Are IT bods/contractors smarter than everyone else?

[expat]

It must hurt to have such a self-believed high IQ and yet be powerless and poor, buffeted by the vagaries of economic fortune.

As it has indeed hurt many a very intelligent person who was not well off, or "successful" by monetary standards.

Einstein was rejected for Uni for being too stroppy, and only got work as a clerk through nepotism. Ramanujan couldn't even matriculate in Madras University, but Hardy and Littlewood recognised his genius and paid for him to come to Cambridge. Wittgenstein only got on with his philosophy after Russell paid his debts.

Compared to them, I wouldn't be so proud of being able to boast of a modicum of success in the rat-race.

[expat]

Just replace the word ‘design’ with ‘reserve’, ‘questionnaire’ with ‘table’ and ‘internal stakeholders’ with ‘diners’. I think that would make the structure of the sentence quite clear to most people with a basic understanding of English.

Trouble is, the abstraction you just performed would demand a relatively high IQ.

However, I do believe that a deep and wide ability in a particularly technical side of IT will probably correlate substantially with IQ, just because you have to be a bit smart to do it. ISTM that fewer and fewer of us do really technical programming any more. I know I don't; nor do I use very much of my IQ, except to make life easier. Perhaps that's what it's "meant for" anyway?

[sasguru]

As it has indeed hurt many a very intelligent person who was not well off, or "successful" by monetary standards.

Einstein was rejected for Uni for being too stroppy, and only got work as a clerk through nepotism. Ramanujan couldn't even matriculate in Madras University, but Hardy and Littlewood recognised his genius and paid for him to come to Cambridge. Wittgenstein only got on with his philosophy after Russell paid his debts.

Compared to them, I wouldn't be so proud of being able to boast of a modicum of success in the rat-race.

I hardly think Francko can be compared to Einstein, Ramanujan or Wittgenstein. He's probably never heard of one or more of them.
Which was the point, really.

[Board Game Geek]

Are IT bods/contractors smarter than everyone else?

Dunno.

That does sound like a sweeping generalisation though.

As for myself and where I work, I keep quiet about ideas and improvements, since it's not my place to voice them. I'm a techie, so I behave as is expected of me.

The fact that I've been an IT manager for multi-million pound companies in the past, had teams working for me, and done all the high level politicking with the Board, stakeholders and Clients is not applicable to my current role.

Puffing up my chest as saying "When I used to work as XYZ...blah blah blah" isn't going to impress anyone and could be seen as arrogant.

Much better to do the role I am paid to do, and let others who are managers do their thing.

[Francko]

I'd also dare to affirm to expat and assguru that complementing your discourses by leveraging latin-origined words does not augment the eloquentness of your speech but simply renders it in a more legible form for us latin-languages native speakers.

[Ivor Bigun]

I'd also dare to affirm to expat and assguru that complementing your discourses by leveraging latin-origined words does not augment the eloquentness of your speech but simply renders it in a more legible form for us latin-languages native speakers.

........and relax......

[Ivor Bigun]

Much better to do the role I am paid to do, and let others who are managers do their thing.

Now that IS smart.

[expat]

IQ versus occupation:

http://i43.tinypic.com/24degd2.jpg

Does "computer occupations" include agents?

[Sockpuppet]

When I was at uni doing Mech Eng some mixer decided to test the IQ of the social science degree students against the IQ of the engineering students. There was something like a 20 point jump in favour of engineering.

IQ tests are flawed. You can "train" for them but it doesn't actually mean you are getting any smarter.

[OwlHoot]

What complex issues? Most of the tech side of IT is logically quite similar to being a motor mechanic.

Many of the complex issues are unnecessary complications in systems designed by thick, amateurish permies.

(although I've seen some horrors perpetrated by contractors too, and some permies are pretty clued up albeit usually only after years working on one system).