Separating IT from the Bench
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The problem with Bench is that it has a pejorative connotation in common usage. If you were to tell someone that handles enterprise systems and infrastructure that they're just glorified bench workers on a larger scale they would be offended at the characterization.
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@Kelly said in Separating IT from the Bench:
The problem with Bench is that it has a pejorative connotation in common usage.
So does IT at this point. IT has become another term for bench. So any negative of one carries to the other, sadly.
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@Kelly said in Separating IT from the Bench:
@BRRABill said in Separating IT from the Bench:
@scottalanmiller said in Separating IT from the Bench:
@BRRABill said in Separating IT from the Bench:
What do you consider someone who sets up the server, and then install a hypervisor on it, VMs on that hypervisor, and then VMs, and maintains those VMs?
Oh, and also replaces a drive on the server if it goes wonky?
From the description, bench. You've not mentioned a business anywhere. If you are assuming that this role will do all of this while making business decisions as to the setup, need, etc. then it becomes IT. But there are loads of people doing this role via scripts and no business insight or knowledge at server vendors that are clearly bench.
If your description of a job is all tech and zero business, that's bench. But I think you are not describing it well.
Yeah, let's say this person is a one person employee at a company, and they are responsible for choosing the hardware, software, and everything else involved.
You're a bench it. We'll just splinch the two and put IT in the middle replacing the "en".
This made me LOL
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@Kelly said in Separating IT from the Bench:
If you were to tell someone that handles enterprise systems and infrastructure that they're just glorified bench workers on a larger scale they would be offended at the characterization.
I think the "glorified" bit is the issue. If you pointed out that they do the same job but on an enterprise scale they'd either just acknowledge that that is true or admit that they are ashamed of their job. It's not that they are glorified, it can be a hard and rewarding job. It's just not IT.
Accountants aren't offended when you tell them that they just do math. Or that they aren't IT. That bench people often feel that way (I've never had professional bench people act that way, though) is weird. Why do a job that you are ashamed of, and what shame is there in being technical?
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@scottalanmiller said in Separating IT from the Bench:
@Kelly said in Separating IT from the Bench:
If you were to tell someone that handles enterprise systems and infrastructure that they're just glorified bench workers on a larger scale they would be offended at the characterization.
I think the "glorified" bit is the issue. If you pointed out that they do the same job but on an enterprise scale they'd either just acknowledge that that is true or admit that they are ashamed of their job. It's not that they are glorified, it can be a hard and rewarding job. It's just not IT.
Accountants aren't offended when you tell them that they just do math. Or that they aren't IT. That bench people often feel that way (I've never had professional bench people act that way, though) is weird. Why do a job that you are ashamed of, and what shame is there in being technical?
You appear to be missing the point. It isn't their work that they might object to, but the pejorative appellation your proposing applying to it. An accountant would object if you said that all they are is a glorified calculator.
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@Kelly said in Separating IT from the Bench:
@BRRABill said in Separating IT from the Bench:
@scottalanmiller said in Separating IT from the Bench:
@BRRABill said in Separating IT from the Bench:
What do you consider someone who sets up the server, and then install a hypervisor on it, VMs on that hypervisor, and then VMs, and maintains those VMs?
Oh, and also replaces a drive on the server if it goes wonky?
From the description, bench. You've not mentioned a business anywhere. If you are assuming that this role will do all of this while making business decisions as to the setup, need, etc. then it becomes IT. But there are loads of people doing this role via scripts and no business insight or knowledge at server vendors that are clearly bench.
If your description of a job is all tech and zero business, that's bench. But I think you are not describing it well.
Yeah, let's say this person is a one person employee at a company, and they are responsible for choosing the hardware, software, and everything else involved.
You're a bench it. We'll just splinch the two and put IT in the middle replacing the "en".
I see what you did there.
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Where do you peg SEO? It's a bit of tech, a bit of marketing, a bit of business...
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@BRRABill said in Separating IT from the Bench:
Where do you peg SEO? It's a bit of tech, a bit of marketing, a bit of business...
Not really. SEO is pure marketing. There is no tech or business in it.
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@Kelly said in Separating IT from the Bench:
@scottalanmiller said in Separating IT from the Bench:
@Kelly said in Separating IT from the Bench:
If you were to tell someone that handles enterprise systems and infrastructure that they're just glorified bench workers on a larger scale they would be offended at the characterization.
I think the "glorified" bit is the issue. If you pointed out that they do the same job but on an enterprise scale they'd either just acknowledge that that is true or admit that they are ashamed of their job. It's not that they are glorified, it can be a hard and rewarding job. It's just not IT.
