How many of you actually have technically intelligent management
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Or even those that can understand what the software process is like. I have been at numerous places where technical ignorance was very high and then when I would attempt to teach them they would still move ahead with their agenda. In other words not listen. As i am looking for a new job, I am interviewing them as well as them interviewing me. What do you guys think?
I was once hired to help develop a Windows application that had already been in development for over a year. At one point I spent an hour explaining the Windows Registry to the lead programmer. He had never heard of it.
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Or even those that can understand what the software process is like. I have been at numerous places where technical ignorance was very high and then when I would attempt to teach them they would still move ahead with their agenda. In other words not listen. As i am looking for a new job, I am interviewing them as well as them interviewing me. What do you guys think?
At our (semiconductor) company management are all ex-engineers except for specialist areas such as finance, HR etc. The VP of our unit was in at Christmas last year helping some of the guys in the US get a new chip up and running.
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Or even those that can understand what the software process is like. I have been at numerous places where technical ignorance was very high and then when I would attempt to teach them they would still move ahead with their agenda. In other words not listen. As i am looking for a new job, I am interviewing them as well as them interviewing me. What do you guys think?
SciGama wrote:
As i am looking for a new job, I am interviewing them as well as them interviewing me. What do you guys think?
Look for a software company.
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Or even those that can understand what the software process is like. I have been at numerous places where technical ignorance was very high and then when I would attempt to teach them they would still move ahead with their agenda. In other words not listen. As i am looking for a new job, I am interviewing them as well as them interviewing me. What do you guys think?
Our company is like Robert A. Heinlein’s “Starship Troopers” – everyone jumps from the ship and fights, even the generals and cooks. All managers and vice-presidents are heavily experienced programmers and are in the trenches along with the seniors and juniors.
The narrow specialist in the broad sense of the word is a complete idiot in the narrow sense of the word. Advertise here – minimum three posts per day are guaranteed.
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Or even those that can understand what the software process is like. I have been at numerous places where technical ignorance was very high and then when I would attempt to teach them they would still move ahead with their agenda. In other words not listen. As i am looking for a new job, I am interviewing them as well as them interviewing me. What do you guys think?
SciGama wrote:
As i am looking for a new job, I am interviewing them as well as them interviewing me. What do you guys think?
it's a good idea. but be careful: some people do not like it known that they don't know everything.
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Or even those that can understand what the software process is like. I have been at numerous places where technical ignorance was very high and then when I would attempt to teach them they would still move ahead with their agenda. In other words not listen. As i am looking for a new job, I am interviewing them as well as them interviewing me. What do you guys think?
I've had a few in the past that were very technically intelligent. But, it didn't always guarantee a great work environment or a receptive attitude. The best two bosses I've had were not technically bright but, sincerely trusted us to do our job. And, when office politics trumped technical superiority they explained it to us and tried to help us make the most of the situation. So, to me technical intelligence is a nice trait for a boss but, a boss that I can trust to have my back and allow me to do my work is far more important.
And above all things, never think that you're not good enough yourself. A man should never think that. My belief is that in life people will take you at your own reckoning. --Isaac Asimov Avoid the crowd. Do your own thinking independently. Be the chess player, not the chess piece. --Ralph Charell
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Or even those that can understand what the software process is like. I have been at numerous places where technical ignorance was very high and then when I would attempt to teach them they would still move ahead with their agenda. In other words not listen. As i am looking for a new job, I am interviewing them as well as them interviewing me. What do you guys think?
technical enough to know if he's being snowballed - yes ! technical enough to handle the guts of solution - not necessarily, but then again, that's why I'm employed. He in turn may look at a number of technical solutions and pick the best business fit (most of the time I agree on his choice) - does he really have to know anything other than 'encryption' for example, no, unless my choice of pki/pgp/whatever makes the solution untenable/a bad future fit .. 'g'
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SciGama wrote:
As i am looking for a new job, I am interviewing them as well as them interviewing me. What do you guys think?
Look for a software company.
Or a Bank, in the technical departments they tend to be very good.
Never underestimate the power of human stupidity RAH
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Or a Bank, in the technical departments they tend to be very good.
