Web Design Ireland

My advice? If you are in the IT industry for the money - excuse the pun- you’re in the wrong game. Don’t get me wrong - I love what I do day in day out, and I wouldn’t be able to look at a computer screen everyday otherwise. I’m not in it for the money - I just enjoy programming. But - It’s going to take a long time for the rest of the world - particularly if you are employed outside the IT industry, to wake up to the work we actually do, and the complexities involved. If you want money - Get a job in Sales. Those guys have all the luck.

This really gets on my goat. When are developers going to be recognised as developers by the rest of the world. The people that make the software that they use day in day out. My sister continually refers to me (when asked what I do) as a webdesigner - no sis that was my first job - and it was web developer not web designer..I’m a software developer now - so whats the difference she asks. Bah.

Hands up who has ever been referred to as a webdesigner when they are a developer? tut. The skills involved just don’t compare. I hate being called a designer - particularly because my graphic design skills are limited to say the least.

If you are in a company with people that dont understand the ins and outs of software development, you are more than likely going to get labelled as the ‘IT’ guy (or gal), and the recognition for your skillset will also follow as just “IT literacy”. We all know that there’s alot more too it than clicking a few buttons to make things work..but until the rest of the world wakes up to that fact, we are never going to be paid accordingly.

Its easy to quantify the value of a good sales person, but its a job that requires no formal training, and the gift of the gab. I reckon you could train a monkey to sell if you sat him down with a few “how to sell successfully” self help books. Maybe its sour grapes, all I know is that the tide is sure to turn, as dependence on IT skills grows in the coming years. So watch out sales guys - we’re coming after your salaries.