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As you have probably heard at this point if you follow the show American Idol, celebrity gossip, or just happen to watch the news from time to time, Paula Abdul is leaving the show American Idol.

She’s walking away from the most popular show in television history and into an unknown future.  Why would she do this you might ask?  Well from what I’ve read and heard, it comes down to several things: Money, Respect and Overall job satisfaction.

You’re more than likely saying “That’s wonderful, with the economy in the shape it’s in, Paula Abdul is walking away from a multi-million dollar a year job; where all she has to do is sit and be nice to aspiring singers and take an occasional chiding from Simon Cowell.”

Well, you’re right with regard to the fact that millions of people around the world are suffering through economic hardships and she’s turning down an eight-figure deal. On the other hand, money is not always the most important thing in life. I didn’t say it’s not necessary, just that it’s not the most important thing in and of itself.

There really must be a combination of financial reward, respect and an overall feeling that your appreciated and valued.  In other words, we need to feel that we matter.

This leads to me to the title of this blog post, in that IT professionals (and anyone for that matter) can learn a lot from Paula Abdul when it comes to career choices.  Simply being paid a lot doesn’t necessarily equate to happiness.  Even though she was making several million dollars a year from the show, her counterparts were making many times more than that.  Simon Cowell is reportedly making upwards of $45 million for doing basically the same job.

As an IT professional, it’s important to balance financial rewards with the intangibles to find a job that is rewarding mentally, physically and financially.  Many people get stuck in a rut where they feel they can’t leave what they’re doing even though they hate it and subsequently their overall quality of life suffers.  This also has an impact on the people around them as well (i.e. family, friends, children, spouses, etc).  Quality of life is more important than simply being well-paid.  Many people who have a lot of financial success find themselves depressed and overstressed because they reach a certain level but haven’t learned to balance the other aspects of their lives.

As IT professionals, it is crucial to keep your skills sharp and learn new things whenever possible.  This also means constantly working toward keeping a balanced life as much as possible.  Training is critical to developing new skills and keeping marketable.  Some people take classes, some learn online and many self-study with computer training videos at their own pace.  Whichever path you choose, it is important that you keep moving forward.  This not only gives you options and allows you to make changes when it best suites your needs, but it also insulates you to a degree should disaster strike and your forced to quickly find a new job due to downsizing, etc.  If you are thinking about working for yourself there a number of things to consider in order to become a successful entrepreneur.

Don’t be afraid to take the step into the unknown or go after the things you deserve.  Take a lesson from Paula Abdul and seek the quality of life that will truly make you happy.

I’d like to know what you think, was it a wise decision or not?  Can IT professionals take a page from her book and improve their quality of life?

When it comes to getting ahead at work, there are lots of ways to improve your station in life.  Most people want the brass ring, but few are willing to do what it takes to get it.

As the old saying goes, “Some People Dream of Success, While Others Wake up and Work Hard at It”.  It really holds true, and work ethic is what separates the winners from losers.  No matter what the endeavor, be it work, sports, relationships, etc., nothing was ever attained without the consistent application of hard work.

Keeping this in mind, 10 things you can do to get ahead at work, are:

1. Be willing to do the things others wont.  That sounds like common sense, but it’s typically harder than it sounds.  Most people have their ‘”job description” and are resistant do extra work.  The immediate response from most people is “That’s not my job” or “am I getting paid extra for that”?  Be the one who does extra without being told, helps out a co-worker or picks up the slack when the rubber hits the road.
2. Be a team player.  No one likes the person who’s out only for themselves and if you have that mentality it will shine through in everything you do.  Most people have the WIIFM mentality (What’s In It for Me).  Again, separate yourself from the majority of people out there by being willing to help others without expecting anything back.  These things get noticed, even if it’s not an immediate return.
3. Do the job before you Get It.  What this means is that you have to function, as much as possible, in the role you want to get promoted into.  Showing your superiors you can do the job already goes a long way to getting you the gig.  After awhile, everyone already thinks of you in that role and your chances for promotion go up greatly.  Conversely, if you become the best “worker bee” ever, the company will see the value of keeping you in that role.  That seems to be in direct conflict with the first two suggestions, but it’s really not.  You can apply to first two, while taking on management or other roles (depending on where you want to go) and do things with the team in mind.
4. Always be Early.  The old adage “Get in Early and Work Late” holds true even in today’s virtual world.  Employers want to know your committed and being there when they need you goes a long way to that end.  Additionally, it shows co-workers and others that you are a go-to person.  Conversely, not being there or getting in late and leaving early builds resentment among others and brings the whole team down.  Being a leader, means leading by example and the more you do, the more encouraged your co-workers will be to do the same.
5. Model Success.  If you want to achieve a certain level of success, whatever that means to you, the quickest way to achieve that goal is to find someone else who already has achieved that goal, and do what they did.  That sounds incredibly overly-simplistic, and it is.  If you listen to any of the NLP practitioners, perhaps the most famous being Anthony Robbins, they talk in great detail about modeling.  “Success Leaves Clues”, and that really holds true.  Modeling is much more than just wearing the same suit or watch as someone successful.  It means learning what drives them, what beliefs they have, how they approach situations, how they make decisions, etc., and applying those same drivers to your own life. Easier said than done, but you don’t necessarily have to personally meet someone to get an insight into their mind and motivations.  Many successful people have written books and given interviews talking about their lives and what drives them.
6. Set Goals and Be Specific.  Very few things are more frustrating than working hard and getting nowhere.  Without specific, written goals, it’s very difficult to achieve success.  Your goals are your roadmap and will help you get to where you want to go by keeping you focused and on track.  Your goals (i.e. map) need to be specific and focused.  Just as it wouldn’t do you much good to be driving in Chicago with a map of Delaware, you must have a clear vision of what you want and how to get there.
7. Know Your Outcome.  In keeping with setting goals, knowing your outcome helps get you through any situation.  When you enter into a business meeting, interview, etc., know ahead of time what you want to achieve.  By knowing what you want and working backward from there, you can see at any point in time if you are on track, or if things need to be readjusted.  This can be applied to anything, even with things like meeting a new person, going to gym, time spent with family, etc.
8. Be Personable.  People like to feel good about themselves, and are attracted to people who make that happen.  Being upbeat, funny and engaging makes people feel good about themselves.  If people feel better when they’re around you than when they’re not, you’ll attract a great many people.  Some can help you achieve your goals directly, while others will help indirectly.
9. Understand Personality Types.  Almost everyone likes the same basic things (i.e. being liked, feeling appreciated and valued, laughing, feeling secure, etc).  Not everyone fills those things the same way though; and to be successful you need to figure out what connects with each person.  Some people like to discuss family or friends (be social) before getting down to business, while others couldn’t be bothered and just want the facts.  Some like specific details while others just want the bullet points.  Being able to adjust your approach for the different personality types increases your chance for connection and for success.
10. Don’t Take Yourself Too Seriously.  Being motivated and success driven is great and can provide an amazing life.  However, you must learn to balance that with rest, relaxation, good friends, family, etc.  Work, not to mention life, can be very stressful, and if you to be able to actually enjoy the fruits of your labor you need to learn how to pull back occasionally, put things on hold and recharge the batteries.  Be able to laugh at yourself and understand nothing is as important as your health.  Others pick up on that as well, and it helps give a sense of true genuineness to all the other traits mentioned here.

