Moving from the tech side to the business side

[Hobosapien]

I see the pure tech guys out there in the trenches and I feel for them.

I feel same for the management drones who have to endure endless meetings, producing documents that no one reads, then they're first to have to re-apply for their own jobs when there's a shake up and they need to cut body count.

I suppose you're in the middle of the two hells somewhere, but on the 'paper shuffler' career path the perils of going into management loom. Step carefully.

[DieScum]

I suppose you're in the middle of the two hells somewhere, but on the 'paper shuffler' career path the perils of going into management loom. Step carefully.

Yep, middle management is a fresh hell I intend to assiduously avoid. The good ones do very well though - and they stand out like a sore thumb.

[MarillionFan]

Yep, middle management is a fresh hell I intend to assiduously avoid. The good ones do very well though - and they stand out like a sore thumb.

There are benefits. I realised years ago that my tech skillset was going out of date and as I constantly contracted on my existing skillset I couldn't keep up.

But hang worked directly on the business side after a number of years when I gigged and came across the same issues & incompetent managers again & again I was able to drive them as well. Obviously they took the kudos and you did the work.

So after a couple of stints in management positions I moved into my current role which is quite senior, but I kept being hands on, doing prototypes / mashups / advanced analysis. So to my team I look super hands on, to the business they think I'm one of the super smarts and to IT I'm a thorn.

I like my teams to get the Kudos for their own work, I keep out of the limelight & tinker. But as my new VP said to me last month, I want you to manage and be front facing or if you want to do the tech stuff you can **** off to IT!, I will be choosing a different path imminently.

[MarillionFan]

Plus I have one blot on my contracting career. I have a 40-39-1 interview record. Having failed to get a gig for the first time 4 years ago after the interview for a £1k a day role working with the executive board of a large FTSE company because I didn't have enough Senior experience, I plan to correct that loss later this year.

[PurpleGorilla]

Moving from the tech side to the business side

Surely the holy grail is 'consultant'.

Waft in on a huge rate.

A blend of tech and project experience.

Show the dark arts to the techs, and spell bind the mgt.

I don't want to be a tech monkey or a middle manager.

I want to be the guy who turns up in the white Porsche who blinds people with his brilliance.

[DieScum]

There are benefits. I realised years ago that my tech skillset was going out of date and as I constantly contracted on my existing skillset I couldn't keep up.

Yep, switching to an evergreen, but still valuable, skillset is the smart move. Some of the laundry lists of skills you see advertised makes me laugh/wince. Especially when you look at the actual skills most people on those teams have.

So after a couple of stints in management positions I moved into my current role which is quite senior, but I kept being hands on, doing prototypes / mashups / advanced analysis. So to my team I look super hands on, to the business they think I'm one of the super smarts and to IT I'm a thorn.

It's a fine line to walk. You want to make IT's life easier but not start getting in to stuff that you're not in position to evaluate the full consequences of. Messed it up a few times but I think I've got the right balance now.

[DieScum]

Surely the holy grail is 'consultant'.

Waft in on a huge rate.

A blend of tech and project experience.

Show the dark arts to the techs, and spell bind the mgt.

I don't want to be a tech monkey or a middle manager.

I want to be the guy who turns up in the white Porsche who blinds people with his brilliance.

I dunno. That's just being a contract solution architect/dev lead, etc.

Think you're better off out of it altogether. The projects that rely on a hero are very, very bad projects.

You either die a hero (but they'll spit on your grave if they see an easy out) or live to become the villain.

There's easier ways to make a living.

[MrMarkyMark]

I want to be the guy who turns up in the white Porsche who everyone thinks is a total feckin, arrogant, twunt .

Been everything from Principle Consultant, BI Architect, Technical Lead, I'll be anything they want me to be as long as the moneys right.

A proper corporate whore

[greenlake]

I want to be the guy who turns up in the white Porsche who blinds people with his brilliance.

How about a blue one....?

[PurpleGorilla]

How about a blue one....?

Not bad, but I was thinking more like this;