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technical background / previous devs

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    technical background / previous devs

    Hi all,

    Looking for insight on anyone who has moved from a technical development background to contracting in a different field.

    What was your role before?
    What is your role now?

    How did you manage to make the switch?


    Cheers

    #2
    Originally posted by bubbles View Post
    Hi all,

    Looking for insight on anyone who has moved from a technical development background to contracting in a different field.

    What was your role before?
    What is your role now?

    How did you manage to make the switch?


    Cheers
    How different a change are you thinking? BA or Barista?
    The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world that he didn't exist

    Comment


      #3
      Very difficult to do. Not impossible but not something to base your future on. You get paid for your experience. You don't have any, you've nothing to sell.

      Not quite as black and white as that but not far off.
      'CUK forum personality of 2011 - Winner - Yes really!!!!

      Comment


        #4
        Originally posted by northernladuk View Post
        Very difficult to do. Not impossible but not something to base your future on. You get paid for your experience. You don't have any, you've nothing to sell.

        Not quite as black and white as that but not far off.
        Correct. If it's connected, you might get a chance; e.g. if you're building a data warehouse, they might let you learn the reporting tool while you're there. Be careful though; if you've got 15 years of one thing, do you want to go to the back of a queue with only six months of your new skill?
        The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world that he didn't exist

        Comment


          #5
          Originally posted by LondonManc View Post
          How different a change are you thinking? BA or Barista?
          Well in the technical environment responsibilities overlap. I have had my own clients before where I have covered similar roles but haven't had that particular role standalone.

          For example from a development background moving to a technical product/project manager.

          Comment


            #6
            Originally posted by northernladuk View Post
            Very difficult to do. Not impossible but not something to base your future on. You get paid for your experience. You don't have any, you've nothing to sell.

            Not quite as black and white as that but not far off.
            Very good point, thanks. Indeed it is very hard.

            The issue is that I have experience in the field however my previous job titles weren't dedicated to those roles. Had to find a recruiter that would put you forward...looks like I might have to move to a perm role or even not so senior.

            Comment


              #7
              Originally posted by LondonManc View Post
              How different a change are you thinking? BA or Barista?
              Well in the tech world some of the responsibilities overlap so I wouldn't say it's a completely different role.

              From project development to project manger for example.


              Originally posted by northernladuk View Post
              Very difficult to do. Not impossible but not something to base your future on. You get paid for your experience. You don't have any, you've nothing to sell.

              Not quite as black and white as that but not far off.
              Indeed, I am finding it to be very difficult! Albeit I have had personal clients and covered the roles so can carry over the responsibilities and experiences. The hardest thing I'm finding is getting this across to recruiters ... as they don't tend to put me forward for the role. I guess it's also got to do with competition though.

              Comment


                #8
                Originally posted by bubbles View Post
                Well in the tech world some of the responsibilities overlap so I wouldn't say it's a completely different role.

                From project development to project manger for example.
                In that case, my later post still stands - if you want to become a PM, go perm.
                The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world that he didn't exist

                Comment


                  #9
                  Originally posted by northernladuk View Post
                  Very difficult to do. Not impossible but not something to base your future on. You get paid for your experience. You don't have any, you've nothing to sell.

                  Not quite as black and white as that but not far off.
                  I'd say it's not black and white at all.

                  Last few roles I've made it a priority to be pro-active with generally non-techie BAs - meant I've been able to steer their provided requirements into a more acceptable form. One example being validation business rules were being defined that made little sense, as in date validation was "day between 1 and 31, month between 1 and 12, four digits for date". I did kinda lead the BA to the realisation that if you're trying to validate that a date field in a database is constructed as a valid date ( ie no start / end type logic restrictions ) then the only way it could be invalid would be if the database was completely screwed up - in which case you've bigger problems...

                  Comment


                    #10
                    Originally posted by perplexed View Post
                    I'd say it's not black and white at all.

                    Last few roles I've made it a priority to be pro-active with generally non-techie BAs - meant I've been able to steer their provided requirements into a more acceptable form. One example being validation business rules were being defined that made little sense, as in date validation was "day between 1 and 31, month between 1 and 12, four digits for date". I did kinda lead the BA to the realisation that if you're trying to validate that a date field in a database is constructed as a valid date ( ie no start / end type logic restrictions ) then the only way it could be invalid would be if the database was completely screwed up - in which case you've bigger problems...
                    How does that relate to transitioning to another role?
                    The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world that he didn't exist

                    Comment

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