There seem to be a few opportunities where companies will hire you to work with or support technology locally, but only for relatively low pay. The greater opportunities are in consulting on technology and helping a company leverage it to their advantage. Let's face it, there seem to be more gadgets available than anyone could learn to use comfortably.
I can have my phone calls forwarded to my cell, and my cell trigger a page to my pager if I've left it alone somewhere, but how often will I do this?
I was watching a television show with my wife two nights ago with a couple who each had two college degrees (one of which was Law for each) and they were working 16 hours a day, 6 days a week. Who wants that? Do they think this will "pay off" eventually and they will be able to retire early? I think neither of them will ever be able to relinquish control of their respective ventures to anyone else and they will be working until they die. Personally I don't want that kind of career. The same show featured a father telling his rock wall climbing two year old to "hold on" while he answered a message on his Blackberry... Give me a break! Where is the greater responsibility? The Blackberry or the (very fragile) two year old? I shouldn't even have to ask this question and that father should be flogged for ignoring the safety of his child!
The purpose of technology and high tech careers should not be to separate us from life. It should help us exploit the time we have here on Earth to our advantage, to allow us to accomplish more, or to allow us to continuously "work smarter, not harder" in order to achieve freedom over our schedules.
Has technology helped or hindered you? Do you have more or less freedom than 2 years ago? (or two jobs ago...)
I can have my phone calls forwarded to my cell, and my cell trigger a page to my pager if I've left it alone somewhere, but how often will I do this?
I was watching a television show with my wife two nights ago with a couple who each had two college degrees (one of which was Law for each) and they were working 16 hours a day, 6 days a week. Who wants that? Do they think this will "pay off" eventually and they will be able to retire early? I think neither of them will ever be able to relinquish control of their respective ventures to anyone else and they will be working until they die. Personally I don't want that kind of career. The same show featured a father telling his rock wall climbing two year old to "hold on" while he answered a message on his Blackberry... Give me a break! Where is the greater responsibility? The Blackberry or the (very fragile) two year old? I shouldn't even have to ask this question and that father should be flogged for ignoring the safety of his child!
The purpose of technology and high tech careers should not be to separate us from life. It should help us exploit the time we have here on Earth to our advantage, to allow us to accomplish more, or to allow us to continuously "work smarter, not harder" in order to achieve freedom over our schedules.
Has technology helped or hindered you? Do you have more or less freedom than 2 years ago? (or two jobs ago...)
posted by:
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Norfolk
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Unsu...
Re: Opportunities and demands on your time
Fri, September 22, 2006 - 12:16 AMWorking for a consulting firm, I currently juggle 2 VC clients in an ongoing basis in addition to smaller projects at other sites. Both VC clients can be demanding due to their high-maintenance requirements but I got used to that.
My employer requires us to be on call on a rotating basis 24/7 for all clients who have around the clock support contracts but I got used to that.
I use a TREO 700w (gadget freaks anyone?) in order to remain connected with my clients & friends as well as increase efficiency of my professional & personal productivity but I got used to that.
All of the above has both helped & hindered me. As a prefessional, it has helped me react to support problems in a much more timely manner when clients have needed me which in turn has solidified my business relations with key players at both sites (it's all about who you know in this business). The extra OT pay that comes with this type of service has also helpded my pocket book so no complains there.
On a personal level, it has interfered with my already limited free time during the weekends (when I am not performing after-hours network maintenance). I have had to cancel my B-Day celebration as well as other functions on several occasions due to emergency client calls or large-scale projects that have coincided with personal plans. I don't spend as much quality time as I wish I could with my family at times due to this 'always connected' lifestyle & it really ticks me off at times.
In the end, I guess it is a love/hate situation that I doubt will change in the near future for most of us in the IT workforce.
Just my 2 cents
Ciao, -
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Re: Opportunities and demands on your time
Fri, September 22, 2006 - 9:22 PMI'm currently consulting with two major corporate clients. One is a onsite job during the day, the other is a part-time remote job. The only concession I've made is a cel phone. I turn it off after business hours and don't turn it on over the weekend.
I don't believe in Blackberries or any of those things. I don't need them, thank you. I don't even have one of those mega paper organizer. It's against my religious beliefs.
I do have friends who are really wired in all the time. I'm just not interested in that. I haven't applied for jobs that had mandatory 24/7 support. I have friends who worked 2 weeks straight with little to no sleep. I have enough problems with my health without that.
I totally understand that some situations time require folks to be more wired into work. But I think sometimes when folks advertise how wired they are it creates the demand. People assume you want to be readily available.
The smartest thing I learned consulting is when to shut off the computer, go home, and or go to sleep. Many of the best managers I've worked for will make it a policy not to pick up their cel phones or answer email after hours or when they're on vacation. It sets up a reasonable expectation for the people you work with.
However, I do plead guily to sending after hours email when I'm deep into a project ;-)
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