Dress Code
One of the good things about I.T. is that you are generally paid based on how good you are - not on how well you presented you are. And given that I.T. is mainly a 'behind-the-scenes' job it doesn't require immaculate presentation.
My hero in this regard is none other than Billy Gates. Take a look at the original Microsoft Staff Photo - it's a classic.
You will never see a bigger bunch of nerdy looking types all sitting together. And while Bill has refined his look he is still very much representative of that fact that looks really mean nothing. In I.T. its' all about ability, not image. Or it should be.
One of the most capable developers I ever met is a 6 foot 3 inch 100 kilo expert with hair half way down his back and no tie. He would walk into any meeting with no regard for presentation for one good reason - he was good at ghis job. Companies that find such people aer generally reluctant to lose them so they turn a blind eye to what you wear. And that applies in double to I.T. because managers are so dependant on I.T. people who actually know how their business works and how their applications work. They cant afford to lose them.
In fact experience tells me that the snappy I.T. dressers are the ones to watch out for. They are often Sales Types (Refer 'The People') or developers with inferior skills who are tryign to creaet an image.
Of course there are exceptions to the general rule that appearance is unimportant...
* Refer 'Finding a Job' for details on Interviews
* If you aer going to work for a consultancy. They aer going to place you at a Client site on a ridiculous rate. About $40/hour above what tyou can get in the marketplace for doing the same work as a stand alone contractor. In order to justify such prioces they try and create an image tha suggests you aer somehow superior. So it's on with the suits and off with the facial hair. Same work, a little less comfortable.
* Your first few monmths in a job. No onwe knows how good you are - they assume you are as good as the next developer - and can be relpaced fairly easily. So you have to do the 'suit & tie' thing just while yuo establish yuor credentials.
Overall it's a judgemernt call - how confident are you in yuor role ? If in doubt , dress up. If 100% confident of your job security, dress comfortable.
You know the guys that still have pony-tails ? Chancves are thast they are in I.T. It's out of step with trends and fashion, but the general public like to think of us as a little wierd anyway soi it's almost expected.
My hero in this regard is none other than Billy Gates. Take a look at the original Microsoft Staff Photo - it's a classic.
You will never see a bigger bunch of nerdy looking types all sitting together. And while Bill has refined his look he is still very much representative of that fact that looks really mean nothing. In I.T. its' all about ability, not image. Or it should be.
One of the most capable developers I ever met is a 6 foot 3 inch 100 kilo expert with hair half way down his back and no tie. He would walk into any meeting with no regard for presentation for one good reason - he was good at ghis job. Companies that find such people aer generally reluctant to lose them so they turn a blind eye to what you wear. And that applies in double to I.T. because managers are so dependant on I.T. people who actually know how their business works and how their applications work. They cant afford to lose them.
In fact experience tells me that the snappy I.T. dressers are the ones to watch out for. They are often Sales Types (Refer 'The People') or developers with inferior skills who are tryign to creaet an image.
Of course there are exceptions to the general rule that appearance is unimportant...
* Refer 'Finding a Job' for details on Interviews
* If you aer going to work for a consultancy. They aer going to place you at a Client site on a ridiculous rate. About $40/hour above what tyou can get in the marketplace for doing the same work as a stand alone contractor. In order to justify such prioces they try and create an image tha suggests you aer somehow superior. So it's on with the suits and off with the facial hair. Same work, a little less comfortable.
* Your first few monmths in a job. No onwe knows how good you are - they assume you are as good as the next developer - and can be relpaced fairly easily. So you have to do the 'suit & tie' thing just while yuo establish yuor credentials.
Overall it's a judgemernt call - how confident are you in yuor role ? If in doubt , dress up. If 100% confident of your job security, dress comfortable.
You know the guys that still have pony-tails ? Chancves are thast they are in I.T. It's out of step with trends and fashion, but the general public like to think of us as a little wierd anyway soi it's almost expected.
posted by Whitefellah at 8:07 PM
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