One big difference in the Software market is the relative lack of regulation of the actual people who write software. How many times do you hear the phrase "I know someone who can write software...." and it turns out that it is the boss's son who has developed ons Excel spreadsheet in his life.
I would never employ, or in fact be allowed to employ someone to fit a gas boiler who hadn't been registered with an appropriate federation qualification which here in the UK is what is called the Corgi (or it used to be called) registration. Someone simply saying they are a gas fitter wouldn't cut the mustard with me I'm afraid. Unfortunately many developers in lots of companies actually "grow" into the job leaving the results of their learning as a trail of destruction. OK< it is possible to develop skills purely through experience as many of the Profox community have over the years but now the marketplace is more stable the software business needs to be populated by more "professionals" as opposed to learned amateurs. There should be a place for the amateur to develop his/her skills in the industry but unfortunately this aspect seems to be sadly missing. When I started in the industry we started off a junior programmer, rising to the heights of senior programmer, then to systems analyst and finally consultant level and then as a business consultant where you could integrate technical knowledge with business knowhow and acumen. I am thankful that now I can look at projects from all perspectives, both technical and business. In the UK, as I guess elsewhere, this progression of one's career was destroyed when apprenticeships were virtually abolished in the early 70's. My development into the above hierarchy after leaving university with a computing/maths degree has equipped me with many varied skills, both technical and social, which I sadly see missing in many of the younger people. Dave -----Original Message----- From: ProFox [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Virgil Bierschwale Sent: 02 May 2013 15:55 To: 'ProFox Email List' Subject: RE: [NF] The Tech Industry's Darkest Secret: It's All About Age Amen to that one.. Seriously folks. It doesn't matter if it is software, building homes, or whatever. The majority of people that build a product to sell to a client are more than willing to stand behind that product because they want that person to be their customer for life. It is only the large corporations that have forgotten that they need the customer that does not understand this simple policy -----Original Message----- From: ProFox [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Ken Dibble Sent: Thursday, May 02, 2013 9:52 AM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: [NF] The Tech Industry's Darkest Secret: It's All About Age >You wouldn't have any software companies because the market had too >many barriers to enter and or endure. This is the standard whine of all business people. When the regulations come, they stay in business and continue to make a profit. It's completely bogus. Ken Dibble www.stic-cil.org [excessive quoting removed by server] _______________________________________________ Post Messages to: [email protected] Subscription Maintenance: http://mail.leafe.com/mailman/listinfo/profox OT-free version of this list: http://mail.leafe.com/mailman/listinfo/profoxtech Searchable Archive: http://leafe.com/archives/search/profox This message: http://leafe.com/archives/byMID/profox/[email protected] ** All postings, unless explicitly stated otherwise, are the opinions of the author, and do not constitute legal or medical advice. This statement is added to the messages for those lawyers who are too stupid to see the obvious.