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As a follow up to our post on 25 Reasons Why it’s Great to be an IT Guy (or Girl), I thought I’d contrast that a bit, and list out some reasons why it’s not so good to be an IT Guy. 

Fair is fair, and no matter how thinly you slice it, there are always two sides to every situation. 

If you’ve been around the IT game for any length of time, many, if not most, of these will make sense to you.  So let’s take a look at some of the reasons why it sucks to be the "IT Guy".

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Years ago, being “into” computers meant long, lonely walks home from school, eating lunch at tables far, far away from the “cool kids” and lengthy discussions about the relative impact of photon torpedoes and how Dr. Spock actually could be transported down to the surface of that mysterious planet.

These days, thankfully, Geek is the new Chic and being in the Information Technology (IT) industry offers a lot of opportunities and many benefits that we’ll list below.  When you finish reading our top 25, leave a comment and let us know your top few favorite reasons for being a IT pro.

If you’re in the IT industry, many of these will be common knowledge to you.  If you’re not in the industry yet, or thinking about making a change, you really need to consider these 25 Reasons why it’s Great to be an IT Guy (or Girl).

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As we progress through our professional lives, we all strive to grow and become the best we can.  For some that means management, aspiring to executive positions or business ownership 

To others that means becoming a loyal, valuable employee makes the best decisions possible and brings value to the company they work for.  No matter what your goals, one thing that is common is the need to constantly grow.

Developing new skills, gaining responsibility, and increasing your job satisfaction is what we all strive for.  Icing on the cake is achieving all of this while increasing our income at the same time.  Is that simply pie in the sky, or is that possible?  It’s absolutely possibly, and there people all over the world doing just that.

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With the overwhelming rate of change in all the areas of IT, the skills you have today are outdated tomorrow, so the path you choose can be both exciting and daunting.

And the rise of e-everything the need for IT floods every corner of our lives. Technology has revolutionized communications, computing, productivity, and has had a profound effect the quality of human life.

So much of our lives depend on technology, which means there’s a variety of employment areas to choose from, such as web design, software development, software testing, programming, systems administration, networking, and more. Even jobs outside the IT sector require IT skills.

If you’re contemplating breaking in, consider a few of the highest paid entry level IT jobs as your springboard into an exciting and rewarding career.

The following pay scales are according to the salary.com national averages for the Chicago, Illinois area.

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The information technology field continues to grow, and the demand for computer engineers, software developers, and related IT skills will grow significantly in 2008.

Computer science, specifically software engineering, nearly tops the list on the top jobs for 2008.  The demand for “professional” and “service” related jobs will increase more than double the rate of other categories.

According to a recent MSNBC article, “Tech firms are picking up hiring again, in a way they haven’t in nearly a decade.”  The prediction is that software engineering and computer science fields will experience 20% growth throughout 2008.

This also means that we very well may start to see 90’s era growth throughout the IT sector as companies ramp up for new technologies, refresh their existing infrastructures and replace workers who are retiring.

Several recent surveys, including the recent article by Computer World shows that demand for IT workers is growing at the highest rate in several years. 

As a result, salaries are also on the rise.  Why?  Companies need talented, motivated Information Technology professionals and many companies report difficulty in finding those people.

Additionally, as with any asset, IT infrastructure has a life-cycle that necessitates upgrading and/or replacing every 3-5 to stay current with new and emerging technologies.  For many companies, utilizing current technology is a competitive advantage.  For others, it’s a necessary evil, but either way, those companies need IT professionals who know how to install, migrate, maintain and support their infrastructure.

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