The typical IT worker: info from the WSJ

[MillCreek]

http://online.wsj.com/news/interactive/ITWORKERprintCHRT?ref=SB10001424052702303442004579123283162644524

http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702303442004579123283162644524?mod=ITP_journalreport_1

If you can read the links: portrait of a typical IT worker

An excerpt from the article:

For instance, the IT guy—and they're about three times more likely to be men than women—doesn't necessarily have a computer-science degree. About a third come to IT with degrees in business, social sciences or other nontechnical fields. More than 40% of computer support specialists and a third of computer systems administrators don't have a college degree at all.

[lee n. field]

Teh Horrors!

[Fitz]

Lies.

Everyone knows you can't have a career without teh collegez

[mtnbkr]

http://online.wsj.com/news/interactive/ITWORKERprintCHRT?ref=SB10001424052702303442004579123283162644524

http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702303442004579123283162644524?mod=ITP_journalreport_1

If you can read the links: portrait of a typical IT worker

An excerpt from the article:

For instance, the IT guy—and they're about three times more likely to be men than women—doesn't necessarily have a computer-science degree. About a third come to IT with degrees in business, social sciences or other nontechnical fields. More than 40% of computer support specialists and a third of computer systems administrators don't have a college degree at all.

I have a business degree (BBA+MBA and minors in Marketing and Management), but got into the tech field due to aptitude and an interest in the industry.  I've worked with many who got here the same way.  I've also worked with many who have no college degree (or just a few tech classes at the local community college or tech school), and a few without even a HS diploma (just GED).  Two of the latter have risen rather high in their careers, not exactly remaining "system administrators".  This is a field that truly does reward ability.

Chris

[Tallpine]

I am not IT specifically (aerospace software engineering) but I have an accounting/business degree. 

[mtnbkr]

Now that you mention it, the article was using IT more specifically than I was.

I, and any of the people I referred to in my earlier post are not in "support-side" IT, but more aligned with various types of computer systems engineering.  I haven't worked in the sort of roles defined by the article since before 2000. 

Chris

[Tallpine]

Now that you mention it, the article was using IT more specifically than I was.

I, and any of the people I referred to in my earlier post are not in "support-side" IT, but more aligned with various types of computer systems engineering.  I haven't worked in the sort of roles defined by the article since before 2000. 

Chris

Yeah, I always think of IT as the people who keep us from getting any work done 

[zxcvbob]

Are they talking about that guy in India you have to talk to for a half hour before you can get a ticket number (so you can goto the local expert and get the problem resolved in 5 minutes?)  The Indian, bless his heart, is supposed to be a cost-saving measure but he *never* fixes the problem.  So I think maybe he's really just supposed to be a speedbump.  Corporate is punishing us for needing support -- because the software they foist on us is so bad.

[RevDisk]

Didn't finish my degree. Guess I'm in that boat, I'm the server/SAN/network/project guy, who also programs in about half a dozen languages and does web sites.

A CS degree isn't very helpful in doing anything IT related. It's never bad to know the concepts, it's very very helpful. But I found it more practical to do X, and then learn the underlaying technology. It allows the pieces to snap into place. Granted, that's just how my brain works. Practical experience was discouraged, especially with anything modern.

The programming techniques generally hurt my brain. They wanted lots of comments. Not effective, informative comments, just lots of it. Too much commenting can be just as bad as too little. Near anything dealing with usage should be in external documentation. Commenting should be stuff useful to other programmers. If I had to do it all over again, I'd have slapped myself and started an EE degree. CS is basically for math geeks or an intro guide to hardware engineering. A lot of the 4 level courses should be 1 or 2 level courses. Computer and Network Security should be a mandatory 200 level course, not 415 and elective.


Don't get me started on the fact that the overwhelming majority of the mandatory college classes HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH MY DEGREE. They were bloody well job programs for professors that can't or don't teach anything useful.

