Surviving IT Book Review

Sept 24, 2023

I highly recommend Mr. Paul Cunningham’s book to anyone seeking career advice in the IT industry. Whether you’re a beginner or a seasoned IT professional, his words of wisdom and guidance on handling daily IT tasks and advancing in the field make it one of my favorites.



CHAPTER 1: THE INDUSTRY

I found the book to be very uplifting because the author accurately describes work fulfillment. The nature of your everyday tasks does not always determine how satisfied you are with your employment. Even if there are portions of your career that you don’t enjoy, if you feel a connection to a bigger goal, it can still be meaningful.

Working with spreadsheets and printers, for instance, may not be fun, but knowing that your efforts support startups, guarantee pension payments on time, or ensure airplane safety can make your work more fulfilling and satisfying. For instance, if their task requires entering data into Excel, a broken keyboard will interrupt them just as much as a crashed database will.

While IT professionals may have more exciting tasks in mind, such as coding in a new language, building scalable cloud infrastructure, or defending against foreign hackers, addressing everyday simple issues is crucial for customers & business in general.



CHAPTER 2: FINDING AND LEAVING JOBS

I won’t delve into this chapter because I am blessed to have a great company and wonderful managers. However, I highly recommend this book for anyone who is job hunting or preparing for an interview!





CHAPTER 3: THE BUSINESS OF YOU



“Your career is a business, and you’re the CEO.” This is one of my keys take aways from the book. This means that it is our responsibility as IT workers to keep our technical skills current, regardless of whether our companies provide resources or not. The author also emphasizes on continuous learning , acquiring not only technical but also soft skills.

Blogging and other extracurricular activities can be used to build a public portfolio and a personal brand in order to advance professionally. A nice example of an analogy from the book asks us to consider whether we would choose a landscaper for our garden based on a brief list of services and contact information on their website, or if we would choose the one who demonstrates their prior successes through photographs and video.

Furthermore, it’s crucial not to underestimate the value of networking. Anyone, even those not in your immediate work circle, can become a valuable contact in the future. People will form opinions about your expertise and professionalism, so building a broad network is essential.

Finally, there are many tools available to IT professionals nowadays, including forums, online training courses, and ebooks. This enables us to fit learning in whenever it is convenient for us. You can essentially learn anything on YouTube or Reddit, according to Elon Musk.



CHAPTER 4: DEALING WITH PEOPLE

According to the author, IT professionals must learn to show empathy to their customers. The author defines empathy as the ability to put oneself in other people’s shoes and see things from their perspective. For me, this skill helps us avoid taking things personally, especially when customers may be angry or disappointed with the situation. Often they simply want to complete the task assigned to them and our goal as a support is to assist them as effectively as possible & resolve this issue.

In case an issue is beyond your ability, it’s important to provide regular updates and maintain open communication with customers to manage their expectations to ensure satisfaction.



CHAPTER 5: PRODUCTIVITY

The author discusses automation and its benefits for making daily tasks faster and more efficient. I want to share my personal experience when I assist a customer by creating a batch file to automate tasks that require listing down folders, subfolders, and files in a tree-like structure.

Not only was I able to help the customer cut down on the time required for this task, but I also learned by making a program. I am currently studying PowerShell and creating programs, checking opportunities to make work in our office more efficient. Sharing a simple batch file created for the customer.

“@echo off

set /p folderPath=Enter the folder path:

set outputFile=%~dp0\folder_content.txt

tree /F /A “%folderPath%” > “%outputFile%”

echo Folder content saved to “%outputFile%”.

pause

Another key to productivity is multitasking. It is often perceived as a capability, but it’s more accurately described as task switching. Constantly switching between tasks over several hours consumes time, and energy, and reduces accuracy. Instead, it’s more effective to focus on one task at a time. To maintain motivation, break down larger tasks and goals into smaller, manageable ones.



CHAPTER 6: PERSONAL HEALTH

The chapter emphasizes the importance of personal well-being. A person should recognize early signs of burnout, which are often the result of an imbalance between personal life and work, a negative mindset, and a decline in mental or physical health.

The author recommends prioritizing life-work balance, placing life before work, as a key element in achieving overall well-being. Furthermore, it emphasizes the significance of maintaining physical health through a balanced diet and consistent exercise.



CHAPTER 7: VETERAN ADVICE

The author has been in the industry for more than 20 years. He shared things he wished he had known when he started in that industry, which I can say are like precious gems for those who want to start a career in IT or even seasoned professionals.

I’m sharing one of the author’s favorites, which defines comfort as the enemy of progress. The author emphasizes that comfort can hinder progress, especially when we become proficient at something. We sometimes tend to stay in our comfort zone, avoiding the discomfort of learning new things.

However, the technology industry is constantly evolving, and standing still leads to falling behind. Therefore, comfort becomes an enemy of progress, and to fight it, one should commit to ongoing learning and expanding their knowledge. This can be achieved through daily reading, learning sessions, and setting aside time for personal growth.

Amazon :https://www.amazon.com/Surviving-Essential-building-healthy-technology/dp/0648661202