FROM JOAT TO GURUBy Huw Davies

Director, HD IT Solutions

Community: Huw3481

Jack/Jill of All Trades…Conception vs Reality

• Common Conceptions

• Generalist

• Acceptable at many skills

• Master of None

• 100 miles wide, but 2 inches deep

• Meanwhile, in Reality

• Need to know many areas to get job done

• Competent at several skills

• Perhaps Master of some

• It is what brings many people to IT

• <Insert comedy AV failure here>

We deal with all this shit…

IT Character Creation

• 100 IT Points

• What skills do you put them in?

• Diversify or Specialise?

• How many Competencies?

Celebrating your JOAT-Ness

• Completely adaptable

• You know how to learn

• ‘Thinking Out of the Box’ isn’t just a term, it is a way of life

• Constant variety in the day-to-day

• Good Management Potential

Back to the Real World

• Diversification is based on necessity

• High Burnout rate

• Distrac…

• Not easily defined role therefore difficult to explain to non-IT management

• JOAT is not a good personal brand

• <Insert comedy AV failure here>

Vicious Cycle

Lack of time/resources

Forced to address issues in areas that are not familiar

Seen as being able to solve these additional issues, therefore adding to workload

Seriously

Breaking Out

Finding Your Path

• Find what you love to do

• Create some time

• Hone those skills

• Re-brand yourself

• Be open to any possibility

What do you love to do?

Focus on what you enjoy

Sources here.

Create Time

• Oxymoron

• Automate as much as you can

• Empower the Users

• Monitoring: filtering the noise

• Prioritize, Prioritize, Prioritize

Honing Your Skills

• Free Training

• Vmware

• Microsoft

• Vendor Trials

• Many Others

• Paid Training

• Think about it

• Forced to really learn as you are paying for it

Branding, not just for Marketers

• No Longer a JOAT, You are a Swiss army knife.

• Track every minute of your day

• Track your accomplishments/successes

• Be Fearless

• Pain may be involved

• Communication, the key to everything

The World is Yours

• Network, Network, Network

• Dust off that CV

• Sorry, THOSE CVs. Have multiple CVs for areas of expertise

• You are a problem solver

• Employers don’t want a JOAT, they have a pain point they need to get addressed, you have

those skills, draft your CV for specific job posting

Final Thoughts

• Some Real Advantages to being a JOAT

• Communication is the forgotten skill

• Discipline and Organisation

• Don’t let Fear be the Mind Killer

Final Thoughts

• Some Real Advantages to being a JOAT

• Communication is the forgotten skill

• Discipline and Organisation

• Don’t let Fear be the Mind Killer