Looks like ".Snowden" at first glance. Reduce the space between the i and the dot.

Well does light ALWAYS travel in this manner over long distances? If so, then we do need to adjust it. Otherwise it sounds like car manufacturers that measure MPG in perfect conditions in a wind tunnel and ignores the realities of wind resistance in the real world while the gas pump cares not what the window said when you bought it.

This is about whether AP Stats classes in high school might get more girls interested in, and headed down the path of CS. Not about Stats being the be-all, end-all of CS education.

BTW, how do you determine if your algorithm is performing more or less efficient if not through the use of statistics?

What you describe is a Program/Project Manager. But the same principles apply to a Business Analyst. In fact in my time in IT I have found that I end up doing more Business Analyst work because I understand the business, know SQL and programming so I can get the data I need, and I can process the data into something employees and managers can make decisions on. Often this is presented either as a web page or in Excel depending on needs.

I think the most important skills for my success in both IT and business roles has been my understanding of data, data sets, basic statistics, and SQL. If there is one language/skill that will make you a valuable employee to any business/department/project... I think it is the ability to query data with SQL. But to do that you need to understand the underlying details of how data is stored and retrieved. That requires database, SQL, software-specific and business-specific knowledge.

See, you can't outsource the last two of those requirements as they are not generic skills (and sometimes very hard to obtain depending on the software and business). If you know data, databases, and SQL; know a specific industry such as marketing or manufacturing; and can quickly learn the specifics of new software systems, you are nearly guaranteed employment.

So what should we be teaching... I think it's all about CRUA. Create, Retrieve, Update, Analyze data. Hard drives are cheap.. don't worry about delete.

I have personally witnessed "content creation" once on an iPad. Just once, so far in their existance.

And you know what... the "sales engineer" looked like a complete retard typing on the thing. Couldn't believe he worked in a development shop because it was like watching a car mechanic type up your invoice details after some repairs; painful. I really wanted to hand him my laptop and ask him to switch to it.

There may be some content being created on tablets, but by and far, it is used for consumption. We have a long way to go before there is going to be vast content created from a tablet (note that a tablet with a kickstand and keyboard don't count). So chastising isn't in order.

My bimmer still has a cassette player, built in "mobile phone" that I have no idea how to use and I am sure doesn't work anymore. At least it has a CD changer... that you can only access from the trunk!

None of those are really useful today. What would have been is a friggin' 3.5mm audio jack so I could plug whatever portable device in that I wanted. I still cannot figure out why what is probably the most standardized data exchange port is not standard on a car radio. I used to think Alpine was in cahootz with the automakers, but nobody replaces stereos anymore, so I am not sure what the issue is now.

So all the "cool" crap on my car isn't cool anymore and probably doesn't work. But the engine, body, interior (for the most part), and all the essential crap I need to get from point A to point B is still in good working condition.

Give the AC a mod point, he nailed that. The manager isn't there to code, which he probably sucks at, he is there to remove the hurdles that will take a project down. The GP was in a similar situation. You can also become a version of the many types of "idiot" one can be by not being able to stroke other's ego, not playing politics, or by just being a jerk.

As soon as I read this paragraph, I stopped listening to anything she had to say:

You catch that? The only time one of her projects has failed in decades, it was due to external reasons. Nope, not her fault, or the team, but "them".

I am willing to bet she has that same attitude about the people on her team. Nope, not her fault, but the "idiot" on the team. She was probably the idiot a few times, but was unable to recognize her own odor.

Wow, you might want to rethink your view of IT professionals. We aren't all the stereotypical geek from Revenge of the Nerds anymore. In fact, more IT people that I know have "get your hands dirty" hobbies than salesman, managers, or others.

And I doubt most IT professionals thought "what job can I do while being lazy and have heating/ac"... I figured out this was going to be my line of work before hitting high school.

And not to doubt your experience, but many automotive jobs are not all that dirty and greasy anymore. Many places have hydraulic lifts so the mech doesn't even touch the ground all day. They have tools that make the job easy compared to fixing your own car in the driveway.

