Non-traditional IT Jobs

thenewtechguy

Today and as we move to the future we are seeing more non-traditional IT jobs.

a position like this intrigues me however, being that it is a step outside the traditional realm of IT, it feels like a step away from traditional IT. Me personally i want to get into security, however, roles like this, or field engineering roles supporting emerging technology(hardware and software) in other infrastructures seem to be interesting and showing up more frequently as i look at job boards. I'm curious what peoples thoughts are on that market.

[h=1]Solution Architecture[/h] Description
We are currently seeking a Solution Architect to support new technology/solution research and prototyping efforts.
The Solution Architect will be part of the Solution Strategy team in a professional services team to help identify emerging technology based business solutions to help our clients to succeed. This role will interface closely with other areas of the organization on a regular basis including IT Operations, Solution Delivery, Sales and business users.


Requirements
** Demonstrates strong technical capacities in field of expertise
** Demonstrates adaptive personality, intuitive nature, and strong critical thinking skills
** Possesses effective verbal and written communication skills; is able to explain technical topics in simple terms.
** Must be a motivated self-starter requiring minimal direction while still adhering to corporate standards
** Demonstrates C-level customer engagement skills to stakeholders within and outside the company
** Must be able to juggle multiple priorities in a fast paced and dynamic work environment
** Excellent written and verbal communication skills
** Excellent problem-solving skills, especially in problem definition
** Up to date understanding of current technologies required to put together a leading edge enterprise solutions.

Note: Up to 75% Travel.


Responsibilities
** Manage and support new research initiatives to bring in emerging technology solutions into our service line. Initial interest area includes, but not limited to; Text Analytics, Social Enterprise, Collaborative BI, etc.
** Working with Application Engineers and/or prototyping team, must be able to define solution that will result in measurable business value based on the new technology/solution applied.
** Creating solution and value proposition documentation for internal and client champions

paul78

Hello and welcome to TE. The software architecture discipline is actually a very traditional aspect of IT. This job description is typical of senior level architects.

thenewtechguy

paul78 wrote: »

Hello and welcome to TE. The software architecture discipline is actually a very traditional aspect of IT. This job description is typical of senior level architects.

I guess i never looked at this as a traditional IT role. what types of jobs would be next in career progression from a role like this?

paul78

It depends on what segment of IT you come from. Could you elaborate a bit about your background and what you find appealing about this career track? The solutions architects that I know come from either systems or software engineering disciplines. On the software side, they usually have around 10-15 years of software engineering experience prior to becoming a software solutions architect. The job description above sounds like what I would call a Consulting Solutions Architect. The give-away was the "Demonstrates C-level customer engagement" and 75% travel. So this is like a pre/post sales type position to customer senior execs.

The progression to get there could be "Solutions Architect", "Senior Solutions Architect", "Consulting Solutions Architect". At the high-end - a good solutions architect that is externally facing - could make from 150k-200k.

I believe there may be some folks on TE that although their title may not say "Solutions Architect" - may actually play that sort of role in their firms.

thenewtechguy

well i do come from a programming background(BS in Comp sci) but have about 12 years experience in IT. About 7 in a pre-post sales type position. However, the role is closer to the technical side of things than this one. I worry that stepping into a role like this(closer to the sales side) may hurt in the long run, though i am not sure what the market looks like for jobs like this.

paul78

Right - this is very much closer to professional services and sales engineering. I personally think that from a career longevity and income potential perspective, this type of role tends to be better long-term than straight technical IT. It will however be more competitive but it's a non-commoditized role requiring multiple skills and talents.

In my opinion, companies don't exist without revevue and revenue is gained through roles like this. Its also a role that will unlikely to be labour arbitraged (i.e. outsourced) as it requires domain and busines expertise in whatever business industry the company operates.

thenewtechguy

paul78 wrote: »

Right - this is very much closer to professional services and sales engineering. I personally think that from a career longevity and income potential perspective, this type of role tends to be better long-term than straight technical IT. It will however be more competitive but it's a non-commoditized role requiring multiple skills and talents.

In my opinion, companies don't exist without revevue and revenue is gained through roles like this. Its also a role that will unlikely to be labour arbitraged (i.e. outsourced) as it requires domain and busines expertise in whatever business industry the company operates.

thanks for the advice. What are your thoughts on the info sec field? Ideally i would love to find a role that combines both of these.

paul78

Infosec is mostly what I do. I do enjoy it the work. My role is mostly governance, infosec administration, and risk management so there is very little opportunity for hands-on work. I do come from a software engineering background many moons ago. While I do interface externally with vendors and customers, it's not solutions architecture but that because of the business that we are in. Most of my interaction with customers are a combination of legal and relationship management in nature.

Where I have seen a role that combines both are with vendors that I occasionally deal with. Because of the complexity of some of the solutions, some of the VARs and infosec solution providers have folks that do a lot of the technical presentations and sales engineering. The job isn't hands-on but would be a combo. But I bet there are consulting roles which would be more hands-on if that's your interest. Some of these VARs have consulting engineers and architects on staff that would offer proffessional services.