Never underestimate the power of human stupidity RAH
heh, not my one...struggling to convince them why .Net is better than vb6, or sql server better than access. To be fair its not purely the fault of the technical management, as the business management have to budget for it all, and they don't 'get' it. So it all boils down to cost... Which leads to such madness as downgrading fully functional Access 2007 and 2003 apps to Access 97, cause thats the only one we support :laugh:
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heh, not my one...struggling to convince them why .Net is better than vb6, or sql server better than access. To be fair its not purely the fault of the technical management, as the business management have to budget for it all, and they don't 'get' it. So it all boils down to cost... Which leads to such madness as downgrading fully functional Access 2007 and 2003 apps to Access 97, cause thats the only one we support :laugh:
And you are in the UK, I could understand the attitude if you were in darkest Africa or some impoverished 3rd world country but in the UK. It must be a small Bank as the ones the banks I worked with were very up to date. Surely pointing out that VB6 has not been actively supported for x years should hold some weight.
Never underestimate the power of human stupidity RAH
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Or even those that can understand what the software process is like. I have been at numerous places where technical ignorance was very high and then when I would attempt to teach them they would still move ahead with their agenda. In other words not listen. As i am looking for a new job, I am interviewing them as well as them interviewing me. What do you guys think?
Can I nominate myself?
Personally, I love the idea that Raymond spends his nights posting bad regexs to mailing lists under the pseudonym of Jane Smith. He'd be like a super hero, only more nerdy and less useful. [Trevel]
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Or even those that can understand what the software process is like. I have been at numerous places where technical ignorance was very high and then when I would attempt to teach them they would still move ahead with their agenda. In other words not listen. As i am looking for a new job, I am interviewing them as well as them interviewing me. What do you guys think?
SciGama wrote:
I am interviewing them as well as them interviewing me
There, you have it right there: Interview your interviewer. Task them with questions: How to they react to bumps on the project road? what corrective actions discipline (if any) is followed?. Ask them which is their biggest challenge or challenges are (don't infer it as 'problem')... where do they see you as a team member, expectations on your input. Keep a close watch on the reactions, make notes. If your interviewer throws a hint of cluelessness or gets upset/annoyed then I'd flip the yellow light switch on, proceed with caution as such signs can define how the working environment is going to be further down the road, and you may find yourself quickly looking for a way out of there. -- Rogelio
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And you are in the UK, I could understand the attitude if you were in darkest Africa or some impoverished 3rd world country but in the UK. It must be a small Bank as the ones the banks I worked with were very up to date. Surely pointing out that VB6 has not been actively supported for x years should hold some weight.
Never underestimate the power of human stupidity RAH
Especially in UK. :^) I worked in 3rd world countries (not in Africa yet :) ) and I know that if management is not stupid they are always very keen to new technologies as long as it increases productivity and performance. True that it’s harder to beat up some money from the budget but still they try to use latest tech. Here in UK I noticed more of the attitude like: “this code worked for 10 years, let not touch it” or “Windows 98 OS is the best one from MS ever”. It their defence I must say that there are some strong points: VB6 application is not as big and chunky as .NET. (…but users now are more comfortable with Vista style interface…) No windows OS will ever beat DOS in boot-up time. (…no user will know where to go from there… no mouse or icons…) But again it all depends on who is in charge and how you present it.
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Or even those that can understand what the software process is like. I have been at numerous places where technical ignorance was very high and then when I would attempt to teach them they would still move ahead with their agenda. In other words not listen. As i am looking for a new job, I am interviewing them as well as them interviewing me. What do you guys think?
I have technically intelligent management...unfortunantly, they're all hardware guys who think you can hire anyone...emphasis on "ANYONE", to do software. If you do hardware, you can do software. They haven't figured out that software disicipline is a key, even as bad software cause huge problems and has caused programs to fail, be late, or at best, cause people to work a lot of overtime to meet a deadline. I'm an annomoly here, I am a software guy and they can't figure out why the projects I'm on tend to have fewer software problems, and in general, go smother. It's also becasue when the software ignorant give me an order to do something stupid, I ignore and do it the right way. They take credit for the decision later.
