Meandering up the corporate ladder

The shortest path up the corporate ladder may no longer be a straight line, said David Foote, CEO and chief research officer of independent market research company Foote Partners LLC."What is an IT Career Today?" was a workshop and four-person panel Foote hosted and moderated Wednesday morning at Babson College. The speakers looked at the changing definition of IT professional, what skills it encompasses, and the changing trends in insourcing vs. outsourcing.

Meandering up the corporate ladder

The shortest path up the corporate ladder may no longer be a straight line, said David Foote, CEO and chief research officer of independent market research company Foote Partners LLC."What is an IT Career Today?" was a workshop and four-person panel Foote hosted and moderated Wednesday morning at Babson College. The speakers looked at the changing definition of IT professional, what skills it encompasses, and the changing trends in insourcing vs. outsourcing.

Meandering up the corporate ladder

The shortest path up the corporate ladder may no longer be a straight line, said David Foote, CEO and chief research officer of independent market research company Foote Partners LLC."What is an IT Career Today?" was a workshop and four-person panel Foote hosted and moderated Wednesday morning at Babson College. The speakers looked at the changing definition of IT professional, what skills it encompasses, and the changing trends in insourcing vs. outsourcing.

Shark Tank: Hey, straight down is a direction too

This big company announces a dramatic new direction: It will reduce its workforce by 6,000 worldwide to free up $100 million to feed product development, reports a pilot fish among the 6,000."After 18 months of research, senior management outsourced such 'business support' functions as IT, finance, purchasing, HR, engineering and accounts payable," fish says."The IT department was outsourced to two separate companies: one for the infrastructure and one for the business applications."Trouble is, the company that lands the infrastructure contract has never done this sort of work before -- just call centers and application support.

Shark Tank: Hey, straight down is a direction too

This big company announces a dramatic new direction: It will reduce its workforce by 6,000 worldwide to free up $100 million to feed product development, reports a pilot fish among the 6,000."After 18 months of research, senior management outsourced such 'business support' functions as IT, finance, purchasing, HR, engineering and accounts payable," fish says."The IT department was outsourced to two separate companies: one for the infrastructure and one for the business applications."Trouble is, the company that lands the infrastructure contract has never done this sort of work before -- just call centers and application support.

Shark Tank: Hey, straight down is a direction too

This big company announces a dramatic new direction: It will reduce its workforce by 6,000 worldwide to free up $100 million to feed product development, reports a pilot fish among the 6,000."After 18 months of research, senior management outsourced such 'business support' functions as IT, finance, purchasing, HR, engineering and accounts payable," fish says."The IT department was outsourced to two separate companies: one for the infrastructure and one for the business applications."Trouble is, the company that lands the infrastructure contract has never done this sort of work before -- just call centers and application support.

New job IT titles in 2010? I want to be a "Wiki Master."

Blogger Vinnie Mirchandani is wondering what new IT job titles we'll see in the next three years. He suggests the following:Mashup Services Coordinator Enterprise Virtualizer iPhone Coordinator Utility Computing/Shared Services Manager Facebook Coordinator Sensor Portfolio Director Wiki Master Workday Systems Liaison Global Sourcing Coordinator

New job IT titles in 2010? I want to be a "Wiki Master."

Blogger Vinnie Mirchandani is wondering what new IT job titles we'll see in the next three years. He suggests the following:Mashup Services Coordinator Enterprise Virtualizer iPhone Coordinator Utility Computing/Shared Services Manager Facebook Coordinator Sensor Portfolio Director Wiki Master Workday Systems Liaison Global Sourcing Coordinator

New job IT titles in 2010? I want to be a "Wiki Master."

Blogger Vinnie Mirchandani is wondering what new IT job titles we'll see in the next three years. He suggests the following:Mashup Services Coordinator Enterprise Virtualizer iPhone Coordinator Utility Computing/Shared Services Manager Facebook Coordinator Sensor Portfolio Director Wiki Master Workday Systems Liaison Global Sourcing Coordinator

Hey, that sounds familiar...

We've all heard the dilemma doctors face when they're asked medical questions in a casual (read, not office) setting. The savvy ones knowthat they can just deflect the question by advising the inquirer to "give my office a call and we'll set up an appointment and look intoit." Sometimes a request for your professional knowledge isn't so easy to dismiss. Case in point, just a few weeks ago I was casually asked (via email) aquestion about a computer related matter. I happily (and freely) replied to the emailed question with an email of my own offering a

Hey, that sounds familiar ...

We've all heard the dilemma doctors face when they're asked medical questions in a casual (read, not office) setting. The savvy ones know that they can just deflect the question by advising the inquirer to "give my office a call and we'll set up an appointment and look into it." Sometimes a request for your professional knowledge isn't so easy to dismiss. Case in point, just a few weeks ago I was casually asked (via email) a question about a computer related matter. I happily (and freely) replied to the emailed question with an email of my own offering a somewhat detailed response.

