One of the most important things for a recruiter to understand about the psychology of technical people is the difference between (1) systems analysis & design and (2) programming. The skills required of a systems analyst, or the programmer analyst or business analyst who functions as a systems analyst, are different than a programmer or technical professional.
Analysts Are Industry Experts
Analysts with experience in a specific type of vertical application, such as insurance and manufacturing, are more valuable to another company with the same application. Since there are fundamentals that apply to all information systems, analysts occasionally do cross industry lines. For example, good listening and interviewing skills are as important as technical knowledge in designing information systems. An analyst with an abundance of these skills can work with new applications successfully. However, analysts with moderate listening and interviewing skills are generally more successful in the same niche industry, because they are more familiar, hopefully, with the nuances of the business.
Programmers Cross Over More Easily
Programmers are also sought with application experience, for example, a COBOL programmer in banking. However, programmers can cross application boundaries much more easily than systems analysts. Programmers often have little allegiance to their company's industry in the first place, being more concerned with the software environment they work with. It can also take years to learn the nuances of a language, and many programmers do not like to learn a new one.
As far as getting work done on time, it is more important that the programmer have experience with the type of functions required in the program than the nature of the business. If the functional specifications have been well designed (because of skilled analysts), coding the program should be straightforward.
People Are Different
What takes one programmer a month to do can take another a day. There is that much of a difference, and it all depends on the person's innate ability, level of experience and tools being used. These variables should not be underestimated.
Analysts also come with different skill levels, and the talent for bridging the technical world while having sufficient people skills to obtain meaningful requirements should also not be underestimated. Projects often get out of hand, because the business requirements were not carefully analyzed from the start.
In Summary
Programmers can cross industry lines easily as long as they continue to use the same languages and support tools as they did in their previous jobs. Analysts can, and indeed do, take jobs in different industries, but their greatest asset is often their business knowledge, which can vary greatly from one type of business to another. See programmer, computercruiter and nerd rustler.
Analysts Are Industry Experts
Analysts with experience in a specific type of vertical application, such as insurance and manufacturing, are more valuable to another company with the same application. Since there are fundamentals that apply to all information systems, analysts occasionally do cross industry lines. For example, good listening and interviewing skills are as important as technical knowledge in designing information systems. An analyst with an abundance of these skills can work with new applications successfully. However, analysts with moderate listening and interviewing skills are generally more successful in the same niche industry, because they are more familiar, hopefully, with the nuances of the business.
Programmers Cross Over More Easily
Programmers are also sought with application experience, for example, a COBOL programmer in banking. However, programmers can cross application boundaries much more easily than systems analysts. Programmers often have little allegiance to their company's industry in the first place, being more concerned with the software environment they work with. It can also take years to learn the nuances of a language, and many programmers do not like to learn a new one.
As far as getting work done on time, it is more important that the programmer have experience with the type of functions required in the program than the nature of the business. If the functional specifications have been well designed (because of skilled analysts), coding the program should be straightforward.
People Are Different
What takes one programmer a month to do can take another a day. There is that much of a difference, and it all depends on the person's innate ability, level of experience and tools being used. These variables should not be underestimated.
Analysts also come with different skill levels, and the talent for bridging the technical world while having sufficient people skills to obtain meaningful requirements should also not be underestimated. Projects often get out of hand, because the business requirements were not carefully analyzed from the start.
In Summary
Programmers can cross industry lines easily as long as they continue to use the same languages and support tools as they did in their previous jobs. Analysts can, and indeed do, take jobs in different industries, but their greatest asset is often their business knowledge, which can vary greatly from one type of business to another. See programmer, computercruiter and nerd rustler.
 | Reproduced with permission from Computer Desktop Encyclopedia. Copyright (c) 1981-2008 The Computer Language Company Inc. All rights reserved. |
Additional Resources
- UK CS graduates more likely to be unemployed
- UK CS graduates more likely to be unemployedIf you're any good, I wouldn't worry about itMy first question is whether that study takes into account whether people were employed in their actual field of study?Ie, does a job at McDonalds classify as being 'employed' or does every psychology major actually...
