Why Job Titles Matter, and Don't.
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@jmoore said in Why Job Titles Matter, and Don't.:
I never understood why some have the engineer title. I guess times have changed but that used to mean one very specific thing and it had nothing to do with computers.
And that one specific thing is what? I bet you can't get people to agree - there was never just a single kind of engineer.
As someone with a traditional engineering background, I can tell you that it was never just one thing or very clear.
And while it predated computers (by millennia), it also predated arches, screws, and other basics that almost every traditional engineer uses today. Engineers work with and on what exists at the time, so even engineering in the classical sense would mean computers too if applied today. The term hasn't changed, the tools of the trade have.
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a person who is trained in or follows as a profession a branch of engineering is the bit that applies to what we are discussing.
Software and systems are two branches of engineering. Along with things like civil, chemical, ceramic, mechanical, electrical, computer, manufacturing, manufacturing systems, industrial, petroleum, and so forth.
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@scottalanmiller said in Why Job Titles Matter, and Don't.:
a person who is trained in or follows as a profession a branch of engineering is the bit that applies to what we are discussing.
Software and systems are two branches of engineering. Along with things like civil, chemical, ceramic, mechanical, electrical, computer, manufacturing, manufacturing systems, industrial, petroleum, and so forth.
We're all engineers while we drive a car, technically, according to #4.
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@Obsolesce said in Why Job Titles Matter, and Don't.:
We're all engineers while we drive a car, technically, according to #4.
That's correct. But not the same kind of engineer
That's engineer like we say "train engineer".
In Spanish it is "conductor". Which we also use for trains. But can be applied to cars or BigWheels or whatever.
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@JaredBusch said in Why Job Titles Matter, and Don't.:
@scottalanmiller said in Why Job Titles Matter, and Don't.:
BigWheels or whatever.
Child engineer.
Junior Engineer. -
@Obsolesce said in Why Job Titles Matter, and Don't.:
@JaredBusch said in Why Job Titles Matter, and Don't.:
@scottalanmiller said in Why Job Titles Matter, and Don't.:
BigWheels or whatever.
Child engineer.
Be PC dude, they are called Juniors.
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@scottalanmiller said in Why Job Titles Matter, and Don't.:
@Obsolesce said in Why Job Titles Matter, and Don't.:
@JaredBusch said in Why Job Titles Matter, and Don't.:
@scottalanmiller said in Why Job Titles Matter, and Don't.:
BigWheels or whatever.
Child engineer.
Be PC dude, they are called Juniors.
Fixed.
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And for the interns...
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I'm actually dealing with this right now. I was asked by my boss to come up with a better job title for myself since I am basically a system administrator, network administrator, server administrator, IT manager, among other things.
I think job titles are a good thing simply as a starting point descriptor of what a person's job role is. It shouldn't determine pay as much as all the line items that are listed in your actual job description. Of course, there are issues with a job title if you are someone with a ton of roles -- things that would be multiple roles at a bigger company, for example.
That said, I've landed on IT Administrator since it seems to encompass everything and sounds better than "IT Generalist".
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@dave247 said in Why Job Titles Matter, and Don't.:
I'm actually dealing with this right now. I was asked by my boss to come up with a better job title for myself since I am basically a system administrator, network administrator, server administrator, IT manager, among other things.
I think job titles are a good thing simply as a starting point descriptor of what a person's job role is. It shouldn't determine pay as much as all the line items that are listed in your actual job description.
That said, I've landed on IT Administrator since it seems to encompass everything and sounds better than "IT Generalist".
Are you actually a manager? as in you have direct reports that you manage?
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@dave247 said in Why Job Titles Matter, and Don't.:
That said, I've landed on IT Administrator since it seems to encompass everything and sounds better than "IT Generalist".
That's pretty good. It's generic but gets the point across. Generalist is linguistically better because, for example, you likely do some engineering somewhere, not exclusively administration (engineers build, administrators operate.) But it's so general that people get it.
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@Dashrender said in Why Job Titles Matter, and Don't.:
@dave247 said in Why Job Titles Matter, and Don't.:
I'm actually dealing with this right now. I was asked by my boss to come up with a better job title for myself since I am basically a system administrator, network administrator, server administrator, IT manager, among other things.
I think job titles are a good thing simply as a starting point descriptor of what a person's job role is. It shouldn't determine pay as much as all the line items that are listed in your actual job description.
That said, I've landed on IT Administrator since it seems to encompass everything and sounds better than "IT Generalist".
Are you actually a manager? as in you have direct reports that you manage?
What kind of reports are you referring to? I manage various things in IT, like some reports, vendors, some credit card statements & things..
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@dave247 said in Why Job Titles Matter, and Don't.:
@Dashrender said in Why Job Titles Matter, and Don't.:
@dave247 said in Why Job Titles Matter, and Don't.:
I'm actually dealing with this right now. I was asked by my boss to come up with a better job title for myself since I am basically a system administrator, network administrator, server administrator, IT manager, among other things.
