It has been 13 years since I left college and started working in the IT sector and after all that time I have finally come to the conclusion that you should never believe an employer when they say that they want your opinion or your contribution to their business because at the end of the day you are merely a resource. In my case they want my programming skills. They don’t really want what comes with it they simply want me to sit down and write the code that they dictate. They are not interested in anything else I or you have to offer.

It’s sad but its true. Anything else they tell you the contrary is an illusion. They may actually believe they mean it when they say it but when it comes to the crunch the reality is that you are simply employed to provide them with the resource that they are missing that caused them to hire you in the first place.

My problem is that this is not enough for me. It has even got to the stage where I tell people at the interview that I am not content to simply be a resource - I want to put all my effort into the whole business in order to make it successful. I have a lot to offer and I will work all the hours to be a success since its in my nature to succeed. And you know what? They still hire me knowing this because they believe at the time that this is the person they need. However, get through that door and from day one it is clear that you are still just another resource.

When I was young I was convinced that I did not want to be yet another person who was merely ‘waiting to die’ and by that I meant get up in the morning, go to work, come home, eat dinner and spend the rest of the night sitting in front of the TV. I thought people who did that were typically people who did menial jobs such as cleaning, or construction work. The sad ironic truth is that in reality my life as a programmer is no different than theirs. Our tasks may be different but our patterns are exactly the same. So why aren’t I  cleaner or a construction worker? I honestly don’t know. One could argue its the pay but quality of life and satisfaction mean a lot more than pay surely?

So here I am in a new job and I am reminded of the old lyrics from ‘The Who’: Meet the new boss same as the old boss. Don’t get me wrong, I like them as I have liked all my previous bosses (with exception to one who was a complete dick-head) but when I look into their eyes all I see is them looking at their shiny new resource…

So I am going to shut-up now and just get on with my life being a resource.

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I will have to say that I recently joined the ranks of a well known indie developer and they do seem to operate differently so there is hope.

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