[Tallpine]

They wanted lots of comments. Not effective, informative comments, just lots of it. Too much commenting can be just as bad as too little.

IMO code should be more or less self commenting, with variable and function names that mean something (instead of x, y, or j).

A reference to the requirements is also useful.   

[RevDisk]

IMO code should be more or less self commenting, with variable and function names that mean something (instead of x, y, or j).

A reference to the requirements is also useful.   

"self commenting code" is a phrase that makes me twitch. Often, I think I produce it. Then someone else reads it, and I remember why it makes me twitch.

Comment, and document.

[mtnbkr]

"self commenting code" is a phrase that makes me twitch. Often, I think I produce it. Then someone else reads it, and I remember why it makes me twitch.

Comment, and document.

Yup, agree completely.

Chris

[Fitz]

somewhere within some very long and boring code around here, there is a function that transforms something into something else...

TransformThatMoFo()

[Tallpine]

"self commenting code" is a phrase that makes me twitch. Often, I think I produce it. Then someone else reads it, and I remember why it makes me twitch.

Comment, and document.

Well, it's always nice if at least you can figure out what it means some months or years later. 

[AZRedhawk44]

I've had coworkers in the past that deliberately don't comment their code in order to manufacture job security.   

[zxcvbob]

I always comment mine, and I try to use variable names that convey meaning (unless the variable really doesn't mean anything, this it's "x" or "y" or "j") so it doesn't require so many comments.  Too many comments can also make the code hard to read.

But I also like to sprinkle in occasional pop-culture references and idioms from the 60's and 70's, just to confuse or irritate the programmers overseas who will eventually take my job.

I absolutely *hate* Hungarian notation.  (that probably makes me a racist)

I've had coworkers in the past that deliberately don't comment their code in order to manufacture job security.  

Can they actually remember what the code does after 6 months?  How about 2 years?  Or do they hand it off to some other poor schmuck to maintain?

[Tallpine]

I've had coworkers in the past that deliberately don't comment their code in order to manufacture job security.   

You worked with Indians too huh?

[RevDisk]

I've had coworkers in the past that deliberately don't comment their code in order to manufacture job security.   

Also means they can't be promoted or transferred.

I knew a contractor that pulled that game. He hardcoded EVERYTHING, and I believe he intentionally would strip comments before pushing to the server.

[bedlamite]

The programming techniques generally hurt my brain. They wanted lots of comments. Not effective, informative comments, just lots of it. Too much commenting can be just as bad as too little. Near anything dealing with usage should be in external documentation. Commenting should be stuff useful to other programmers.

Same thing when I was in school. After a while I started putting easter eggs in the comments. They were either never read or nothing was ever said about them. Of course, they weren't as obvious as the page source for theoatmeal.com.

[charby]

Yeah, I always think of IT as the people who keep us from getting any work done 

Well if we didn't lock you down, you would download every bit of blogware/malware with the latest update you think you needed because the internet popup told you so. Thus creating more work for the IT folks.

[Tallpine]

Well if we didn't lock you down, you would download every bit of blogware/malware with the latest update you think you needed because the internet popup told you so. Thus creating more work for the IT folks.

Not to mention not allowing access to the customer's VPN on site. 

Oh well, I like to work from home anyway 

[zahc]

IMO code should be more or less self commenting, with variable and function names that mean something (instead of x, y, or j).

A reference to the requirements is also useful.   

Code: [Select]

//why we are doing this
void whatThisFunctionDoes(int whatItDoesItTo){

}

[Tallpine]

Should return a value 

[zahc]

Are void functions considered bad practice?

[Tallpine]

Are void functions considered bad practice?

Not necessarily.  However, changing a parameter value is not so clear. (has to be a reference or pointer, also).

Argument(s) normally would be input(s) and return value the output.  (there are exceptions like changing the fields of a structure passed as a pointer)

But a void function might perform undocumented "side effects"  (like changing a global variable).