InformationWeek

June 22, 1999

Your letters to my print column and this E-mail forum ask some serious questions about managing information technology in today's world. Since today's world is essentially absurd, my serious responses may sometimes sound a little whimsical, and my occasional whimsical ones, serious. In any case, if you want to participate, write to me at lovelace@home.com. I'll respond to those letters that I can. I reserve the right to edit for size and content. Just sign your E-mail the way you want it to appear online.

Dear Herb:
I am interested in becoming a computer programmer. I have received a degree in business administration but have been out of the workforce for the past five years, staying at home with my children. I am now ready to start preparing for my re-entry. I am wondering which courses to take to prepare for a future in computer programming.

Kimberly

Dear Kimberly:
Most programming languages (I have friends who will kill me for this statement) are not too difficult to learn once you become familiar with the underlying logic of programming itself. The most important thing for you to do is understand the concepts of programming. An introductory course should be available from either a nearby college or an adult-enrichment curriculum from your local school system.

Next, prepare yourself for your new career by studying how to structure a coding solution to a business problem. Your degree in business administration should be of help to you in this task because you need to understand a problem before you can program its solution.

Once you understand the structure of programming, I suggest you take a basic course in either Cobol, Visual Basic, or C++. While the individual requirements of the companies doing the hiring will vary, you should find sufficient opportunities to apply your new-found knowledge.

Dear Herb:
I am a 38-year-old UPS package handler with a degree in social work. I have been working for a small startup company doing Web pages. I am also learning to use Microsoft Access, and I want to continue to learn programming in Access, Visual Basic, and Oracle. The people I am working with will give me projects that I can show future employers.

My question is this: Does my age and not having a computer-science degree stack the odds too much against me in finding a career as a programmer?

Richard

Dear Richard:
In a single word -- no. Believe it or not, employers are more interested in what people can accomplish than practically anything else. If you are skilled at coding and have experience building Web pages, you will have the opportunity for employment even though you do not have a computer-science degree. Go for it, and good luck.

Dear Herb:
I read your article, "The Crisis That Won't Be." You probably won't know much [about year 2000 impact] until Jan. 3, 2000 -- when you've picked up your cell phone to call the office ... no dial tone; oh, well. Or after you've gotten into your car and it doesn't start ... oh, well.

You might be one of the lucky ones who has power at home on a cold January morning (or have a real good and quiet generator). Not to worry. Mom's in the kitchen cooking up pancakes on your converted stove.

I'm sorry, Mr. Lovelace, but I just don't agree. I have been following the year 2000 problem for a long time now and I think you are making some progress, but everyone started just a little bit too late. I only wish you people who knew the consequences of year 2000 had let us in on it earlier.

See you in 2000,

Heavy-hearted

Dear Heavy-hearted:
Sorry that you are so depressed, but I'll stick with my original estimate: nothing worse than the consequences of a major snowstorm. I think the cell phone will work, the car will start, and the good old regular stove will do the cooking.

By the way, on the chance that I turn out to be correct, do write and let me know how you personally handled the crisis that won't be.

Dear Herb:
I just read "The Crisis That Won't Be." I like the tone; I like the fluid, easy style; and I like your positive feelings about human energy and ability to fix things that break.

I find it too easy, though.

I have been reading my Auditor General's report from December, the U.S. House and Senate's sites, the OECD's reports, Global2k's (a banking conglomerate) ranking of nations, the recent World Bank surveys of foreign countries, and many more. Given the seriousness that significant government and national organizations are attaching to year 2000, I find the press -- in general -- is understating the problem. Well, that's an understatement.

Thank you for your words.

Phil

Dear Phil:
Thanks for your cogent letter. I've read several of the reports you mention, and a year ago, perhaps even six months ago, I would have agreed with them. However, over the last six months, people have gotten very serious about the situation, and I've seen some very significant progress in both government and industry in a concerted effort to solve the year 2000 problem. I suspect that it is fair to say a great deal of that progress is due to people taking those reports that you cite just as seriously as you have.

We would be foolish to assume, though, that there will not be problems. Some areas will experience disruptions, but I doubt it will be crippling. For example, I am not sure how well Asia will handle the situation, but the countries there are not as dependent on computers as are Europe and North America. I am fairly confident, now, that we will look back on 1/1/2000 as a big event, but not because of any major disasters.

Dear Herb:
When I began reading your article about "The Crisis That Won't Be," I thought maybe there is hope after all. Then after I finished reading it, I was reminded of the old pilot joke: Picture a cockpit with no pilots, just a computerized autopilot system. Hanging on the wall, though, are two pilots encased with a sign over them reading, "IN CASE OF EMERGENCY, BREAK GLASS."

Sounds like the real problem remains after D-Day, that is, having enough programmers who understand how to fix the computers. You had better train more programmers as part of your SWAT team strategy, as there sure are going to be a lot of wildfires all of a sudden to put out all over this lovely world! If you don't have enough firefighters, how fast you put out the fires is moot.

Lee

Dear Lee:
I agree with you that we have to make sure we have an adequate number of firefighters, but what counts is not how many firefighters you have, but how fast all the fires are extinguished. We do not want to leave any important ones burning for very long.

If you've been a reader for a while, you may remember "The Year 2000 Advantage" and "2001: An IS Oddity", which I wrote in May 1996 and January 1997, respectively. In both of these articles, I said our strategy is to ensure that we have rapid response teams available to fix problems as they occur, even though we are doing a thorough job of identifying, fixing, and testing year 2000 bugs. Obviously, it is important that we have enough people on the teams to avoid having them overwhelmed by problems. The key here is experienced people, good priority setting, and the ability to estimate worst-case scenarios.

We don't intend to train more programmers. It's finding the bugs and testing the fixes that take time. The actual code repair is not as big a problem as these two items. What we are doing is making sure that our development people are available and knowledgeable so that they can help fight the fires if need be. I am not alone in emphasizing this approach, although at the time that I wrote the article, I saw very little written on the SWAT team strategy. Today, quite a few publications and industry experts seem to be recommending it.

Dear Herb:
I have been in the IT field for more than 10 years and have held the following positions:

Computer operator
Senior computer operator
Programmer analyst
Senior programmer analyst
Systems and programming manager
MIS manager
Director, information systems and technology

This advancement has been accomplished while working for two different companies. The first was a large, worldwide manufacturer of chemical products, where I spent five years. The second is a health-care service company where I am now in my sixth year. I have attended college and have completed only around six courses.

I have never earned a degree, and now I am so busy that it would be impossible anyway. How do you feel this will affect me when I try to make my next move to another organization? Will my track record and accomplishments be enough, or will I need a piece of paper that says I completed my degree? The other thing I see all the time is that an MBA is usually required for CIO-level positions. I feel I am already primed for this type of role. Will I run into another wall because of this?

Thank you.

Ryan

Dear Ryan:
First of all, congratulations on your achievements. You have every reason to be proud of what you have accomplished.

To answer your question: I don't know. In competing for a CIO job, you certainly won't be helped by not finishing college. Your lack of a degree will probably hinder you if the other candidates have your track record and also the degrees.

I would consider looking at your situation in another way, though. Ask yourself two questions. Do you feel less comfortable professionally because you do not have a college degree? And, do you think having a degree would help you do a better job? If the answer to either question is yes, then by all means make it a priority to pursue a degree at night.

Herbert W. Lovelace is CIO at a multibillion-dollar international company. Herb practices his day job under an alias and has changed the names of colleagues to protect the guilty.