InformationWeek

August 4, 1998

I used to work for a large chemical company but was outsourced to a large consulting company. One year after the deal, we just got our first pay increase --2% on average. Our benefits have all moved downhill. The leadership and communications we get from our new management is not improving; we feel like pawns instead of people or valued assets. I have 12 years of experience doing mostly business analysis and project leadership. I've always worked very closely with the manufacturing and R&D organizations working with midrange computers and databases. I am fairly knowledgeable on Oracle and relational databases as well as business practices in these areas. In 12 years, I have had four promotions but still am not at a level where I feel valued and participate in profit sharing. Do I stick it out and work to make things better for me in this new outsourced environment? Or do I now explore my options outside of this company? What are my most marketable skills? Should I strengthen my technical skills?

You're receiving 2% raises and feel like a "pawn"... all while we are in the most dynamic job market particularly in technology in the history of the U.S. economy. What do you think? This is a market so rich with opportunities that companies are scurrying to find talent--and once they find it, they are crafting retention plans to keep those workers. If there were ever a time to look, now is it. There is a plethora of opportunities, and with your seasoning and background you should have little difficulty flushing them out. It's certainly advisable to continue to deepen your technical base--but you bring to the table strong project-management and best-practices experience, so if you desire to be more technical, so be it, but your skills will bode well out there. A lack of good project managers has been an issue for most of my clients over the last 14 months or so.

More Questions:
My move from sales to programming has left me at the bottom of the ladder, what can I do to advance myself?

Which IT career path has more potential for growth, systems or programming?