like this is a drudge or anything, I like tinkering around with computers and such, I do it some in my free time, but, if I were independently wealthy, no, I'd NEVER work again. I'd do what interests me, it would surely involve some computer geek activities,but, honestly, I found out a year or so ago when I had 7 months off between contracts. My day generally involved, getting up, walking the dog...hitting the gym for a couple hours, then getting on my motorcycle, and riding around New Orleans all day, exploring and finding fun things to do. At the end of the day, I'd meet somewhere with friends getting off work for a few beers, wash, rinse repeat.
I would have no problem doing that for the rest of my life, while, of course, taking vacations off to travel somewhere caribbean to a beach on occasion.
No, I learned there, that I could easily occupy myself with travelling, having fun in NOLA, doing things with friends and chasing women the rest of my days, and NEVER miss a day of work again if I were to get such an opportunity.
Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.........
You are always in the background of any project. It's assumed you can do whatever it is they want you to do, even if it has never been done before. They will want it 6 weeks earlier than you can deliver it and 50% cheaper than you can buy it for. You are supposed to be invisible. No one thinks about how much work you have to put in to something in order to keep it up and running in a production environment. If the service fails at 3 am on a Sunday, every minute of your time will be tracked until the service is restored and you will be told how efficient you aren't and what you should try to do better next time. When the kudos are given at the next company meeting and everyone talks about all of the great things they have accomplished this year, your name is never mentioned unless you count the "Oh, and thanks to IT who.. does what they do!" mention from the CEO.
You're the plumber. You're the TV Repair man. You're the phone guy. They only know your name when something has gone wrong and they think you can fix it. They only think you can fix it because they are fairly sure you, or someone like you, broke it to begin with.
Welcome to I.T.
The glory of IT is not in IT, but in software engineering. IT is the dark, smelly, hairy underbelly of computing technology. Software engineering is the light, bright, wonderful topside, basking in sunshine and wonder.
IT personnel are responsible for keeping crappy, obsolete, virus-laden servers working without enough money to get anything better. Any money spent on IT is considered an expense. "Good" IT consists of finding the cheapest off-the-shelf software to sorta do the job.
Software engineers are given the challenge of a problem to solve, and the money and time to do it in. Good software engineering consists of designing the most elegant technical architecture to solve the problem.
IT personnel are regularly yelled at as if they were barely more valuable than a "click next to install package" monkey because that's often what they are. Even when personally far more capable, the job only requires you to "click next" when installing somebody else's software, perform backups, and set passwords. IT personnel are relegated to the back store room and not allowed to see anybody, except accidentally on the bus on the way to the local Carl's Jr.
Software engineers regularly meet with executives in fancy boardrooms with glass tables. They are there to design quality solutions that will be used by thousands or millions. They are treated with accord, respect, and often, mild deference. Lunch is often provided by hired caterers at design meetings.
No matter how "senior" you are in IT, you are easily replaceable by anybody with the requisite MCSE certificate.
There are never enough qualified software engineers - they are pretty much always in high demand and paid to match. When software engineers work in a field, they quickly acquire domain expertise that's almost impossible to replace.
People who confuse IT and Software Engineering often wind up working in the wrong field. Put in the time to become a software engineer, and you won't ever regret it. Cram through your MCSE or CCNA, and become one of the faceless droids. (Yay! I know what an MSI file is! I can calculate a subnet!)
I have no problem with your religion until you decide it's reason to deprive others of the truth.