What is your job title, and how long have you been doing this job?
[Daniel]:Web programmer. I've been with my current employer for about four months.
What are your main duties?
[Daniel]: I work on page convergence, merging graphical mockups ofWeb pages with database and server-side code to produce a functional Web site. I spend time as a liaison between the design and programming teams to coordinate what the executives want done with what can be done. I'm also on the emergency response team for maintaining the Web servers. I carry a cell phone 24 hours a day as a requirement of the job and if something breaks down, I can be called in at any time from any place to fix it.
What systems are you currently working with?
[Daniel]: I'm working with a network ofWindows NT/IIS 4 servers with ASP for server-side scripting attached to a SQL Server 7 database and a separate network of Solaris systems running WebLogic and Blue Martini with an Oracle backend.
What qualifications or certifications do you hold?
[Daniel]: I haven't had much formal IT training beyond college computer science classes. Most of my knowledge base comes from work experience and the fact that I've been a self-taught hobbyist ever since I was a kid, learning new technologies out of curiosity.
How long have you been working in IT, and how did you get started?
[Daniel]: I started in 1993 as a teenager teaching some simple classes on basic computer operations out of the basement of my parents' house and doing odd contract jobs repairing PCs and building Web sites and small applications.
What hours do you normally work? If you work evenings and weekends do you get paid for it?
[Daniel]: Normally, I work from about 8:30 A.M. to 5:30 P.M. with an hour for lunch. This can expand or contract based on my workload-late nights (10:00 or 11:00 P.M.) are not uncommon when trying to meet a deadline, but I've also had days when I could leave at 3:00 P.M. if I didn't have anything more to do for the day.
What do you find most interesting about your job?
[Daniel]: Balancing the functionality that the programming department can implement from a technical standpoint with what the design department can imagine. It's great to sit down with the designers and brainstorm ways to create functionality that's out of the ordinary or beyond the normal scope of a Web site.
What is the least interesting aspect of your job?
[Daniel]: Constant revisions as upper-level management gets involved in lower-level processes. It can be frustrating to redo something for the fifth time without a deadline extension because an executive VP who knows very little about the technical process decides that he wants a new feature, and it "won't take any time at all."
Do you consider your job to be stressful?
[Daniel]: Under deadline (or when my cell phone goes off at 5:00 A.M.), yes, it can be. It's not necessarily a bad thing, however; fast-track, emergency "rush" projects can be very exhilarating to work on, and the feeling of triumph, knowing you just did the impossible, is really amazing. In between crunch times, though, it's a fairly relaxed work environment-everyone here wears jeans and T-shirts to work, even the division managers don't dress up beyond a collared shirt and slacks. We have a Ping-Pong table in the corner of the cubicle block and most everyone (including the executives) gets in a match or two a day.
Do you work with other people or alone?
[Daniel]: I work with a team of programmers, graphic design artists, content writers and editors, and managers who also fill the role of architects.
If you could change one thing about your job, what would it be?
[Daniel]: I'd have the company's executive management give our division producers more trust and micromanage them less.The executives have a vision for the Web site but not the technical knowledge to know how well the vision can be fit feature for feature; the producers have both. It would make for a much smoother workflow if executive management would specify what they'd like the site to do, not how to go about doing it.
Can you see yourself staying in this area of the IT industry, or would you like to try something different?
[Daniel]: I've already moved around several times within the computer field as a programmer, a designer, an engineer, an instructor, and various other roles. One of the most important qualities in this field is flexibility-the more things you can do, the more valuable you are and the better prepared you become for the next job shift or new technology. Part of what makes this industry so exciting is its dynamic nature and unpredictability-you never quite know what you'll be doing from one day to the next.
What do you consider to be the most challenging part of your job?
[Daniel]: Getting handed a complex project out of the blue and being told, "the company president just decided to make this an expedited assignment-it needs to go live in three hours, but we know you can do it."
What advice would you give to someone who is starting out in IT?
[Daniel]:You love it or you don't; there's no middle ground.The people who are successful in this industry are those who live, sleep, eat, breathe, and dream about technology. You have to keep learning and keep adapting to stay on top of the new developments, or you'll find yourself replaced by the next generation of teenagers who have had the time and interest to pursue all the latest innovations. People who just sign up because of the money usually fizzle out quickly under the intense workloads and incredible rate of change.
