So What Came First?

**Old Greg** · 8 June 2007, 11:59

I don't code or support, so I'm a little bit in awe of both groups's technical skills. But I like to watch you guys tear into each other. I'll get my popcorn, sit back and enjoy the show

**Rantor** · 8 June 2007, 12:00

Originally posted by Kyajae

The hardware or the code?

Do certain individuals on this forum believe so much in their own self-appointed superiority becuase they code more than support the kit needed to run the code on? Do they think there is some kind of 'food chain' in the IT sector?

Does IT need such arrogance that peddles a myth that certain types of people who work in IT are superior on the basis of what they can do instead of the range and value of skils they bring to the industry?

Discuss.

They let support staff on here?

**Burdock** · 8 June 2007, 12:04

the egg

**MrsGoof** · 8 June 2007, 12:05

him !

**gingerjedi** · 8 June 2007, 12:08

My best mate is a coder and I do support, we never talk about work as neither of us understand what the other does but I'm the one who has to give up my Saturday morning whenever he buy's a new bit of kit.

**sasguru** · 8 June 2007, 12:09

There is a food chain. It depends on how much value you add and what industry you're in. Given that most of us are in business IT it would go like this:

Hardware support monkeys -> Coding chimpanzees -> Business Analyst Gorillas -> Strategic Business Management Homo Sapiens.

**cojak** · 8 June 2007, 12:10

Tsk tsk,
This conversation is sooo 20th Century.

The answer is that as configuration items of a Service, they're both important.

Service Management is what it's all about guys...

Cojak - named in a ITIL V3 book....

**chicane** · 8 June 2007, 12:12

Originally posted by Kyajae

Do certain individuals on this forum believe so much in their own self-appointed superiority becuase they code more than support the kit needed to run the code on? Do they think there is some kind of 'food chain' in the IT sector?

I don't think people feel superior because of what they do. I think they feel superior because they get paid more than other people. Generally speaking, management get paid more than developers, and developers get paid more than support monkeys.

Quite how justified this feeling of superiority is, I'm not sure.

**sasguru** · 8 June 2007, 12:27

There is a quick and easy way to find out how important you are in the scheme of things. If the company was taken over by another (similar) one, so there was a duplication of functions, would they keep you on?
Either your value-added is worth it or you're redundant.
It's lucky that most companies operate at inefficient levels. In any one year they could sack 25% of staff with no impact to the business.

So What Came First?