How do you USE this darn thing????

Dana Coffey Blogs on User Interaction

Jack of All Trades?

Having to recently do a complete set of technical specifications for a client in addition to coding, I was wondering just how many developers are being called upon to also handle information architect tasks, dba tasks, project management tasks and support and training.  Working as a private contractor/consultant, I probably run into this more than in the corporate sector.  My last job in the corporate world was a bit different.... there was no documentation (I'm sure you guys are familar with this) - they just had us code prototypes which they ripped to hell and then informed us we had 15 hours of budget to do what had now grown to 80 hours of work.  Well needless to say, they could not support an entire IT staff when all their projects go down like that.  I have, however had jobs where the division of tasks was very clear.  In one job the ONLY thing I messed with was ASP.  We had html guys, IA guys, dba guys, and the com guys.  The wanted me ONLY to tie it all together, and that was kind of cool.

I'm really curious to know how many different hats some of us wear on our jobs and how people feel about that.  I kind of like the variety myself, as I have a bit of ADD .......now what were we talking about?

TGIF!!!!!

d

Posted: Apr 04 2003, 10:21 AM by DanaCoffey | with 14 comment(s)

Comments

Wallym said:

I have to do that all the time. It's just part of the gig.

# April 4, 2003 7:51 AM

Datagrid Girl said:

I do all of those things at my current job, and for some of my consulting projects.
# April 4, 2003 8:08 AM

Drew Marsh said:

I've never been a consultant, but I've always worked in start-ups with small teams and, initially at least, very little funds. I've always had to be a "Jack of all trades", but I'm somewhat *cough*understantement*cough* of a control freak when it comes to my software, so I don't mind it at all. The important thing is to not fall into the cliche of "master of none". ;)
# April 4, 2003 8:15 AM

Nino said:

I do this as well (I'm in consulting), although some things not as much as others (i.e. not too much DBA work). I think that it is essential to be able to work in all the tiers of an application, if for no other reason to get an understanding of how the whole app fits together, and better see how your piece fits in. I do realize, however, that on a project team implementing a large enterprise application (been here, done that) this not not as feasible as on a smaller team.
# April 4, 2003 8:28 AM

TrackBack said:

RE: Jack of All Trades : Chad Osgood's Blog
# April 4, 2003 10:21 AM

TrackBack said:

RE: Jack of All Trades : Chad Osgood's Blog
# April 4, 2003 10:21 AM

TrackBack said:

Re: Jack Of All Trades : Chris Szurgot's Blog
# April 4, 2003 10:21 AM

TrackBack said:

Dana's "Jack of all trades" question : Julia Lerman Blog
# April 4, 2003 10:21 AM

Jason said:

You got off lucky. In many of my consulting projects, I only have to worry about the site design, hosting, db work, e-mail, marketing materials, and an occasional small network (1-10 computers, print, fax, and scan services, and centralized programs and data).

In my full-time job during the week, I work for an accounting firm. Many of you have heard me *moan* before, but I really can't complain too much. It does pay the bills and I do get great experience. I am 1 of 8 servicing 18 offices in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware. At my job I have to be able to manage AD, Exchange, SMS, CRM, DMS, Routers, and Design stuff. With nearly 400 employees (1:50 ratio), it becomes tough at times.

So, trust me. I know of your pains! :)
# May 3, 2003 1:12 PM

Jody said:

Constantly! I have worked in a shop that had several people JUST doing DBA, HTML, Design. However, at least in my current position, I have to do everything. HTML, ASP.NET, SQL DBA, SQL Developer, Graphical Design, Photoshop, Multimedia Development, Server Maintenance, Flash Presentations, Action Scripting, and "Other Duties as assigned". I don't mind so much, but it does make becoming a master of any one of them a slow process. The good part is that I learn something everyday. The bad part is that your duties on a resume start to look somewhat implausible to hiring managers. Sometimes I take stuff off of my resume so as to tailor my response to a given job.
# May 6, 2003 8:31 AM

Don Kitchen said:

I have been on both sides of the fence here. Working with the smaller companies or on my own, I have had to do everything, including the sales side of things. When I worked for a mid to large sized start-up, I was more in the structured role where I did a heck of a lot less.

I have enjoyed all of the experience that I have picked up and am now back in a role where I handle all things technical. We do only in-house programming so a lot of the client-related tasks are no longer required.

I do like being more involved, but do get sick of having to do everything sometimes.
# May 6, 2003 11:11 AM

ROBALOB - The Prophet said:


Just chiming in...

My current project is typical of the types of duties I am required to fulfill. On this project I've had to make architecture recommendations, do all the ERD design, write ASPX pages and design their behaviour, do all the DBA stuff, write all the stored procedures and DTS examples, create encryption solutions, create LDAP solutions to automate SysAdmin activities...and much, much more.

But I like that about my job.

# June 27, 2003 3:33 PM

matt said:

i AM in the corporate world as a consultant. i do a bit of project management, minor DBA work, coding, UI design, architecture, and all the rest. i also do a bunch of hand-holding and political maneuvering. for example, i argue constantly to protect the integrity of the interface which my customer hired out for.
# June 27, 2003 10:23 PM

Alex Hoffman said:

I recently left the corporate world to write a product and do things "my way". Wearing all the hats can be frustrating because there is so much to do and so little time! I do miss the simplicity of being able to concentrate on one area of expertise.
# July 24, 2003 2:39 AM
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