Who's MCSD here?

[Francko]

Did it help you getting your new contract/job?

In case you don't know, .NET is the future.

[sasguru]

Wrong. The future is in getting out of IT.

[supremepods]

Wrong. The future is in getting out of IT.

Quite agree.

Computing and IT in general bore me to tears now but it's all that I know and its afforded me a very comfortable lifestyle ofr the last 20 or so years. But if I could do something more interesting that paid the same I would.

[sasguru]

Quite agree.

Computing and IT in general bore me to tears now but it's all that I know and its afforded me a very comfortable lifestyle ofr the last 20 or so years. But if I could do something more interesting that paid the same I would.

People like you ought to become managers and use your experience to lead the IT industry to success. Otherwise we have chancers and bulltulipters like Chico and Mailman who pretend to be big hitters.
The result is plain to see - 75% of IT projects in thsi country fail.

[Francko]

Wrong. The future is in getting out of IT.

This is only when you have some real skills you can actually use in the real world. Unfortunately, this is a small minority in IT.

[sasguru]

This is only when you have some real skills you can actually use in the real world. Unfortunately, this is a small minority in IT.

Well you see this is the tragedy. Most good IT people are poor at what are erroneously called the "soft skills". Contrary to popular belief this is not beacuse they are naturally "nerds" or "geeks" (although some are) but because the nature of development implies focus and concentration on logical technical tasks. Hence there is no practice in influencing, persuasion and other communication skills. (Obviously this is a generalisation - there are exceptions.) So very few good techies make the transition to management - the end result is you get all the incompetent techies in management - hence project failures.

[VectraMan]

This is only when you have some real skills you can actually use in the real world. Unfortunately, this is a small minority in IT.

I know I don't.

In some ways I'd like to give it all up. I can do the designs and have the big ideas, but I'm finding it increasingly hard to get on with the actual nitty gritty of doing the work to acheive the goal. It should be like in the movies: start with coming up with the idea, then a montage of sitting in front of the computer, eating pizza, seeing the clock at 1am etc., and then 2 minutes later it's all done. Actually doing the work sucks.

I really need to spend a bit of time trying to get some .NET experience. Are the qualifications ever worth it? I'm always very cynical about those things, but I can see how it makes a difference in the eyes of some ignorant managers.

[sasguru]

I know I don't.

In some ways I'd like to give it all up. I can do the designs and have the big ideas, but I'm finding it increasingly hard to get on with the actual nitty gritty of doing the work to acheive the goal. It should be like in the movies: start with coming up with the idea, then a montage of sitting in front of the computer, eating pizza, seeing the clock at 1am etc., and then 2 minutes later it's all done. Actually doing the work sucks.

I really need to spend a bit of time trying to get some .NET experience. Are the qualifications ever worth it? I'm always very cynical about those things, but I can see how it makes a difference in the eyes of some ignorant managers.

Yes the fun goes out of coding after about 15-20 years. Become a team leader or manager.

[expat]

Quite agree.

Computing and IT in general bore me to tears now but it's all that I know and its afforded me a very comfortable lifestyle ofr the last 20 or so years. But if I could do something more interesting that paid the same I would.

Damn me. Did you write that, or did I do it while I wasn't looking?

[privateeye]

Well you see this is the tragedy. Most good IT people are poor at what are erroneously called the "soft skills". Contrary to popular belief this is not beacuse they are naturally "nerds" or "geeks" (although some are) but because the nature of development implies focus and concentration on logical technical tasks. Hence there is no practice in influencing, persuasion and other communication skills. (Obviously this is a generalisation - there are exceptions.) So very few good techies make the transition to management - the end result is you get all the incompetent techies in management - hence project failures.

I think the big problem is not just in IT but all sectors. In years gone by people would do proper training such as apprenticeships or other schemes which included basic manament techniques. These people would then be allowed to work there way up the ladder to management level. These days project/programme managers for example do not start at the bottom and work their way up they can bypass all the technical skills for which they are managing and have no practical experience whatsoever. We also have companies making people managers when they are simply to young and have not fully developed their people skills - and quite often these younger managers can't cope with having someone older/more experienced on the team so they exclude that person and all the experience.

I've made the transition from techie to management and it was pretty difficult due to many companies unable to see that experience is a qualification in its own right. To often they put the onus on youth and bits of paper. At interview I'm often asked most of our team are very young how would you cope with that. It is an implication that my age and experience is being used against me.

I have to say most qualifications are pretty easy to pass these days so they are not an indicator of ability at all.