- Discussion threads 2008-08-20
- Contact Capture (exe)
- Contact Capture captures contact information from e-mails, Web pages, Word, Excel, or any document. Contact Magnet captures people's names, titles, and e-mails, phone numbers, fax numbers, cell numbers, company names, addresses, and Web sites. Gone are the days of manual data entry. Contact Magnet seamlessly exports to SalesForce.com, Netsuite, OnContact...
- Software downloads 2008-04-22
- Lookout LinkedIn, Facebook adds granular privacy controls (IM to follow)
- Lookout LinkedIn, Facebook adds granular privacy controls IM to followToo simple....SteveSorry but I can't help but think your analysis is a little simplistic. If LinkedIn were completely stagnant then maybe you'd be correct but you ignore the fact that LinkedIn have significant opportunities that they could leverage if they saw...
- Discussion threads 2008-03-18
- Specialist Recruiter and Staffer Simplifies IT With Virtual Solution and Reduces Administration by 30 Per Cent
- Expectra Group, a leading recruitment and staffing agency in Belgium, needed to ensure increased availability for its employees. This would help ensure that its clients and candidates received the best possible services. The IT team searched for a new server and storage environment that would simplify server administration and create...
- Case studies 2008-02-06
- Veteran Windows architect resigns from Microsoft
- Veteran Windows architect resigns from MicrosoftI wonder if Vista has anything to do...with the shake up.Anyone involved with Vista probably has trouble holding their head up. Except Ballmer of course and he simply doesn't know any better.Naw, not really."Short's leaving is still big news for anyone with Windows interests."Not...
- Discussion threads 2008-01-14
- BI: where 90% of everything is ... crosstabs
- Business intelligence has been a hot area for years but more than 90% of everything actually being done in it still consists of cross tabulation - and a lot of people don't even understand that. In one of my first "professional" jobs I did an analysis of...
- Blog posts 2008-01-13
- Monster.com shuts down rogue server linked to data theft
- Monster.com has shut down a rogue server that was accessing its database to hijack personal information from about 1.3 million job seekers.In a statement issued today, the company said most of the affected job hunters were based in the U.S.As previously reported, the information contained on this server was limited...
- Blog posts 2007-08-23
- Irony Dept: Thanks to social nets, Craigslist, etc, pro recruiters may have to find new careers
- If you're a professional recruiter (particularly one that works for a recruiting/headhunting firm), then it's probably time to start thinking about a career change. The reason? Once money starts talking, the mob of Internet users-cum-recruiters will be impossible to compete against. By "money talking," I mean, once employers start...
- Blog posts 2007-07-30
- On the Web, no one knows you're a Microsoft employee
- On June 26, an anonymous blogger posted a first entry on a new "Just Say No to Google" blog. The subject of the inagural post: "Life at Google - The Microsoftie Perspective." (The e-mail is now also linked and being discussed on Slashdot.)The post raises not only some interesting cultural...
- Blog posts 2007-06-27
- Acing the job interview
- Acing the job interviewOther professionsThe attitude which is not too well hidden in these paragraphs will be noticed:"Meanwhile he’ll be judging you on what you’re wearing, how you speak, and dozens of other behavioural cues that he thinks tell him whether you’ll fit with what he knows of the real...
- Discussion threads 2007-06-12
- Acing the job interview
- Don't play games when you interview with the people actually doing the hiring - be as honest, forthcoming, and clear as you can; confess to limits and failures everybody has them and work on building rapport. Above all: don't pretend to be somebody you're not.Remember three things: most of them have...
- Blog posts 2007-06-12
- Resume Bomber (exe)
- Resume Bomber is developed with the concept of automation. We believe this is the most comprehensive tool to enhance your job searching process. We all know, to get attention of a recruiter its a must to present a customized resume and cover letter. With so many unique features, it is...
