Succeeding in Tech, Seattle-Style
I'm in high tech, Seattle area. Technical management, to be specific, though veering ever more to the business-side (customer experience, strategy) which is of greater interest. I've done well: better than most, not as good as some, and I'm okay with that. One should strive for greater success, and I'm ambitious too.
Today I'm thinking about how to be "successful" in this field, a subject of occasional interest in various parts of the forum (Seattle is of particular interest, since I am a long-term resident). My thoughts on the matter as-follows, not to be confused with "insights" in every case. I'm upfront about what I do and don't know.
By far my favorite source of objective data is U.S. Bureau of Labor and Statistic web site. I will quote it often in this blog.
"Where are the Tech Jobs in Seattle?"
Some say Seattle is mostly a tech town. Surprise: all my friends are in tech, I live in a tech part of Seattle metro (the eastside), and mostly follow tech news. Suffice to say, if it is indeed a tech-town, embrace it wholeheartedly? By the numbers, Boeing is probably still the largest employer. They create airplanes, I think, though also employ many tech workers...
Moving along...
"What is Tech Like?"
I've been doing this professionally for sixteen years, plus a few years prior as one of the IT guys in an engineering firm (doesn't really count). Most of that at a (very) large software firm based in Redmond, thus my views are mostly around software development life cycle (SDLC). I've worked in server, loading data centers. Client, configurating two major operating systems. Retail, testing and optimizing a site. Gaming, hip-deep in a hundred million dollar household-name console game. Consulting services, and now Cloud apps.
The business has morphed, and will continue to morph: a key point for success, actually, is to embrace the ambiguity. Or a key reason to stay clear, if you're not comfortable with reinventing yourself periodically to stay relevant.
What it's "like" is to have steel nerves, produce, stay aware of what is occurring in your product-service (technically), keep an eye on your personal career goals, and stay current with your leadership team. Do that, you're well on the way.
"How do I Break Into (x)?"
Specialize. Be talented. Network. Be communicative. Decide what you want to do, give it a try. If you're not good, get out and try something else, soonest. Be patient, be a big cat in the long grass: know when to pounce, when to wait.
Actually, I'm being specious: I have little idea how to "break in," if you're not already in. I started small potatoes, but was a manager the moment I sat down and started learning. In the economic heyday, 2006, I could not find enough young people (mostly) to hire entry-level. I hired a few mid-career wanting something a bit more laid-back. Sadly, rumor has it those days are done, at-current. I've moved on from that and don't have a pulse how to catch people's attention, given all the good candidates I see out there for any given role.
Back in the day, I moved up the ladder fairly quickly, though it does take several years to decide where you are strong, and not. I knew with good confidence where I was strong, and found out fast enough where I was weak (fixable) vs. not interested (non-fixable). Adjust accordingly.
As mentioned, rumor has it "breaking in" can no longer be done at several of the major players without experience. Can't have experience without breaking in! I have no solutions for that conundrum, take it up with job recruiters.
More on: "What it is Like"
There is minimal job security. Deal with it: stay relevant, and be prepared to leave on short notice if your position ends or is eliminated. Higher, lower level, doesn't seem to matter much: I've seen both directors and entry-level run out of companies with equal aplomb (or lack-of). Ability to be completely ambivalent about what you work with (product), and who (people), is critical. The underlying methods, principals, and practices are highly relevant, however. Neither products nor people will save you in the long run, both change too often. Your skills and professionalism will absolutely save you.
There are rules on "Being a Professional." Find them online. Study, honor, and follow those precepts, you will be well on the way to success in technology or any other industry.
Work for people and teams, not companies. Make friends, keep them long-term. If your boss, and/or skip-level, leave or are run out, you're immediately at a disadvantage. Fortune will resolve this issue for you, if you don't: usually badly, though several times in my career it has helped, too.
A client of mine once quipped, "Wait long enough by the river, the bodies of your enemies will float by." On-reflection, there is (metaphorical) truth to that. What he forgot to mention:
"Wait too long, you'll join the flotilla!"
"I'm an Introvert! But..."
An introvert's paradise: yes, much of the work is IC vs. teams and management. I've worked in open environments, and walls of offices. Each has upsides. You must be flexible here, as often you cannot control where you must work. Ability to focus, in mild noise and chaos, is mandatory.
However, if you are a skilled people person and good at what you do, you will stand out and thus be more successful then your brethren. For better or worse, the far-out Aspies geeks are on a shot-clock to failure, whether they know it or not, once someone tires of dealing with their idiosyncrasies. I've seen that enough to believe. I've worked alongside, and directly managed, some of the most obtuse yet brilliant people one could possible imagine. A key skill is to not exist in a vacuum, though it is okay to thrive in one. Active management of your own career, and social skills, and soliciting help from your manager, is critical to your integration in the team and organization.