Hey, that sounds familiar ...

We've all heard the dilemma doctors face when they're asked medical questions in a casual (read, not office) setting. The savvy ones know that they can just deflect the question by advising the inquirer to "give my office a call and we'll set up an appointment and look into it." Sometimes a request for your professional knowledge isn't so easy to dismiss. Case in point, just a few weeks ago I was casually asked (via email) a question about a computer related matter. I happily (and freely) replied to the emailed question with an email of my own offering a somewhat detailed response.

Shark Tank: Showtime!

It's the early 1980s, and this young pilot fish is hired by a trade show company to support its leased minicomputer -- for bookkeeping, customer database, that sort of thing -- and also to serve as technical troubleshooter at the shows."This was when the desktop computer was becoming popular and there were many different brands competing," says fish. "All my programming experience was on mainframe computers and punch cards."However, the industry trade show, which was exhibiting heavy machinery, consisted of exhibitors with a hodgepodge of different types of desktop computers."And fish's first show is also the first one at which many of the exhibitors want to use modems to stay in touch with the main office from the show floor.

Shark Tank: Showtime!

It's the early 1980s, and this young pilot fish is hired by a trade show company to support its leased minicomputer -- for bookkeeping, customer database, that sort of thing -- and also to serve as technical troubleshooter at the shows."This was when the desktop computer was becoming popular and there were many different brands competing," says fish. "All my programming experience was on mainframe computers and punch cards."However, the industry trade show, which was exhibiting heavy machinery, consisted of exhibitors with a hodgepodge of different types of desktop computers."And fish's first show is also the first one at which many of the exhibitors want to use modems to stay in touch with the main office from the show floor.

Shark Tank: Showtime!

It's the early 1980s, and this young pilot fish is hired by a trade show company to support its leased minicomputer -- for bookkeeping, customer database, that sort of thing -- and also to serve as technical troubleshooter at the shows."This was when the desktop computer was becoming popular and there were many different brands competing," says fish. "All my programming experience was on mainframe computers and punch cards."However, the industry trade show, which was exhibiting heavy machinery, consisted of exhibitors with a hodgepodge of different types of desktop computers."And fish's first show is also the first one at which many of the exhibitors want to use modems to stay in touch with the main office from the show floor.

Fake degrees, fake certifications, real résumés

There was an interesting story in today's Washington Post, about a series of scandals involving South Koreans who exaggerated or lied about their academic background:The state prosecutor's office has launched a nationwide investigation this summer into fabricated degrees, plagiarized doctoral theses and forged test certificates. It has asked tipsters to call in with information."Even if you are accomplished in Korea, people are constantly asking about your college degrees," said Whang Sang Min, a professor of psychology at Yonsei University in Seoul. "You have constant pressure to fake it."

Fake degrees, fake certifications, real r??sum??s

There was an interesting story in today's Washington Post, about a series of scandals involving South Koreans who exaggerated or lied about their academic background:The state prosecutor's office has launched a nationwide investigation this summer into fabricated degrees, plagiarized doctoral theses and forged test certificates. It has asked tipsters to call in with information."Even if you are accomplished in Korea, people are constantly asking about your college degrees," said Whang Sang Min, a professor of psychology at Yonsei University in Seoul. "You have constant pressure to fake it."

Fake degrees, fake certifications, real résumés

There was an interesting story in today's Washington Post, about a series of scandals involving South Koreans who exaggerated or lied about their academic background:The state prosecutor's office has launched a nationwide investigation this summer into fabricated degrees, plagiarized doctoral theses and forged test certificates. It has asked tipsters to call in with information."Even if you are accomplished in Korea, people are constantly asking about your college degrees," said Whang Sang Min, a professor of psychology at Yonsei University in Seoul. "You have constant pressure to fake it."

Rewiring respect for IT

(This week's Frankly Speaking -- now with links!)Why don’t IT people get more respect? On this Labor Day, things are actually looking better for people who work in corporate IT. Budgets aren’t quite so tight. Companies are hiring. Interesting IT projects are getting a green light. But when it comes to how our fellow employees think about us, IT work is a train wreck. Users break the rules we set up, ignore the proc­esses we develop and generally act as if we’re clueless in what we do. But why? As it turns out, it’s not just us.

Rewiring respect for IT

(This week's Frankly Speaking -- now with links!)Why don’t IT people get more respect? On this Labor Day, things are actually looking better for people who work in corporate IT. Budgets aren’t quite so tight. Companies are hiring. Interesting IT projects are getting a green light. But when it comes to how our fellow employees think about us, IT work is a train wreck. Users break the rules we set up, ignore the proc­esses we develop and generally act as if we’re clueless in what we do. But why? As it turns out, it’s not just us.