Page 1 of 1
Posted: Tue Jun 05, 2007 5:50 pm
by Malcolm
As some of y'all may or may not be aware, I've been given my first taste of unofficial project authority at my current gig. Even though it's unofficial, I find considerable expectations being heaped upon me & little to no resources to accomplish these things that are virtually acts of god. What I need is either more manpower or a better way to deal w\ the fuckers that do our hosting/website design. Currently, the CEO has axed the former while my supervisor has 86'd the latter.
While nothing I do at this company really matters (none of the techies are under any delusion that the CEO's dreams of late '90s internet wealth will ever work), it has taught me that if something needs to get done to make my shit go quicker, middle management & up will kill it & no amount of arguing can sway their opinions as they press ahead w\ their mad vision of the future.
Any techies here got a IT job that they enjoy not plagued excessively by managerial bullshit? If so, what sort of shit did you have to crawl thru to get there?
Reason I ask is that eventually, I'll need to hit the real world & I've a few options for a career path at the moment. One starts out at tech monkey. From what I've seen of tech monkey, I don't like it.
Posted: Tue Jun 05, 2007 7:42 pm
by TheCatt
I've been in 3 environments:
1) Large, private consulting firm - (25-30k people) Large (200+ people) and small (<10 people) projects.
2) Medium-sized private startup (35-75 people)
3) Large, public, regulated corporate utility (>12,000 people)
I'm about to start #4 - Small, private firm (20 people)
For me, the best environment is: small, growing, and private. Small means having a multitude of responsibilities, with variety. Growing means a chance to demonstrate responsibility and get promoted. Private means less regulatory bullshit and therefore less beauracracy.
Also, give people a reason to like you. To be able to count on you. People always like the familiar. So even if you aren't the best, you might be the better position (the position at the new company a former co-worker went to, for example) because your a known commodity, and people like you. To that end, keep in touch with people. You never know where they'll end up that could be useful to you later.
Posted: Tue Jun 05, 2007 11:53 pm
by Leisher
For me, the best environment is: small, growing, and private.
Ditto.
The environment in a small, privately owned corporation is just soooooo different from that of a corporation. Things might be different if times are rough, but it's still better than a corporation that's doing well.
Like Catt says, make friends and do your job. Make sure people understand that you may not know all the answers, but you'll bust ass trying to find them.
That will buy you a lot of political cash.
Posted: Wed Jun 06, 2007 12:59 am
by TPRJones
I like the big soulless governmental organizations where you can make a nice little corner for yourself and get paid for years for doing nothing at all.
Posted: Wed Jun 06, 2007 8:11 am
by TheCatt
Another nice thing about small, private companies is less bullshit when it comes to hiring/firing. The large utility for which I work(ed) had an IT department that was brutalized by the tech boom. ALL of the good people left. They had 700 second or third-class employees who basically couldn't get hired elsewhere. When the tech boom ended, they desperately needed people, but had very few open positions. The ended up going through 2 rounds of layoffs and 1 early retirement to try and clear out positions. Even still, 70% of the people there are the dregs from earlier.
Small companies can hire/fire much more easily. If you want stability/job security, then big employers/government will have some value to you. One of my best friends is single, but has 4 kids. He's one of the tech bust people who joined the utility, and is staying cuz he needs the security of providing for those kids. But, if you want to work with smart people and get shit done, go small and private.
Posted: Wed Jun 06, 2007 8:16 am
by DoctorChaos
Small and private is definitely the way to go. My job is pretty good, but then my boss is across the country. 
We're looking for developers. No, seriously.
Posted: Wed Jun 06, 2007 10:38 am
by Malcolm
DoctorChaos wrote:We're looking for developers. No, seriously.
Goddamnit, I just moved a few thousand miles in the past few months. I plan to stay in the Frigid North till I finish my grad degree.
Posted: Wed Jun 06, 2007 1:10 pm
by DoctorChaos
My company is based out of Texas. I live in Ohio. Telecommuting is the norm.
Posted: Wed Jun 06, 2007 2:01 pm
by Malcolm
DoctorChaos wrote:My company is based out of Texas. I live in Ohio. Telecommuting is the norm.
I think "school + job + writing_textbook > my_time" will be true for at least a bit.