Joe V My Blog on Testing Me, Myself, and I SGP Robotics team and FIRST Robotics
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SciGama wrote:
I am interviewing them as well as them interviewing me
There, you have it right there: Interview your interviewer. Task them with questions: How to they react to bumps on the project road? what corrective actions discipline (if any) is followed?. Ask them which is their biggest challenge or challenges are (don't infer it as 'problem')... where do they see you as a team member, expectations on your input. Keep a close watch on the reactions, make notes. If your interviewer throws a hint of cluelessness or gets upset/annoyed then I'd flip the yellow light switch on, proceed with caution as such signs can define how the working environment is going to be further down the road, and you may find yourself quickly looking for a way out of there. -- Rogelio
I agree. One other item to be on the lookout for and hard to detect during an interview, is the "manager vs Peon" mentality. I once applied at a place where the manager "gave good interview", she was respectful and polite, but once I was working for her, all that vanished. She was the boss and if she wanted your opinion, she would tell it to you. She would have been great Secret Service material, she'd take a bullet for any of the higher ups. She had this weird idea that being a manager implied that you were an inherently superior being. She had been moved out of programming into management to limit the damage she was doing. It would have been good to have a lunch during the interview, just to see how the manager would treat the waitstaff, it gives a good preview of how they would treat you.
Psychosis at 10 Film at 11
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I've had a few in the past that were very technically intelligent. But, it didn't always guarantee a great work environment or a receptive attitude. The best two bosses I've had were not technically bright but, sincerely trusted us to do our job. And, when office politics trumped technical superiority they explained it to us and tried to help us make the most of the situation. So, to me technical intelligence is a nice trait for a boss but, a boss that I can trust to have my back and allow me to do my work is far more important.
And above all things, never think that you're not good enough yourself. A man should never think that. My belief is that in life people will take you at your own reckoning. --Isaac Asimov Avoid the crowd. Do your own thinking independently. Be the chess player, not the chess piece. --Ralph Charell
Certainly the best manager I've had was the one that assumed I was competent and an adult. I used to do computer controls around the country and the plant managers would want to be in status meetings all day long and complain about how the work was not getting done. Eventually my manager would be sent out, he'd ask me for status and tell me to keep doing what I was doing. When the plant managers would come by screaming, he'd grab them by the elbow and say, "Let's go to the break room, have a cup of coffee and discuss status" and lead them away from me so I could get some work done. I miss him.
Psychosis at 10 Film at 11
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SciGama wrote:
As i am looking for a new job, I am interviewing them as well as them interviewing me. What do you guys think?
it's a good idea. but be careful: some people do not like it known that they don't know everything.
Chris Losinger wrote:
some people do not like it known that they don't know everything
Nobody knows everything. Not even about their own field. Do you really want to work for someone who isn't secure enough to admit there is something they have yet to learn? Those folks who don't like it to be known they have a knowledge gap are flat out dangerous, both to your career and to the company as a whole. And to the original question, yes, I am lucky enough to have technically intelligent management.
patbob
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Our company is like Robert A. Heinlein’s “Starship Troopers” – everyone jumps from the ship and fights, even the generals and cooks. All managers and vice-presidents are heavily experienced programmers and are in the trenches along with the seniors and juniors.
The narrow specialist in the broad sense of the word is a complete idiot in the narrow sense of the word. Advertise here – minimum three posts per day are guaranteed.
That's because Startship Troopers were Marines. Every Marine is a fighter first.
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Or even those that can understand what the software process is like. I have been at numerous places where technical ignorance was very high and then when I would attempt to teach them they would still move ahead with their agenda. In other words not listen. As i am looking for a new job, I am interviewing them as well as them interviewing me. What do you guys think?
what a shame :P i dont understand how people thinks about technic, software, process, etc... If they dont care my ideas(like them), i dont lose anything(like you), they lose(like them). I just remember a thing about this, look: A biolog assumes he is a chemist, chemist assumes he is a physicist, physicist assumes he is the God (God forbid! never). But the God assumes he is a mathematician. As you see, math never tells lie, it is always listen to you. You can be a mathematician :)
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Or even those that can understand what the software process is like. I have been at numerous places where technical ignorance was very high and then when I would attempt to teach them they would still move ahead with their agenda. In other words not listen. As i am looking for a new job, I am interviewing them as well as them interviewing me. What do you guys think?
I've run into the opposite problem - Technically brilliant, but lacking management skills. The best developer gets promoted to be the manager, because he's such a great developer. But he doesn't have the organizational skills, and the people skills to be in that role. The required skills for development lead, versus developer are very different. So now you have an ineffective manager, and you've lost your best developer. Has anyone else encountered this?