- Software downloads 2007-06-01
- Mozilla executive director search to loop in community
- The Mozilla Foundation is being pretty open about its search for an executive director and plans to loop in community members to help select candidates. On Mozilla's Usenet group last night, Mitchell Baker, known as Mozilla's Chief Lizard Wrangler, said she is part of the team defining the search process...
- Blog posts 2007-05-25
- Spyware, data privacy bills reappear in House
- Spyware, data privacy bills reappear in HouseSelling My Social Security Number?I am outraged that ANY company is allowed access to my social security number. How do they get it to sell in the first place? I have long beeen an advocate of NOT using SSN's for identification purposes....
- Discussion threads 2007-02-10
- Why Microsoft should open-source SQL Server and SharePoint
- Why Microsoft should open-source SQL Server and SharePointAnd that makes MS money how???Hmmm, lets see, sell it for several thousand dollars including cals or give it away in the hopes of MS abandoning being a software company and morphing into some sort of service company? (Like that has worked...
- Discussion threads 2007-01-18
- Sgt. Star - the Army's virtual recruiter
- "Sgt. Star" is the perfect salesman. Hes strong, trustworthy and has all the answers, and you can meet Sgt. Star at the GoArmy website. Sgt. Star is the latest addition to the recruitment site and has been developed to appeal to the tech-savvy, reports Government Computer News. "Weve tested...
- Blog posts 2007-01-03
- Recruiters, forget the catalog, just send an instant message
- Could college-bound seniors get wined and dined by college recruiters via MySpace? If the findings of a new survey by a higher education consulting firm are right, more prospective students just might get an IM from a recruiter based on their profile, reports Campus Technology. The study by higher...
- Blog posts 2006-11-07
- Looking to grow career? Stay away from small enterprises, says research firm
- The belief that you can flex your power and have more impact in smaller organizations doesn't ring true for IT professionals, according to a recent study. Info-Tech Research Group's Indaba Division reports that in smaller enterprises, decisions on IT department acquisitions tend to rest in the hands of senior, non-IT...
- Blog posts 2006-11-02
- Google tweaks hiring process to meet needs
- If your dream is to work at Google, the road to landing a gig at the famous web search engine giant just got a lot easier. With its complex hiring process Google hasn't been able to add people fast enough to sustain its phenomenal growth rate in recent years....
- Blog posts 2006-10-24
- AOL to lay off 1,400 call center workers
- AOL to lay off 1,400 call center workersWooHoo, it's off to India we go.sigh...I Wonder If AOL Pulled A Radio ShackAnd just texted or e-mailed them their pink slips.Welcome! You have severance package.;)Message has been deleted.Do you think the last 1,000 layoffswill be from upper management?Naaaa...Indian accents everywhere.I'm a software...
- Discussion threads 2006-10-18
Neighboring Terms
Premier Vendor Content Whitepapers, webcasts & resources from our Power Center Sponsors
- Demo: Virtualization with the Intel® Xeon® Processor
-
In this Flash demo, you'll learn about virtualization performance and features ideal for consolidation, load balancing, and disaster recovery with leading enterprise reliability.
- Watch how the Intel Xeon processor can increase performance and reliability of your servers >>
- Sports and Technology
-
Major League Baseball pitches new app to iPhone users
At Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference in San Francisco, Jeremy Schoenherr of MLB.com demos At-Bat, a new iPhone app from Major League Baseball.
View the ZDNet video to learn more -
The SF Giants' new hi-tech ballpark
SF Giants CIO Bill Schlough discusses new technology upgrades at AT&T Park and outlines his dual role- managing technology operations at the backend while using hi-tech to improve player performance on the field.
View the ZDNet CIO Vision Series video - From our Sponsors
- Fantasy Football
-
-
3 Great Ways To Play Fantasy Football
Play for free, play to win cash prizes- up to $3500, or customize your own league.
Learn More » -
