Our jobs are doomed

[DooFuss]

The current state of enterprise software requires us to spend an inordinate amount of time simply keeping the stuff running. Not to disparage, as most of us are highly capable and intelligent, but seriously, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to do most of this stuff. The development tools and methodologies provided by the enterprise software industry are absurdly inefficient and one could make the case they are complex for complexities sake (read J2EE, .Net, etc.). The packaged “solutions” are no better. Both support a robust consulting (and internal) work force whose goals are rightfully to keep bodies on site. Unless we start contributing beyond simply keeping the ship going, our jobs are doomed. Did Scotty ever get to beam down and get the beautiful alien girl? No, he spent his time up to his elbows in muck and duct tape keeping the ship going. I’m surprised they kept him – some engineer he was. I’d have kicked him and his shoddy workmanship to the curb a long time ago. Our only chance for keeping our jobs is to become innovators who find ways to enhance and automate business processes. We have to be profit, not cost centers. We have to be more efficient, which demands better development methods and packaged solutions. Why should it take weeks or months to build a new report? We can no longer accept the crap we’re given simply because “This is our development methodology, app server, database, etc. of choice". If we stay complacent and simply keep the ship going, our jobs will be outsourced to people who can do the same shoddy work we’re doing for a lot less money.

 

[flyboytim]

You, I believe, are saying that we make ourselves redundant by fulfilling the objectives we were hired for originally. Scotty showed his true merit when faced with a 20th century computer with a keyboard and defined the specifications for transparent aluminum at about 120 wpm. Of course he got the beautiful alien girl - he just encrypted all the holodeck tapes for his own use, because he could, and because she really was worth it!
BTW anybody out there want an Access/Federation Starship Computer developer?

 

[AIXSPadmin]

"...it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to do most of this stuff.", is what I have stated before, and it amazes me that people believe they should be making $100,000 because it is "IT."

"Why should it take weeks or months to build a new report?", at my former company (Fortune 400) it takes them a year to do any project. They are moving from WebSphere 3.5 to WebSphere 5 and the project is just starting and it will take a year to transition. The WebSphere 3.5 project took about 15 months to complete from version 3.2! I can see the precaution so you don't cause problems that will affect a great many people and cost money, but in most cases I believe that people look busy so they seem important and thus stay employed.

For the love of Pete, it doesn't take a year and a half to transition. But take someone from my former team - he truly believes that to create a filesystem takes a change record and requires going through change management and can only be done during the maintenance window on Saturdays after 4pm. This is absurd, but the mentality of corporate America and actually costs money using this approach.

In corporate America I like to say trying to do something is like "turning around an aircraft carrier in a bathtub."