A while back I wrote a post questioning whether you need to be arrogant to become a Doctor or whether this is a natural outcome of all the studying and adoration received. Well today I’m wondering whether it helps to be a nerd in IT.
Let’s face it, IT requires a certain mindset. It does require a good ability in mathematics, in logical thinking, in attention to detail and in the ability to talk to and possibly fall deeply in love with, a laptop. I know a few people who prefer their Macs to their partners! While we’re still at the stage that PC’s aren’t talking back to us, why not? I have to say, that the majority of people I know in IT are on the nerdy end of the spectrum. Of course there are exceptions, but here’s a game to play when you’re next in the company of IT people. Listen to the way they speak and in particular, to what they argue about. You’re likely to hear them arguing about detail and semantics. These are really important to do the job well but can become a complete pain in the butt in a human interaction.
I happen to think that the nature of the industry reflects and to some extent, reinforces the nature of the individual within it. Here’s the message though … the industry is changing. Software is becoming more intuitive as well as easier to programme. More and more content is being created by users. While the IT sector will still retain a core of skilled technical roles, there are a large number of new roles being added that don’t require such deep technical skills. Many of these roles are hybrids between the old software developer role, design and usability. So the relative importance of technical roles is declining and insights into how customers use and engage with the software and content are becoming more important. A more outward looking, generalist and commercial approach is going to be required for success going forward.
Them nerds are going to have to change!
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Tags: IT Sector
yes IT requires a certain mindset but it doesnt mean you have to geek up yourself
Nooo ! I’m not a nerd, but I’m in the IT buisness. I’m not a nerd, I have no glasses … almost.
I agree, you don’t have to be a nerd to be in IT. Sure, there are some trends that relate to personality traits and careers, but there are no concrete rules. All types of people can have all types of careers, really. The most important thing is interest in the work.