Comment Been there, done that, DON'T DO IT!! (Score 1) 541
I've had a pretty good 25=year career in IT, and have another 20 to go, hopefully.
At one point in my career, I made the move you're describing, and yes, I took all my ideals -- the same ones you espouse -- with me and tried to put them into action.
Everywhere I went, I was confronted by practitioners of management politics: nothing happens in most organizations without political buy-in. It's tough. The fact that you say things that make sense to you is no guarantee that your peers will agree, especially if they're out of touch.
Not only did I lose the right to do what I love to do (write code); but all those ideals I took with me got crammed right back down my throat. The job of a manager is awful: you'll spend all your time concerned with budgets, politics, and personnel appraisals (yet another political process!); and none of your time will go to technical issues. End result: I resigned and went on to greener pastures as a senior techie, where I get to do pretty much as I please.
Change from the inside is too tough for one lone guy to impose. No matter how much sense you make, no matter how high of an ideal you espouse, you'll get defeated. Trust me, I've been there.
My advice to you: DON'T DO IT. Let those who can tolerate the environment be managers. If you love things technical, keep doing them, and get even better as a result. The only hope I can give you is if things are really bad where you are now, MOVE. Get a job working for an organization that truly values technical creativity and the long hours required. It's a little difficult in today's ecomomy; but if you're truly good, you won't have a problem finding greener pastures. The only way that a politically entrenched organization will change its ways is to have a gun put to its head, figuratively. If they don't have any more low-paid, undervalued techies to push around anymore; THAT will be the point in time at which they decide that they'd best change their tune.
I wouldn't put myself through that misery of trying to change the immutable.
Good luck to you!
At one point in my career, I made the move you're describing, and yes, I took all my ideals -- the same ones you espouse -- with me and tried to put them into action.
Everywhere I went, I was confronted by practitioners of management politics: nothing happens in most organizations without political buy-in. It's tough. The fact that you say things that make sense to you is no guarantee that your peers will agree, especially if they're out of touch.
Not only did I lose the right to do what I love to do (write code); but all those ideals I took with me got crammed right back down my throat. The job of a manager is awful: you'll spend all your time concerned with budgets, politics, and personnel appraisals (yet another political process!); and none of your time will go to technical issues. End result: I resigned and went on to greener pastures as a senior techie, where I get to do pretty much as I please.
Change from the inside is too tough for one lone guy to impose. No matter how much sense you make, no matter how high of an ideal you espouse, you'll get defeated. Trust me, I've been there.
My advice to you: DON'T DO IT. Let those who can tolerate the environment be managers. If you love things technical, keep doing them, and get even better as a result. The only hope I can give you is if things are really bad where you are now, MOVE. Get a job working for an organization that truly values technical creativity and the long hours required. It's a little difficult in today's ecomomy; but if you're truly good, you won't have a problem finding greener pastures. The only way that a politically entrenched organization will change its ways is to have a gun put to its head, figuratively. If they don't have any more low-paid, undervalued techies to push around anymore; THAT will be the point in time at which they decide that they'd best change their tune.
I wouldn't put myself through that misery of trying to change the immutable.
Good luck to you!
