Required Skills
Personal
Team Oriented
Communicative
Logical
'Poise'
What am I talking about here you may ask ? One of the keys to convincing others that you aer good at yuor job is to display a high level of composure at all times. Developers who are out of their depth or who are eager to prove themsleves will often do a lot of 'huffing and puffing'. This method is all about lwetting others know how hard your work is - the operating system environment isn't set up properly , the specifications are too vague, the database isn't indexed, etc.etc. As you work you do a lot of heavy sighs - indcviating to all aruond you that your particular task is harder than everyone else's.
Unfortunateyl all this approach displays is an inability to handle perssure. If the work is too hard or out of yuor comfort zone you need to take a deep breath and determine what it is that yuo dont know - and go and find out. Or if it's simply impossible to achieve due to external factors let yuor supervisor know what those factors are.
Technical
My experience tells me that your technical skills are very important as they are the skills that get you in the front door of a prospective employer. When a company looks to recruit the list usually starts with ' Must have 4 years Windows 2000, 3 years Oracle 9i, 3 years Java '. Further down the list are ' Should have good communication skills ' and ' Must be a team player '. The latter skills are important but they do not get you on their short list.
So always beware of jobs that are eroding your technical skills. Roles such as 'Team Leader' or 'Development Manager' come to mind - plenty of opportunity to get involved in politics, attend meetings and create Microsoft Project charts - but precious little time to actually cut some code or use the latest development tools.
The danger here is that while you are becoming a key player at your current site, your overall marketability is going out the window. Unless you want to be a manager. And if that's the case make sure you are being trained in management techniques - if you are playing the manager role but have no training you may find your sills are not transferable to another site
Software
Operating Systems
So what software should you specialise in ?
Databases
Databases are a great example of why your chosen area of expertise is so important. Years ago when 4GLs hit the marketplace there was an influx of new development tools and databases. IBM had Adabas/Natural, ??? had Ingres, ??? had RDB. And where are thy now ? How many sites still use them ?
Technical - Hardware
Niche opportunities
* SAP
* Testing
Developing Skills
* Courses
* On the Job
* What to Avoid
Team Oriented
Communicative
Logical
'Poise'
What am I talking about here you may ask ? One of the keys to convincing others that you aer good at yuor job is to display a high level of composure at all times. Developers who are out of their depth or who are eager to prove themsleves will often do a lot of 'huffing and puffing'. This method is all about lwetting others know how hard your work is - the operating system environment isn't set up properly , the specifications are too vague, the database isn't indexed, etc.etc. As you work you do a lot of heavy sighs - indcviating to all aruond you that your particular task is harder than everyone else's.
Unfortunateyl all this approach displays is an inability to handle perssure. If the work is too hard or out of yuor comfort zone you need to take a deep breath and determine what it is that yuo dont know - and go and find out. Or if it's simply impossible to achieve due to external factors let yuor supervisor know what those factors are.
Technical
My experience tells me that your technical skills are very important as they are the skills that get you in the front door of a prospective employer. When a company looks to recruit the list usually starts with ' Must have 4 years Windows 2000, 3 years Oracle 9i, 3 years Java '. Further down the list are ' Should have good communication skills ' and ' Must be a team player '. The latter skills are important but they do not get you on their short list.
So always beware of jobs that are eroding your technical skills. Roles such as 'Team Leader' or 'Development Manager' come to mind - plenty of opportunity to get involved in politics, attend meetings and create Microsoft Project charts - but precious little time to actually cut some code or use the latest development tools.
The danger here is that while you are becoming a key player at your current site, your overall marketability is going out the window. Unless you want to be a manager. And if that's the case make sure you are being trained in management techniques - if you are playing the manager role but have no training you may find your sills are not transferable to another site
Software
Operating Systems
So what software should you specialise in ?
Databases
Databases are a great example of why your chosen area of expertise is so important. Years ago when 4GLs hit the marketplace there was an influx of new development tools and databases. IBM had Adabas/Natural, ??? had Ingres, ??? had RDB. And where are thy now ? How many sites still use them ?
Technical - Hardware
Niche opportunities
* SAP
* Testing
Developing Skills
* Courses
* On the Job
* What to Avoid
posted by Whitefellah at 8:09 PM
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