"The Accidental IT Leader" writes:
Welcome to the 21st Century where all IT workers now view themselves as
temporary workers. The constant cycles of downsizing and outsourcing
have made even the most committed workers view their jobs as being not
so much as a career, but rather as a temporary pit-stop.
I can't help but think about the underlying theme of my career since graduating from college in 2000:
- In 2000 I felt a full-time job at IBM Research was pretty much guaranteed to me. I worked my way through college at IBM and had a great relationship with my management there. So, even my boss at IBM was disappointed when he found out he can't hire me after all because IBM froze hiring in the research division as the dot-com bubble burst.
- The manager at a pure-play consulting firm that hired me quit after I was there for about a month.
- The dot-com I went to work for afterwards went out of business within 6 months of my starting there in 2001.
- I had more managers than the number of years I worked.
- I had the best sense of my career path when I worked, ironically, as an independent consultant on an hourly basis. I felt in charge of my career -- the better the impression my customer had of me, the greater my chances were of landing more business with them or their contacts.
With this experience do I have a reason to believe in company loyalty ? I don't think so. I don't go to company end-of-the-year parties, I avoid making friendships with other employees. I do maintain a network outside of my company and I keep up with my skills. I leave the most minimum set of personal items at the office. When I work I do my best but I try not to expect any career development. Perhaps, I need some time to get out of this holding pattern -- but it is not easy.
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