Welcome to B & M Bulletin, produced specifically for IT specialists. In this issue:
• The work/life balance
• Tech View: technical qualifications
• Specialist profile: Senior Systems Programmer Lawrence McGee
• B & M staff member profile - Amanda Spencer
• Ready to work?
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Getting it right
HR Manager Melanie Thompson considers how contracting can help you improve the balance between your home and work life
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"..more time for your hobbies…"
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Have you ever wondered why you became an IT contractor and why you remain one today? It seems that there are mixed views within the IT contracting world about whether contracting can deliver the dream goals of job satisfaction, financial reward and a good quality of life. How you view contracting will of course depend on your assignment experiences and working environments - and of course on whether you are someone who usually sees the glass as half full or half empty!
Some IT contractors tell us that they feel like a well paid temp whose skills are not always used to the full, as the needs of permanent staff sometimes take precedence. Others reveal that they enjoy changing assignments and environments and building on their IT skills and welcome the opportunity to pass on their expertise to others, together with the satisfaction of completing an assignment with a real sense of achievement. Contract professionals often also enjoy the freedom of being removed from company politics and hierarchy.
However you view contracting, it does have one distinct benefit: the opportunity to achieve a balanced work and home life. By contracting, you have the opportunity to manage your own working pattern. You can choose to take a sabbatical, for instance, and for many there is the ability to 'switch off' from work at the end of the day, knowing that you have done a good job. The trend towards a professional working day, rather than a seven to eight-hour day plus overtime, can mean fewer unsociable hours for you, leaving more time for your hobbies, interests and social life. If you work abroad, there is the opportunity to benefit from taking part in local activities such as skiing, climbing and the chance to experience the region's finest food and wine.
Whether you seek financial security, wish to keep your IT skills fresh or like the freedom of choosing where and when to work, contracting offers an excellent way of accomplishing your personal goals and expectations.
To find out how to improve your work/life balance, please contact people@bmeurope.com.
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Tech View: are IT qualifications worth it?
Paul Smith, B & M's Technical Manager, suggests what to look for when considering certification
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Should you have IT qualifications? The answer really depends on why you want them. Some people like to be able to prove their experience to employers who increasingly ask for qualifications, while for others it is a way of progressing their own personal training programme.
But how do you decide what qualification to take? A qualification should reflect your level of knowledge and expertise. Manufacturers, such as CISCO for example, classify their certification levels in different ways, typically Specialist (in VPN Security for example)' Associate (such as CCNA), Professional (CCNP for example) and Expert (CCIE). Microsoft offers a wide range of certifications by segment, including administration, development, architecture, and education.
Cisco, Microsoft and others have worked hard to maintain the validity of their qualifications by fighting abuses of their schemes. To ensure that the Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer (MCSE) certification was not just seen as a 'paper qualification', Microsoft has reviewed its exams, making them more difficult and putting more emphasis on practical skills.
Most of IBM’s certifications are for their newer 'technology umbrella' platforms - WebSphere, Tivoli, DB2, etc. - but as yet there are none that recognise expertise in mainframe software such as z/OS, CICS or IMS. At B & M, our experience is that at present IBM Certifications are seldom requested by employers.
Qualifications do not always carry the same weight with employers in different countries. In the USA for example CompTIA’s Network+ is very desirable, although it carries less weight in Europe. However, Novell will accept Network+ as a credit towards one of their exams, working up to the well respected CNE.
If you are thinking about getting a qualification, research them thoroughly. Certifications are not cheap, ranging from a few hundred to thousands of pounds/euros. Choosing a qualification that works hard (such as the Network+) offers better value for money. You also need to remember that many certificates expire; a CCNA certificate for example is valid only for three years. A less onerous route to certification is cross-training - adding WebSphere to your CICS portfolio, for example.
You can’t beat experience over paper, but having both should give you an advantage. For an insight into what opportunities a qualification might bring you, contact people@bmeurope.com.
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Specialist profile: Senior Systems Programmer Lawrence McGee
Lawrence McGee enjoys being able to 'get his hands dirty'
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Lawrence McGee's current placement is with a specialist division of a global transport organisation based in London where he is working as part of a fairly small team on an MVS project. Before this, he worked on a major CICS modification project as part of a large IT department of a major global bank.
But what is it about contracting that makes Lawrence continue to work in this way after 30 years in IT? "I still like to get my hands dirty", he comments, explaining further, "If I was in permanent employment, I would be in management, which doesn't appeal to me. I prefer to take a technical view of things".
Lawrence often chooses positions for their ability to help him hone his skills and to keep his technical knowledge right up to date. As a specialist in both MVS and CICS, whenever he can he prefers to choose contracts that allow him to alternate these technologies, ensuring the currency of his impressive set of skills.
From a personal perspective, Lawrence also enjoys working in different locations - which latterly have been predominantly in the UK. "I like to rent a house where my wife can come and stay for a few weeks so that we can explore new areas together". He also tends to choose a location close to wherever he is working so that he can either walk or cycle to work.
Lawrence sums up the life of a contract systems programmer very succinctly: "It's never boring!"
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Real Skills. Real People - B & M's Amanda Spencer
We find out more about Account Manager Amanda Spencer
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Account Manager Amanda Spencer began working in IT some 15 years ago, having originally trained as a weaver. She realised that to succeed in any business she needed a better grounding in the commercial world and, after testing the water in a variety of industries, found her true forte in the IT sector.
Her career took off when she began working for a niche value added reseller, providing system utilities and support for DEC PDP-11s, soon moving from an administrative role to providing system support and undertaking installations. The company also grew to encompass provision of Unix systems and Amanda revealed new talents in a more customer-facing role, and began selling the technology, later being appointed a Director of the company.
With the dot com boom, in 2000 she joined an Application Service Provider (ASP) as Strategic Account Manager to develop relationships with the prime vendors. She worked closely with Microsoft, Compaq, Cisco and Citrix to build the platform, and with major application software vendors such as CA, Navision and BMC for the product. Amanda later transferred to the distribution arm of the company as a Business Development Manager and subsequently took a position with one of its System Integrator customers selling networked solutions.
Amanda joined B & M as an Account Manager in spring 2004 and now applies her technical knowledge and interpersonal skills looking after customers and specialists alike.
Out of the office, Amanda will jump at any opportunity involving fast cars and racetracks - although it will be hard to beat her current zenith of the quarter mile in 8.5 seconds at the wheel of a dragster. She also continues to work toward her ultimate goal of spending her life underwater as a SCUBA Diving Instructor and helping with marine research and conservation projects in far flung - preferably warm and exotic – locations, having achieved her Master SCUBA Diver Trainer status in 2006. She is even considering getting back to a spot of weaving in the evenings.
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Take control of your work
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B & M can help you manage the balance between your work and home life by providing a contract that suits you. We have a variety of contracts in the UK and Europe
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B & M has specialised in delivering skilled ICT specialists to meet the needs of leading organisations throughout Europe since 1992. We focus exclusively on providing consultancy, technical services and support for z/OS, UNIX and Linux enterprise systems, including third-party systems software, open systems and networking connectivity. We add real value for HR and IT professionals by taking the time to understand their needs and applying best practice methods to deliver results. To find out more about our approach to providing the best skills for each business, go to www.bmeurope.com B & M Europe Limited
www.bmeurope.com
+44 (0)118 981 1880
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