I haven't worked with a company seriously interested in investing in my future in six years. While bothersome, I do wonder if this is a work-life megatrend. Thus, I am responsible for my own training and leave companies when they no longer suit my purposes. That level of "career mercenary" attitude seems to be ever-more necessary in this field, though I cannot tell yet if it is ubiquitous.
"How is the Pay?"
If you are very good, and relevant in your skills, and a bit lucky, you will be well-compensated. If not, you won't be, though this is relative depending on your needs and level of skill/experience.
I am good at what I do. In some ways, brilliant; in others, mediocre. I specialize, with an Ivy League graduate business degree and science undergrad. Know....thy....self. I cannot stress this enough: if you know what you want, and produce, you will define your own niche.
Well-compensated: 97 percentile and up, in my estimation, at least among my peers. If you are abnormally awesome in a marketable skill...by-definition rare...you will be exponentially greater compensated. If that's you, great; if not, hey: at least there is something to aspire to.
Tech is Not a Get-Rich-Quick Scheme.
Zuckerberg, Gates, Jobs, Paul Allen, and the like are/were geniuses. Don't ever forget it: Harvard doesn't suffer dummies. They deserved what they built, based on producing the right products and services correctly timed alongside significant macroeconomic and societal changes.
Tech is ruthlessly self-selecting: if you cannot perform, you will not be hired and your products will flop. I find it the purest vestige of capitalism in business still remaining. I personally do not believe that racism, sexism, chauvinism, or any other -ism play a significant part in holding anyone back. I have hired, promoted, and (on rare occasion) termed staffers from all walks of life: black, brown, white, straight, gay, Mormon, Christian, atheist...it's about what you know, what you do. Not how you look or who your father was. Not in a results-oriented business like this. The buck stops here, baby.
Yes, there occasionally is subtle favoritism, nepotism, sleeping with the boss, and what I believe is mild prejudice. But on the whole...if you're good, you've got work. End of story. If not, leave: there is probably opportunity at another firm with people more to your way of thinking.
More About Get-Rich Quick: On the Whole, for the Rest of Us Mortals...
If you really want that: hedge fund managers, investment bankers, and other financiers make the real money, mostly back east. I lived in Ithaca NY for my MBA, yet eschewed the "back East" thing because it drives me insane. What is your excuse? If you're here in Seattle, you want to be; you've self-selected to be here. To be successful, you must live and breath tech! I cannot stress that enough. Wannabes do not survive long.
If tech is what you do best, and where you are a strong contender, you will find success. Success also means the ability to navigate organizations well. If very lucky and very good, you will also be "very rich".
To be continued....
Today I'm thinking about how to be "successful" in this field, a subject of occasional interest in various parts of the forum (Seattle is of particular interest, since I am a long-term resident). My thoughts on the matter as-follows, not to be confused with "insights" in every case. I'm upfront about what I do and don't know.
By far my favorite source of objective data is U.S. Bureau of Labor and Statistic web site. I will quote it often in this blog.
"Where are the Tech Jobs in Seattle?"
Some say Seattle is mostly a tech town. Surprise: all my friends are in tech, I live in a tech part of Seattle metro (the eastside), and mostly follow tech news. Suffice to say, if it is indeed a tech-town, embrace it wholeheartedly? By the numbers, Boeing is probably still the largest employer. They create airplanes, I think, though also employ many tech workers...
Moving along...
"What is Tech Like?"
I've been doing this professionally for sixteen years, plus a few years prior as one of the IT guys in an engineering firm (doesn't really count). Most of that at a (very) large software firm based in Redmond, thus my views are mostly around software development life cycle (SDLC). I've worked in server, loading data centers. Client, configurating two major operating systems. Retail, testing and optimizing a site. Gaming, hip-deep in a hundred million dollar household-name console game. Consulting services, and now Cloud apps.
The business has morphed, and will continue to morph: a key point for success, actually, is to embrace the ambiguity. Or a key reason to stay clear, if you're not comfortable with reinventing yourself periodically to stay relevant.
What it's "like" is to have steel nerves, produce, stay aware of what is occurring in your product-service (technically), keep an eye on your personal career goals, and stay current with your leadership team. Do that, you're well on the way.
"How do I Break Into (x)?"
Specialize. Be talented. Network. Be communicative. Decide what you want to do, give it a try. If you're not good, get out and try something else, soonest. Be patient, be a big cat in the long grass: know when to pounce, when to wait.
Actually, I'm being specious: I have little idea how to "break in," if you're not already in. I started small potatoes, but was a manager the moment I sat down and started learning. In the economic heyday, 2006, I could not find enough young people (mostly) to hire entry-level. I hired a few mid-career wanting something a bit more laid-back. Sadly, rumor has it those days are done, at-current. I've moved on from that and don't have a pulse how to catch people's attention, given all the good candidates I see out there for any given role.
