The $100K Tech Contractor
It is hard to believe what IT engineers expect in the way of compensation nowadays — especially those in civil service. I would moreover expect a sense of urgency and introspect from anyone pulling down a decent salary [especially from the United States Government]. However, the complacency madness marches on.
With the U.S. economy crumbling and jobs evaporating, it is time to listen to the alarms and rise to the occasion. What makes you worth your weight in pay? Let’s take a look at just a few points-
1. Don’t assume-
When tasked, engineers need to analyze the task and volley questions early. Even if it means risking listening to an answer you [think you] already know. Questions and answer sessions give both you and your boss a sense of confidence in assuring the task is done correctly — right from the get-go.
2. Streamline your output-
Take a step back and perform a self assessment. More times than not, employees are far from maxed out and often proving they are capable of doing more. Whether it is an issue with time management, reworking current habits or adding resources, streamlining your output is something engineers owe their boss, their company and themselves.
3. Bring solutions to bear-
Proposing that endgame solution [and -of course- implementation plan] for a festering issue is the silver bullet in any good engineer’s arsenal. There is not a single boss out there who appreciates a problem dropped on her desk for management-level resolution when the task can easily be handled at lower levels. Not only is it an engineer’s obligation -say at $100K- it is also a good faith requirement that the engineer make an inspiring effort to provide the ultimate remedy.
4. Mentor others-
There is zero success in burying your head in a monitor all day — especially if you are a qualified team member. Making the rounds and striking up technical conversation with your peers is the quickest way to uncovering someone ripe for a good dose of guidance. Task sharing is another means of mentoring that carries sizable benefits by folding team members into projects and tasks. Stepping on or over your teammates will -not- get you up the ladder any quicker so push people up ahead of you or take them along with.
Parting shot: Outside of receiving salary and benefits, there is no quid pro quo in being employed. Articulating through solutions and ongoing refinement of your service to the company will give your boss and your team a considerable boost in productivity. You are your own business and ‘you’ set yourself up for success — and failure.
Great overall advice. I've found many contractors who just are not interested in marketing themselves, and do not realize that they are a product requiring marketing to be successful. All too often we fail to realize what is required to shine.
On a side note, at least in the government contracting realm, many folks take their positions for granted – they feel they deserve their positions and are uninterested in providing quality solutions for fear that it may upset the delicate balance. Sometimes you need to take risks in order to rise above and move ahead. But many contractors simply adore their cushy $100k/yr jobs and are unwilling to get off their fat asses and make a real difference.
In any event, once people understand the few basic principles you have outlined they will be on the road to success. Excellent advice methinks!
You touched on a real good point with folks taking their positions for granted.
I digress a little, but another tip I'd offer is to put more onus on management in driving out the complacency or full on correcting it through performance improvement plans.
Completely agreed. Management definitely needs to take some of the blame for allowing such contractor complacency, and for allowing people in those types of positions to become stale. Performance improvement plans are an exception means of documenting stale performance, with the hope of the employee providing added value after improving performance.