I think job titles are a good thing simply as a starting point descriptor of what a person's job role is. It shouldn't determine pay as much as all the line items that are listed in your actual job description.
That said, I've landed on IT Administrator since it seems to encompass everything and sounds better than "IT Generalist".
Are you actually a manager? as in you have direct reports that you manage?
What kind of reports are you referring to? I manage various things in IT, like some reports, vendors, some credit card statements & things..
Direct report = employee that reports directly to you that you can hire and fire.
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@scottalanmiller said in Why Job Titles Matter, and Don't.:
@dave247 said in Why Job Titles Matter, and Don't.:
That said, I've landed on IT Administrator since it seems to encompass everything and sounds better than "IT Generalist".
That's pretty good. It's generic but gets the point across. Generalist is linguistically better because, for example, you likely do some engineering somewhere, not exclusively administration (engineers build, administrators operate.) But it's so general that people get it.
Or maybe I should go with "Lord of IT" instead.
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@dave247 said in Why Job Titles Matter, and Don't.:
@scottalanmiller said in Why Job Titles Matter, and Don't.:
@dave247 said in Why Job Titles Matter, and Don't.:
That said, I've landed on IT Administrator since it seems to encompass everything and sounds better than "IT Generalist".
That's pretty good. It's generic but gets the point across. Generalist is linguistically better because, for example, you likely do some engineering somewhere, not exclusively administration (engineers build, administrators operate.) But it's so general that people get it.
Or maybe I should go with "Lord of IT" instead.
As silly as those kinds of titles are, they are almost better than ones that people see as being more official
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@scottalanmiller said in Why Job Titles Matter, and Don't.:
@dave247 said in Why Job Titles Matter, and Don't.:
@Dashrender said in Why Job Titles Matter, and Don't.:
@dave247 said in Why Job Titles Matter, and Don't.:
I'm actually dealing with this right now. I was asked by my boss to come up with a better job title for myself since I am basically a system administrator, network administrator, server administrator, IT manager, among other things.
I think job titles are a good thing simply as a starting point descriptor of what a person's job role is. It shouldn't determine pay as much as all the line items that are listed in your actual job description.
That said, I've landed on IT Administrator since it seems to encompass everything and sounds better than "IT Generalist".
Are you actually a manager? as in you have direct reports that you manage?
What kind of reports are you referring to? I manage various things in IT, like some reports, vendors, some credit card statements & things..
Direct report = employee that reports directly to you that you can hire and fire.
oh no, I can not fire anyone. However, I have indirectly caused people to get fired, but that's another story..
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@dave247 said in Why Job Titles Matter, and Don't.:
@scottalanmiller said in Why Job Titles Matter, and Don't.:
@dave247 said in Why Job Titles Matter, and Don't.:
@Dashrender said in Why Job Titles Matter, and Don't.:
@dave247 said in Why Job Titles Matter, and Don't.:
I'm actually dealing with this right now. I was asked by my boss to come up with a better job title for myself since I am basically a system administrator, network administrator, server administrator, IT manager, among other things.
I think job titles are a good thing simply as a starting point descriptor of what a person's job role is. It shouldn't determine pay as much as all the line items that are listed in your actual job description.
That said, I've landed on IT Administrator since it seems to encompass everything and sounds better than "IT Generalist".
Are you actually a manager? as in you have direct reports that you manage?
What kind of reports are you referring to? I manage various things in IT, like some reports, vendors, some credit card statements & things..
Direct report = employee that reports directly to you that you can hire and fire.
oh no, I can not fire anyone. However, I have indirectly caused people to get fired, but that's another story..
OK - then like me, you're not an IT manager, because neither of us manages people for IT. At least that's my POV.
I choose IT Admin as my title as well - also didn't like the sound of IT Generalist - most people say - WTF is a generalist?
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@Dashrender said in Why Job Titles Matter, and Don't.:
@dave247 said in Why Job Titles Matter, and Don't.:
@scottalanmiller said in Why Job Titles Matter, and Don't.:
@dave247 said in Why Job Titles Matter, and Don't.:
@Dashrender said in Why Job Titles Matter, and Don't.:
@dave247 said in Why Job Titles Matter, and Don't.:
I'm actually dealing with this right now. I was asked by my boss to come up with a better job title for myself since I am basically a system administrator, network administrator, server administrator, IT manager, among other things.
I think job titles are a good thing simply as a starting point descriptor of what a person's job role is. It shouldn't determine pay as much as all the line items that are listed in your actual job description.
That said, I've landed on IT Administrator since it seems to encompass everything and sounds better than "IT Generalist".
Are you actually a manager? as in you have direct reports that you manage?
What kind of reports are you referring to? I manage various things in IT, like some reports, vendors, some credit card statements & things..
Direct report = employee that reports directly to you that you can hire and fire.
oh no, I can not fire anyone. However, I have indirectly caused people to get fired, but that's another story..
OK - then like me, you're not an IT manager, because neither of us manages people for IT. At least that's my POV.
I choose IT Admin as my title as well - also didn't like the sound of IT Generalist - most people say - WTF is a generalist?
IT Admineer
