Hi ,

I have 13 yrs experience in DB systems 7 in OLTP & 6 in OLAP / BI . I love learning new technologies and working on them . But that brings the inherent risk of starting as a near fresher every 2-3 years .

I have an alternative career approach of either going the Architect way .. in which case I design systems and work more on a higher level supervising designs and seeing that the overall execution is efficient .... This position would be able to capitalize on my experience but I fear , I might lose my touch with hands on on technologies and the pleasure I derive in working on them .

To me it appears that Architect is a more sensible approach and the way to go but some how I m not sure which approach is more correct --- staying a Developer amd working on Technologies or being an Architect .

What would the senior IT CD s do if in a similar situation ? Please share views / advice / suggestion .

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Fido.

That always happen when you move to high end. That is the way it is.

Architect way is good and you will find more meaning to your past experience.. Your past hands-on experience will take you to the higher end ... It is possible that you may never really use the technologies you learned past to perform your new job. But that knowledge stays with you always and helps you to be successful in new job ...

However, as you know learning new technologies is inevitable. I do not think you will be always fresher ... but you are continuously adding feathers to your cap.

Thanks for the response . I agree that s the way to go as you gain experience .

My predicament is that I stil love to develop but know that as per technology transition , I would need to upgrade and may not get the total benefit of experience .

As an architect I can utilize my experience and grow accordingly but may not get a chance to work on development tools .....

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Fido.

Although you may not get a chance to work on development tools but as an architect your thorough knowledge of tools is very important. Depending on what kind of architect you choose to be (application, systems, network, solutions) you need to have solid hands on experience in relative field. I find analyst (technical/business), team lead/manager role relatively less dependent on technology than the architect..In fact architect needs to be more familiar with technology than a developer/DBA.
Good luck!

My Exp has been

In large companies the key to being a successful architect is being able to talk technology and manage politics..


In small companies Architect needs to be hands on and likely ends up dealing less with politics.. There are some exceptions like Telus which also have this model..


Either way as a architect u can chose how u want to move ur career by choosing the right company..

Thanks Folks ,

DWMC - you give a new dimension which I had not thought of .

Wheras it is true that you need to be experienced and skilled on the platform you are designing / architect but after some time you are stuck to that platform and when technology changes ( or you wish to switch to another platform ) .. well you don't have the experience to be considered . What to do in such a case .....

For eg. if some one has been working on Cognos for some time and his experience leads him to an Architect position .... if he wishes to switch to say Business Objects , how can he do that ?

Plus if you move on further to being an EDW Architect over seeing both ETL as well as BI , then switching to another technology becomes all the more difficult ...

Am I correct in my understanding or am I missing something ?

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Fido.

Quote:

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Originally posted by Fido

Thanks Folks ,

DWMC - you give a new dimension which I had not thought of .

Wheras it is true that you need to be experienced and skilled on the platform you are designing / architect but after some time you are stuck to that platform and when technology changes ( or you wish to switch to another platform ) .. well you don't have the experience to be considered . What to do in such a case .....

For eg. if some one has been working on Cognos for some time and his experience leads him to an Architect position .... if he wishes to switch to say Business Objects , how can he do that ?

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Quote:

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Originally posted by Fido
Plus if you move on further to being an EDW Architect over seeing both ETL as well as BI , then switching to another technology becomes all the more difficult ...

Am I correct in my understanding or am I missing something ?

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