Accountants aren't offended when you tell them that they just do math. Or that they aren't IT. That bench people often feel that way (I've never had professional bench people act that way, though) is weird. Why do a job that you are ashamed of, and what shame is there in being technical?
You appear to be missing the point. It isn't their work that they might object to, but the pejorative appellation your proposing applying to it. An accountant would object if you said that all they are is a glorified calculator.
It's only pejorative if they feel that way about the work, though. To make the accountant sound bad, you have to use the word glorified. I'm not calling them glorified bench, I'm calling them bench. Call an accountant a calculator and that's actually the old term for the accounting job. Nothing wrong with that.
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@scottalanmiller said in Separating IT from the Bench:
@BRRABill said in Separating IT from the Bench:
Where do you peg SEO? It's a bit of tech, a bit of marketing, a bit of business...
Not really. SEO is pure marketing. There is no tech or business in it.
So the editing of the pages is marketing? The use of tracking codes, etc.?
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The term "glorified" is pejorative. Saying someone is at the top of a specific profession, is not.
A CIO is a top level IT person, not a glorified one.
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@BRRABill said in Separating IT from the Bench:
@scottalanmiller said in Separating IT from the Bench:
@BRRABill said in Separating IT from the Bench:
Where do you peg SEO? It's a bit of tech, a bit of marketing, a bit of business...
Not really. SEO is pure marketing. There is no tech or business in it.
So the editing of the pages is marketing? The use of tracking codes, etc.?
Absolutely.
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@scottalanmiller said in Separating IT from the Bench:
@BRRABill said in Separating IT from the Bench:
@scottalanmiller said in Separating IT from the Bench:
@BRRABill said in Separating IT from the Bench:
Where do you peg SEO? It's a bit of tech, a bit of marketing, a bit of business...
Not really. SEO is pure marketing. There is no tech or business in it.
So the editing of the pages is marketing? The use of tracking codes, etc.?
Absolutely.
So marketers are responsible for programming websites? That seem like a IT -related job to me.
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@BRRABill said in Separating IT from the Bench:
@scottalanmiller said in Separating IT from the Bench:
@BRRABill said in Separating IT from the Bench:
@scottalanmiller said in Separating IT from the Bench:
@BRRABill said in Separating IT from the Bench:
Where do you peg SEO? It's a bit of tech, a bit of marketing, a bit of business...
Not really. SEO is pure marketing. There is no tech or business in it.
So the editing of the pages is marketing? The use of tracking codes, etc.?
Absolutely.
So marketers are responsible for programming websites? That seem like a IT -related job to me.
- IT doesn't program websites either, that's engineering.
- We don't program websites for SEO.
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Departments involved in a common websites:
- IT runs the web infrastructure.
- Engineering makes the content management platform.
- Design makes the website for marketing.
- Marketing designates web content (which results in SEO.)
- Sales talks to customers that the website attracts.
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@scottalanmiller said in Separating IT from the Bench:
Example:
IT/BI: Decide on a server that works for the business. Decide on a hypervisor that meets business needs. Install hypervisor on server with settings chosen in consideration of the business needs. Operating said equipment to meet business objectives.
Bench: Take server, install hypervisor as instructed. Do this without regard for business needs.
From the perspective of skill sets, is this example saying IT/BI = Bench skill sets + business acumen?
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@EddieJennings said in Separating IT from the Bench:
@scottalanmiller said in Separating IT from the Bench:
Example:
IT/BI: Decide on a server that works for the business. Decide on a hypervisor that meets business needs. Install hypervisor on server with settings chosen in consideration of the business needs. Operating said equipment to meet business objectives.
Bench: Take server, install hypervisor as instructed. Do this without regard for business needs.
From the perspective of skill sets, is this example saying IT/BI = Bench skill sets + business acumen?
Correct
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Ideally is the depth of knowledge between bench skill sets and business acumen equal?
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@EddieJennings said in Separating IT from the Bench:
Ideally is the depth of knowledge between bench skill sets and business acumen equal?
Ideally both are as deep as possible
But in reality, the importance of business outweighs tech by quite a bit. This gets more dramatic the higher you get. Entry level is more tech, most of the field is a little more business, by CIO it is nearly pure business. -
@scottalanmiller That's what I figured. This thread has been food for introspection. Much of what I call my own business acumen is really just common sense and logic. Where I find myself deficient is on the bench side: Having the skills / experience to design an VoIP system around FreePBX (thus my recent learning efforts), configuring that CentOS installation to be a production web server or database, etc.
