Dirty Little IT Secrets

I started my career in the world of IT (Information Technology) in 1976 as a computer programmer and spent almost 30 years designing software for a living. And now that I think of it, along the way we called it DP (Data Processing), IM (Information Management), MIS (Management Information Systems) and other things that slip my mind.

So I was amused when I saw this post titled 10 dirty little secrets you should know about working in IT. Here are a few of their secrets and my comments:

• The pay in IT is good compared to many other professions, but since they pay you well, they often think they own you.
  I can definitely relate to this.. even so, I have to admit that I have heard more about this than I have experienced.
• It will be your fault when users make silly errors.
  The older I got the more that I understood that this comes with the territory. On the flip side I found that if I would listen then I would learn so much from the people I designed software for.
• Certifications won’t always help you become a better technologist, but they can help you land a better job or a pay raise.
  I am smiling because I am remembering the pre-Y2k days when IT folks were in high demand. The resumes that came across my desk were sometimes quite outrageous.
• You’ll spend far more time babysitting old technologies than implementing new ones.
  I remember writing software in the 70s and 80s that did not handle the century change. Back then we always said that the software would be long gone before the year 2000. Boy, were we wrong!
• Veteran IT professionals are often the biggest roadblock to implementing new technologies.
  I so wish that this was a lie but I have seen many folks who resisted new technologies because they would have to relearn the newer programming languages or design methodologies. I remember being one of them in 1994.

I think that many of these secrets can be encapsulated in one word - change. Unfortunately the issues around that word are not restricted to IT folks. If you disagree then I suggest that you watch what happens the next time Facebook introduces new features.