Many articles have been written about the information technology employment market, but few have focused on what motivates an IT professional to aim for and stick with an IT career, when there are many other career choices.

This article discusses the important career motivators for IT professionals.

What Makes IT Different?

First, IT careers only fit certain individuals. Anyone who ever worked in IT knows that the best planned weeks and days rarely occur the way they are supposed to-even if you're ahead on every project and deadline (which is almost impossible!).

Uncertainty figures prominently in IT because telephones, computers, networks and the people who use them are unpredictable. You never know when the next denial of service attack will hit-or when a business line manager will call up with a new application to implement-or with an urgent need to revise a business process. You don't always know when the examiners will spring a surprise visit-or when a system, a network or an application will decide to go down or have health issues.

There are the pundits who argue that uncertainty exists in every job-but few occupations deal with it on a daily basis like IT.

Take accounting as a case in point. Accounting is a "cyclical" discipline with a high degree of predictability. There are daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly and annual processing cycles that have to be met, and schedules are vigorous but regular. An accountant already knows what his day will be like when he arrives at work-but his IT counterpart is not likely to know until he walks in the door.

Thriving on the Edge and Coming to the Rescue

Most IT professionals thrive on not knowing what is going to happen on any given day! IT is a project- and task-oriented discipline. It does not operate in repetitive, cyclical processes. This is why many companies that try to combine IT and finance, or to shift finance personnel to IT-meet with limited success.

I saw this in action some years ago, when I was managing an implementation of a multi-million dollar Wall Street brokerage system. The project was in trouble when I volunteered to take over managing it (I was a true IT'er). I quickly recognized that if things on this project were going to start going "right," my principle technical person had to come through-and often. While the project was still in an "iron lung," he was there day and night-doing whatever it took to fix a bug or ensure a process was running. At the height of the project, he scarcely left the premises, and staffers were known at times to bring him three squares a day.

One of the project's application programmers was due to have a baby and went into labor 48 hours before final system cutover to production. She went home, had the baby, and was back on the job the next day. While I don't recommend this as a birthing strategy, it was a classic example of IT pride in workmanship and ability to get the adrenaline kicks by living on the edge.

The collective effort on the project paid off. The system not only went live-it went perfectly. The pregnant programmer who was now a new mother took time off. There was just Steve (the technical guru and project rescuer).

"What's wrong?" I asked him one day, the new system purring along like the engine of a Rolls Royce. "I can't take it!" he screamed. "Things are too dull around here!"

It was true. We actually had some breathing space after a very difficult twelve months. But "breathing space" is not a comforting thought for those who live on the edge and want the constant accolades and recognition that they get for saving the day!-a prime motivator in IT that continues to thrive today.

Road Warriors and 24/7

Saving the day is still alive and well, and IT'ers are doing it regularly "on the road" as they install new systems and work with end users at distant offices.

When IT'ers first start out as "road warriors," they see road warrioring and troubleshooting problems at 3 a.m. as "bragging right" items for their families and friends. This lets everyone know that they are critical to the operation (and they are). Over time, and as the road warriors grow older and have more responsibilities outside of work, the road warrior life loses appeal. More than anything, the idea of being on call 24/7 over holidays and weekends loses appeal.

To some of us, this 24/7 access provides structure to our days. It is a motivator, even for those who are on the beach in Maui on vacation. They dial in to work as a way to stay connected. Many IT'ers can also be negatively motivated to stay dialed in-given the constant uncertainty of the employment market, the growing threat of outsourcing, and the fear that they may not be coming back to a job if they don't stay "dialed in" and part of what is going on.

There are IT'ers who get tired on the 24/7 access requirements, and who look for something else. But most of us understand that 24/7 access for critical problem resolution "goes with" being an IT'er. The greater issues are appreciation of this extra effort in the form of salary increases and promotions-and overtime and bonus payments to those who are constantly putting in the extra hours.

Having a Technical Skillset and a List of Accomplishments that You Can Call Your Own

Today's work environment is so complex and interrelated that few corporate workers see the end products of their personal efforts. But IT'ers who install networks and systems, and who write and deliver applications, do see end results of their labor.

Recent industry analysis reveals that young people entering the workforce want to earn a good living, and they want a strong benefits package and a technical skillset that will allow them to "be on their own" as well as being part of a larger organization. In IT terms, this translates to owning a set of technical skills that no one can take from you, and that you are able to take either to another employer or to your own business as a means of earning a living.

The parents of this generation held a different view. Many of them (including those who worked in IT) worked for large companies. They were cogs in large project teams. While they were integral as individuals to the success of an organization and its initiatives, their work could not stand alone unless it was combined with the work efforts of others. This was the generation that younger people saw laid off when corporate profit goals weren't met-despite the fact that people had performed, stayed loyal, and delivered value.

The Precarious Position of the CIO

This brings us to the much-coveted Chief Information Officer position (CIO), which at one time or another is the goal of every IT'er in the department.

Younger IT workers have seen the precarious nature of employment when you are a generalist with no specific technical skills. The CIO has a lot of territory to cover, and must be a generalist to be successful. He has to understand the business, the various disciplines and projects within IT, technology trends, finance, people skills and of course, corporate politics.

Being a CIO is a precarious position. You are teamed with other corporate executives and your piece of the project is the system. When things go wrong, it is easy to blame "the system." This blame often gets transferred to the CIO, who is ultimately responsible for the system.

As a CIO, I once had a fellow Vice President tell me, "I wouldn't want your job. It's the most difficult and the riskiest one in the company." This person was the exception, because most business executives have not been CIOs and do not understand the complexities, the intricacies and the risks of the position.

There has traditionally been greater turnover with the CIO position than with other commensurate executive positions because of its inherent riskiness. The CIO is the first person blamed when a system conversion or a new application goes awry. The number of CIO jobs in the marketplace has dropped dramatically over the past few years. I asked an executive recruiter about this not long ago, and he acknowledged the drop but added, "We still don't know why this is occurring." Hopefully, it is because CIOs are staying in their positions longer.

Star Trek Revisited

The truth is, most IT'ers "deep down" would rather be Scotty or Dr. Spock than Captain Kirk (the CIO).

Scotty can call his shots in any engine room, and no mission ever goes very far without Dr. Spock's superb scientific analysis.

Captain Kirk's work (i.e., the CIO) is a little different. His challenges are dealing with the Federation and negotiating agreements with aliens from different planets. On any given day, that might seem to be exactly what the CIO is dealing with in his executive management meetings!

The constant challenges and endless perils of IT may keep us up sometimes at night, but as IT'ers, we thrive on them. For most of us, we wouldn't have it any other way.

NaSPA member Mary E. Shacklett is President of Transworld Data. She is listed in Who's Who Worldwide and in Who's Who in the Computer Industry.

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