Back in the day, I moved up the ladder fairly quickly, though it does take several years to decide where you are strong, and not. I knew with good confidence where I was strong, and found out fast enough where I was weak (fixable) vs. not interested (non-fixable). Adjust accordingly.
As mentioned, rumor has it "breaking in" can no longer be done at several of the major players without experience. Can't have experience without breaking in! I have no solutions for that conundrum, take it up with job recruiters.
More on: "What it is Like"
There is minimal job security. Deal with it: stay relevant, and be prepared to leave on short notice if your position ends or is eliminated. Higher, lower level, doesn't seem to matter much: I've seen both directors and entry-level run out of companies with equal aplomb (or lack-of). Ability to be completely ambivalent about what you work with (product), and who (people), is critical. The underlying methods, principals, and practices are highly relevant, however. Neither products nor people will save you in the long run, both change too often. Your skills and professionalism will absolutely save you.
There are rules on "Being a Professional." Find them online. Study, honor, and follow those precepts, you will be well on the way to success in technology or any other industry.
Work for people and teams, not companies. Make friends, keep them long-term. If your boss, and/or skip-level, leave or are run out, you're immediately at a disadvantage. Fortune will resolve this issue for you, if you don't: usually badly, though several times in my career it has helped, too.
A client of mine once quipped, "Wait long enough by the river, the bodies of your enemies will float by." On-reflection, there is (metaphorical) truth to that. What he forgot to mention:
"Wait too long, you'll join the flotilla!"
"I'm an Introvert! But..."
An introvert's paradise: yes, much of the work is IC vs. teams and management. I've worked in open environments, and walls of offices. Each has upsides. You must be flexible here, as often you cannot control where you must work. Ability to focus, in mild noise and chaos, is mandatory.
However, if you are a skilled people person and good at what you do, you will stand out and thus be more successful then your brethren. For better or worse, the far-out Aspies geeks are on a shot-clock to failure, whether they know it or not, once someone tires of dealing with their idiosyncrasies. I've seen that enough to believe. I've worked alongside, and directly managed, some of the most obtuse yet brilliant people one could possible imagine. A key skill is to not exist in a vacuum, though it is okay to thrive in one. Active management of your own career, and social skills, and soliciting help from your manager, is critical to your integration in the team and organization.
I haven't worked with a company seriously interested in investing in my future in six years. While bothersome, I do wonder if this is a work-life megatrend. Thus, I am responsible for my own training and leave companies when they no longer suit my purposes. That level of "career mercenary" attitude seems to be ever-more necessary in this field, though I cannot tell yet if it is ubiquitous.
"How is the Pay?"
If you are very good, and relevant in your skills, and a bit lucky, you will be well-compensated. If not, you won't be, though this is relative depending on your needs and level of skill/experience.
I am good at what I do. In some ways, brilliant; in others, mediocre. I specialize, with an Ivy League graduate business degree and science undergrad. Know....thy....self. I cannot stress this enough: if you know what you want, and produce, you will define your own niche.
Well-compensated: 97 percentile and up, in my estimation, at least among my peers. If you are abnormally awesome in a marketable skill...by-definition rare...you will be exponentially greater compensated. If that's you, great; if not, hey: at least there is something to aspire to.
Tech is Not a Get-Rich-Quick Scheme.
Zuckerberg, Gates, Jobs, Paul Allen, and the like are/were geniuses. Don't ever forget it: Harvard doesn't suffer dummies. They deserved what they built, based on producing the right products and services correctly timed alongside significant macroeconomic and societal changes.
Tech is ruthlessly self-selecting: if you cannot perform, you will not be hired and your products will flop. I find it the purest vestige of capitalism in business still remaining. I personally do not believe that racism, sexism, chauvinism, or any other -ism play a significant part in holding anyone back. I have hired, promoted, and (on rare occasion) termed staffers from all walks of life: black, brown, white, straight, gay, Mormon, Christian, atheist...it's about what you know, what you do. Not how you look or who your father was. Not in a results-oriented business like this. The buck stops here, baby.
Yes, there occasionally is subtle favoritism, nepotism, sleeping with the boss, and what I believe is mild prejudice. But on the whole...if you're good, you've got work. End of story. If not, leave: there is probably opportunity at another firm with people more to your way of thinking.
More About Get-Rich Quick: On the Whole, for the Rest of Us Mortals...
If you really want that: hedge fund managers, investment bankers, and other financiers make the real money, mostly back east. I lived in Ithaca NY for my MBA, yet eschewed the "back East" thing because it drives me insane. What is your excuse? If you're here in Seattle, you want to be; you've self-selected to be here. To be successful, you must live and breath tech! I cannot stress that enough. Wannabes do not survive long.
If tech is what you do best, and where you are a strong contender, you will find success. Success also means the ability to navigate organizations well. If very lucky and very good, you will also be "very rich".
To be continued....
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