# What exactly is IT "work"? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 31, 2017, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-is-it-work/792516 "2017-07-31T16:22:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2017, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-is-it-work/792516/21 "2017-08-02T15:07:36Z")
> [@msmith537](#): > > Except in practice the project manager often bears the responsibility for the project going over budget, regardless of whether it was his fault or not. > > The last firm I worked at (a poorly run tech consulting firm), projects were typically undersold by a team of douchey salesmen and then tossed over the wall to “delivery” (PMO). Typically the first act of the PM is to issue change requests to rescope the project or budget to something more realistic (which the clients always appreciated). > > Then during the course of the project, staff would be pulled on and off project at the whim of the firm’s management and scope would inevitably be changed during side meetings between sales and the client (typically over drinks). > > In one particular case, management shut down an entire offshore development center without telling any of the PMs who had projects running out of them. Always fun to dial into your morning standup call to get an “out of service” signal. > > When the projects went over time or budget, inevitably the PM is thrown under the bus. > Or, alternately, the PM is just an administrative “schedule keeper”, and some steering committee is the actual management authority. I thought about expanding my skills to include Project Management but a manager with my long-term client talked me out of it. He told me not to do it at least with them. The reason is that I am actually important and needed long-term but the main job of the Project Managers we use is to take the blame and get fired at the end. I thought back through the projects I have worked on and he had a very valid point. Only one PM that I have worked with is still around and that is just because he is unusually good and charismatic. The others never stood a chance. ---
**Author:** ![JcWoman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jcwoman/32/2889_2.png) [@JcWoman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JcWoman)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2017, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-is-it-work/792516/22 "2017-08-02T15:10:10Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > If there are no (or few) generalists any more, then what do you have at a medium-sized company that only has the budget to hire one “computer guy”? Because I would expect that to be the largest category of IT employment, because there are a lot of companies of about that size. I sure see a ton of job ads that have a long laundry list of very specific requirements, even for the “one man departments”. A lot more people are capable of doing these kinds of jobs than employers are willing to hire. It’s the employer’s loss, of course. But it ticks me off hearing about “skills shortages” when there are people like me out there applying but we don’t get the time of day. A related peeve: I often hear hiring managers comment that something like 8 out of 10 candidates they try to hire fail the drug test. I don’t do drugs, so they wouldn’t have that problem with me. But again, I don’t even get a phone call because they’re too busy looking for that 100% matching skillset. They don’t seem to work their way down a list of potential candidates, but instead re-post the job to continue looking for that perfect match. Re-applying when they re-post doesn’t seem to work. ---
**Author:** ![JohnGalt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johngalt/32/184_2.png) [@JohnGalt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnGalt)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2017, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-is-it-work/792516/23 "2017-08-02T16:39:21Z")
IT is too broad of a term without knowing what your skills are or what your interests are. Previous posters have listed the wide variety of IT work, but most won’t apply for someone just getting into the field. I think the term should be narrowed; what was the OP’s friend suggesting? I teach at a community college where we have a computer science/programming program and a network administration program, with some overlapping classes. I wouldn’t label programmers as “IT workers” but graduates of network admin certainly are. “IT workers” configure systems, servers, set up networks, handle help desk operations, monitor security logs, that kind of stuff. IT work is “work” in that you’re often physically doing things, versus programming which is more desk-bound. Another distinction is the hiring requirements. Employers looking at our network admin students usually ask for both the two-year degree PLUS certifications. On the other hand, our programming students may get hired with a two-year degree, but most go on and obtain a four-year degree. I tell my graduates to apply for jobs that list a bachelor’s degree as a requirement even if they don’t have one. If they get past the HR screeners, they can talk through their skill set. We don’t see programming job listings ask for certifications in programming, mostly because that’s harder to test, although Oracle has some certifications. Searching the Web for programming certifications hits some sites where some say programming certifications are actually detrimental on a resume; they only show you know how to pass a test. Better would be a GitHub open-source project or a published app that shows what you know what you say you know. Because of that, we don’t have our CS/programming students pursue certifications or any sort. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2017, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-is-it-work/792516/24 "2017-08-02T18:49:27Z")
> [@Shagnasty](#): > > I thought about expanding my skills to include Project Management but a manager with my long-term client talked me out of it. He told me not to do it at least with them. The reason is that I am actually important and needed long-term but the main job of the Project Managers we use is to take the blame and get fired at the end. I thought back through the projects I have worked on and he had a very valid point. Only one PM that I have worked with is still around and that is just because he is unusually good and charismatic. The others never stood a chance. Yeah, I can see that. I took a contract PM job at a big, well hated, financial services company a few years back. The contract only lasted one year. And they actually liked me. I had a couple months notice before the contract ended. They took me out to a nice farewell lunch. Even bugged me to run on their Corporate Challenge race team (I had signed up prior to the contract ending). I still keep in touch with my VP and some of my colleagues. The contractors they didn’t like or who didn’t work out typically had a message sent to their agency at the end of the day to not show up again and that they would receive their stuff in the mail. I also later found out that on my PMO team of 5 PMs (3 full time, 2 contract), I was the only one who was actually working on a real project over the past year. The others were mostly doing “busy work” like putting together decks for monthly steering committee meetings. Unfortunately, the nature of project management is that projects, by definition, are of finite duration. Ironically, during that time, I also received a full time offer to go back to a firm I had previously worked at up in Boston. I ended up not taking it though. I had just worked for a startup and wasn’t sure if I could tolerate the firms similar “tech cult” mentality. Plus they seemed WAY too eager to hire me as a PM for some “important” client engagement. If it’s so important, why are you hiring some guy right off the street and not putting your A team on it? It just seemed desperate like I would be walking into a shit-show. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2017, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-is-it-work/792516/25 "2017-08-02T19:02:02Z")
> [@msmith537](#): > > Or, alternately, the PM is just an administrative “schedule keeper”, and some steering committee is the actual management authority. This, IMO, is what it should be, except it’s not a menial or lowly task - it requires serious skill and credibility to be able to manage stakeholders so that they accept and uphold their responsibilities. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-is-it-work/792516.md?page=1)