ComputerWorld is saying that techies of the future may be generalists with good business sense, not propellor-heads:
The most sought-after corporate IT workers in 2010 may be those with no deep-seated technical skills at all. The nuts-and-bolts programming and easy-to-document support jobs will have all gone to third-party providers in the U.S. or abroad. Instead, IT departments will be populated with “versatilists” — those with a technology background who also know the business sector inside and out, can architect and carry out IT plans that will add business value, and can cultivate relationships both inside and outside the company.
Well worth a read, whether you agree or not.
Personally, I find this particularly interesting since I am a technology generalist who has been successful leading large technology projects. On the other hand, I don’t think you can be successful in the long term without people on the core project team to grok every single minute detail of the application that you’re building.
There are plenty of examples of MBA knumbskulls who drove dotcoms into the ground. And there are plenty of examples of hard-core techies who ignored marketplace realities. I think the critical thing is to be passionate and smart, but also have an ability to seek out, understand, and evaluate perspectives that differ from your own.
Hearing what you don’t want to hear may just make the difference between success and failure on a given project.
[tags] technology, career, IT, generalist, business, john koetsier [/tags]