Recent Q&A on IS Careers, Architecture and Software Engineering

Here are a few recent questions on IS Careers, Architecture and Software Programming that I answered

Question: If almost everyone can learn programming for free, why is the salary very high?

most programmers learn online or from book without degree so why the salary is high or better than other hard jobs ?

for example reporter salary is average 47k dollar while programmers 84–100,000 dollar

Ever see a duck ‘floating’ in a pond, seemingly calm on the surface

What don’t you see? The duck is really paddling furiously to stay afloat.

Programming may not sound hard. And, as a matter of fact, much of the programming activity involves applying ‘logic’ in a structured way. … almost like the seemingly calm duck floating in the pond.

What you don’t see the programmer do is furious paddling -

• Understanding cryptic requirements
• Creating mockups and clarifying user needs
• Trying to visualize a solution to a real-world problem
• Debugging pieces of code, integrating it with rest of the infrastructure and making it run

While we are at it, let’s set the record straight.

• Not all programmers are “without degree.”
• Many programmers and analysts - especially the high-paid programmers making $80–100K+ do possess 4+ year college degrees.
• Learning to program may sound easy, and some self-taught programmers are indeed good.
• However, most programmers who learn from online sources or from books may already have a background in computers (e.g A Java programmer learning .Net or the vice-versa)

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How do I get a job in US with 3 years of salesforce.com developer experience?

With 3 years of salesforce experience and 4 years total development experience how can I apply for H1 Visa or how I apply in US companies for recruitment.

Most companies look for persons who already have H1 visa. Is there way to get job on merit and not by spending money.

To get placement from existing company in India for H1 is also tough as many people are already in queue. 




In the current economic climate with Trump administration closely watching issuance of visas, most employers are cautious. You have answered your question partly


• Most companies look for persons who already have H1 visa. Is there way to get job on merit and not by spending money.
• Don’t fall for ‘consultants’ who charge candidates to sponsor their H1 visas. Not only is it illegal, it is also going to be futile since the visa may be invalidated
• To get placement from existing company in India for H1 is also tough as many people are already in queue.
• Yes, it is tough and one will have to ‘stand in the queue’ patiently


Don’t just wait for a ‘US visa’ opportunity.
• Continue to work on good SFDC projects
• Enhance your skills with experience and certifications.
• Seek other opportunities to travel to other countries and expand your horizon!

Advice on strategy: How do I price a SaaS product when there's no competitive product but demand exists?

Here is a recent query from an online forum, and my response:

How do I price a SaaS product when there's no competitive product but demand exists?

We have built a product which already got traction. Microsoft is using it on pilot basis and loving it Now a big corporate (USD 110 B) wants it and having several test runs and has finally reached price discussion phase. We didn’t plan SaaS but that’s the way forward so any suggestion on pricing it?

Response:

This is a great dilemma for a startup or small business to have. So, let us begin with a few facts and make a few assumptions

• Demand for the solution exists
• The product/solution is being used by Microsoft (a marquee client to have)
• A $110 bn big-corp wants it after test-runs
• You are making the assumption that there is “no competitive product,” which may be true.
• However, you need to research further if an alternative solution or workaround exists in the market (e.g current ways of working may include manual effort, which your solution automates).

Suggestions on the way forward

1. Estimate the “value” of your product to the end-user/client organization. e.g
1. What would it cost for them to build and support the product
2. Estimate the cost of manual workaround/alternative?
2. Use the estimate against your internal cost benchmark (what did it cost for you to build and market the product?).
1. Add an estimate of your annual cost of maintenance and support.
2. Aad a reasonable margin on top of your costs.
3. Other factors
1. Does this product give a the end-client a competitive advantage or productivity gains?
2. What is your current strategy: using the marquee clients as “case studies” to go after other clients, or use them as a cash-cow to generate ROI?
3. Are you willing to walk-away if negotiation fails?

Use data from 1. 2. and 3. to plan your strategy and begin negotiations.

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Career Q&A with Mohan - Pigeonholed into a pure Performance Testing Position

Pigeonholed into a pure Performance Testing Position  

I have started my first full time job after college 3 months ago. I was employed as a "Test Engineer". I applied for a position with a focus and creating and implementing a Java based Testing Framework for the company, in order to make the testing process of their web application more effective. I already was active in this area during my internship, creating new functions for the existing Selenium-based framework of my former company. After two weeks, the dedicated "Performance Tester" of my company quit his job. It was decided that I should take his position, working on Load Tests for running projects using the jMeter tool, by creating requests and checking the results. I did not have any knowledge in this field before and had to learn most of the thins in the two weeks this colleague was still working before leaving. Now the company has one of the biggest projects of it's history and expects the same quality of load tests and reports as before. But there is nobody here anymore that has knowledge in this field, making it necessary for to learn by mistakes, which is very frustrating. I am also forced to work on load tests for multiple projects at the same time, which creates stress situations.
Is this a normal process for a new employee? Is Performance Testing a useful skill to learn?
Would be thankful for advice.

My Response:

As an Enterprise Architect for a global 2000 company, I have worked on most of the BDAT (Business, Data, Application and Technology) domains and have experience in the entire life-cycle of delivering large systems and processes.

Why did I start with this preamble? To highlight the significance of Non Functional Requirements (NFRs) and Performance Engineering in delivering solutions. Back to your questions

• Is this a normal process for a new employee? when you join an IS department/group of any organization, your are signing up for change, and the opportunities that come along.
• Is Performance Testing a useful skill to learn? Absolutely. Performance testing, and Performance Engineering are valuable skills to learn.

My2Cents: Spend a year or two in this role and explore the wider market with your skills and experience!

Moving to App Development from ERP development

I have a CS degree from back in the day ('96) and been working in the ERP side (C, reports, forms etc) and looking to move into something more technically challenging as I am super bored working in the ERP industry.
I started learning app development in the last few months (Obj,Swift,ios api). I am at this point working on my App portfolio. I can spend about 3 more months working on this.
I am wondering how many apps I should develop? (thinking 3? which showcase use of different api's etc)
Most jobs that are advertised in the job boards ask for a minimum of 2 years in app development and most recruiters filter resumes on this.
Any suggestions on how I should go about this transition?
thank you.

My Response:

It is interesting to see someone switch from ERP to other software development. Although there are tremendous opportunities in ERP, I am sure you have your reasons for making the switch. A couple of suggestions on positioning yourself and getting interviews:

• Highlight your development skills (C, reports, forms etc) in the resume
• Highlight domain skills (developed in ERP delivery)
• Emphasize your project and life-cycle experiences

These along with your other skills and learnability should help you get your foot in the door.