What??? Of course I'm in control. I can leave whenever I choose to do so.
We're big advocates of staying in the driver's seat of your own career, by staying close to your customers. In so doing, you'll do a better job by strengthening your understanding of their needs. We've written before about how those needs can be intensely technical, but not exclusively so. Increasingly, excellent high quality technical work is an expected "norm", and as such is undifferentiated by buyers. Criteria for buying then diverts to other important aspects such as schedule and budget performance, as well as the quality and nature of customer service. These criteria can be highly subjective, and influenced more often by the human side of customer relationships. Put another way, your customer might think that you and your competition are all pretty much the same technically. If the playing field is equal, then choices are made based on your track record of meeting budgets and schedules, or the manner in which you provide service.
So what does all this mean? We believe that building your skills in business development and customer service are the perfect complement to your technical foundation. This balance will allow you to be successful in winning new work which will keep you and your team mates busy with interesting assignments and projects of your choice. In other words, control your career destiny by becoming good at sales and service. Work hard at identifying was of differentiating yourself and your company, and customers will seek you out. Continue to learn and gain technical experience, but maintain the balance and you will be able to steer your career where you want to go.
Staying in control doesn't mean that you need to leave your job to stay in the driver's seat.
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