Your entire frame of reference seems to be stuck in the 80's.

Agreed. You can get very technical when discussing supply chain optimization/management. And parent is absolutely correct that there are many people out there poorly managing their supply chain because most of the work is very data driven, and the people cannot understand it all.

Biggest issue is that many smaller companies take a short view and still consider these things "purchasing"... and after all, how hard is it to buy stuff? So they don't pay much for these roles. It's getting better.

Sounds like you could try technical writing, if your writing skills would be good enough. That would be the killer for me.

I also interviewed for a job that was called "Business Technical Liaison" or something similar. I didn't get the job because I was not strong enough on the business side back then. I would nail that interview now. Basically you explained "business stuff" to IT and IT to "the business people". You translated requirements and such, helped with training, and such. It sounded like a mix of helpdesk, system/program architect, and trainer. 3 jobs I would hate independently (well maybe not system arch), but sounded intriguing when mixed up.

Depends on what you did in IT. That is such a broad range that it's hard to say specifically.

If you were a business logic programmer, or some type of "analysts", or even just a tech that had to deal with business apps, you might look in the manufacturing industry. They are very numbers driven. Engineering documents, specs, CNC programming, etc. There is also capacity planning, scheduling, forecasting and other areas that are all very numbers driven. If you have SQL experience, especially in a traditional ERP environment, you will be able to make buds with the IT department and get read access to the DB to write queries. Those queries answer business questions and give you insight other managers could not obtain (at least not as easy). This makes you the better manager/decision maker.

I would imagine many other businesses are the same. If you have knowledge of general business systems to the depth that you can program them, then you have all the technical skills to succeed in business. You may not have the other skills needed...

To sum up, everything is going digital and computer system driven. IT is a great place leaping pad to many careers/industries and that is only going to become more true as computers and data driven system grow into any industry. Whatever industry you support, is a good candidate for moving into when you feel like you are losing that "techy" edge and getting too damn old for this crap.

Of course, if you were coding processor architecture and only have two buttons on your keyboard, the above may not apply.

Agreed. If he wants to make flying more accessible, they need to figure out how to reduce the cost of designing, prototyping, certifying, manufacturing, and maintaining airplanes. If you have a wife and kids, and make less that $200k a year, it's doubtful you own an airplane. That's what makes it in-accessible.

I am not real sure why that would be common here on /.? Anyways, I don't think you've learned to fly yet, have you? The complicated controls are there because flying a plane is complicated. And while there is software/systems to ease these processes, the still exist. And when you have a complicated system defying gravity, I want the smartest, most knowledgeable person in the controls as possible.

Sure, there are fuel injection systems that have replaced the carbs and take most of the work of fuel/air mixture off the pilot, but they are not even certified in most applications. The bigger planes have autopilot and various computer controls that take worrying about coordinated turns out of the process. But I want a pilot to understand icing issues with carbs, that you have to change the fuel/air mixture as the air changes at altitude, and I certainly want one that understand basic physics and how the plane has force applied on it and it's reaction to those forces.

More and more the pilots are going to be there for the exception. But when that happens, he damn sure better know how to control an airplane, not run a flight simulator (most of which suck).

Learning Dvorak is completely dissimilar. That would be more like saying every Light Sport pilot has to learn the layout of the Boeing 737 cockpit before their intro flight. Learning to use a keyboard (any layout) would be a much better comparison to having to learn flight controls.

For what it's worth, I found navigation to be far harder to learn that the physical airplane flight controls. Now as for helicopter flight controls.... that's another story!

The amount the SLA covers is pathetic to the actual harm downtime can cause. Even with a industry leading SLA if you are spending $10k a month and get less than 99%, you might get that full $10k back. Too bad you lost $100k (or more) thanks to that downtime. Good luck getting that additional $90k back.

So yes, it is nice that they will offer a refund for performance under a certain level, but when you expect a high, usually VERY HIGH, profit margin on this process, recouping costs is nice but far from an insurance policy. SLA = false sense of security.

But it can be a CYA for the CIO/IT Manager.