BCE had a piece about his career move. And some follow up.
I can’t point fingers. I’ve done something like this at least three times. Except the move out the country part. But take a different job, when I had a super safe one, for more money. By doing that, the last time I did it, I was able to double my salary in three years. Have all benefits paid. It allowed me to move to DFW.
Then I got laid off.
But I got a better gig, eventually.
This piece hit me as I had one mulling in my head after hearing a few hundred commercials every day to learn IT in some way shape or form. Them are good jobs. Them are recession proof.
Heh. Yeah.
I’ve been in IT/Telecom for nearly forty years (fck I’m old). I’ve done a bunch. Seen a bunch.
Before I start; IT is a good gig – IF – you have the intellect and drive for it. If you don’t, it’s no different than any other gig. Maybe worse.
So let me told you what’s gonna happen when you get outta the IT skool. You, more than likely are going to have to eat shit sammiches until you prove yourself. Get some certs they said. It’ll be fun they said.
What do you see yourself doing? I see you unboxing a few hundred laptops or desktops and imaging them. Every day. All day. Or taking calls from midwits who can’t google how to print from a different tray, usually on a late shift. Hell, this is without DEI too. They’ll work your nuts off. I told this to my son when a friend of his was taking this path.
Then there’s this:
Still feeling a mite salty over the lack of a raise. Don’t know if I went into it. I had a two-year review a few weeks back and got a whole dollar for slaving for those two years. I expressed some displeasure at this. To which Head Commissar said we’d do a ninety day review.
Been there. I’ve had times when I was underpaid, and my salary jumped 20% a year. But when you get to a certain point, that stops. And as the economy ebbs, you get jack and shit. Not even cost of living. Be grateful, serf. Once, they gave us options instead of actual money.
Options are not a carrot. They aren’t even a picture of a carrot. They are an IOU for a picture of a carrot. I’ve had companies sell out from under me, jettisoning tens of thousands of options in the process. “Oh your options? You’re gonna have to go talk to those guys (the old owners)”. Like Carlin said “It’s a big club, and you ain’t in it”. Someone got paid. Not you.
To get a decent raise, you generally have to move on. I’ve never had the ‘ask for a raise’ thing work. I even told one boss that with the third kid, I was going to have to start delivering pizza on the side. Didn’t work one bit.
Glorious People’s Tractor Factory can fuck itself IF I choose to go that route. Even the I.T. Commissar said that I should… his quote “This place is being run into the ground behind the scenes because of alllll these fucking women.”
The real skill here, especially if you are a consultant, is to keep your eyes and ears open. Don’t be the first rat off the ship. Sounds like BCE caught a whiff of them slicing the shit to make sammiches. Free lunch in the cafeteria!
You see, in any gig a company is either collecting money or giving away gold bars. In IT, you are collecting money if you are billable (and there’s work). If you are support, that’s giving away gold bars to a company.
IT is not recession proof in any way, shape, or form. Companies where I’ve worked have used the opportunity to cull the herd of the slow, lazy, and lightly skilled. That’s what happens on the ‘collecting money’ side. On the ‘giving gold bars away’ side, you can find yourself outsourced. Sometimes overseas, sometimes to an outsourcing consulting company.
Pro tip: if a consulting business takes over your IT job and hires you, decides you need certs, and arranges Cisco training for you. Don’t bitch. Don’t skeeve. Go.
IT can be a great gig. It’s been for me. But you have to be smart, skilled, self motivated, and driven. I can’t tell you how many souls I’ve mentored who didn’t listen when I told them what would happen only to watch it happen Just.Like.I.Said.
Oh…the stories I could tell.
If you’re in IT, keep your skills sharp. Work hard and smart. But keep your eyes and nose open. There are few companies that have any loyalty to you. You owe them nothing.
You aren’t appreciated. Don’t be the last rat off the ship.
So good luck to BCE. I’ve seen others do what he’s doing. It probably is a smart move.
Inspected By Pat 