Eric Swanson on Technology Services

The future looks bleak… For 10+ years, I have enjoyed working with a variety of large, local companies in the Phoenix, Arizona valley. A month ago, my primary project as an independant contractor had been cancelled, leaving nearly 20 incredibly senior people looking. I feared the worst… a bad economy, a now-brimming talent pool of competition, story after story of people out of work from family and friends and on the news, my wife attending school in CA and renting while I supported the house and mortgage, my car and budget needed more help than CARS had to offer, and I was behind on new technology like Silverlight and MVC. Ah! What will I do?! Read more…

The Turn-Table: I was pleasantly shocked when I ended up with four competing, solid offers, including Sogeti’s. Some people make this decision about money. In today’s economy, who would have blamed me for taking the highest salary? But, with my experience, I knew I wanted quality work. Quality work always brings in steady income, both today and in the future.

Job Option #1: The highest pay would have landed me as an independant contractor in the Automotive Insurance and Travel industry and looking for work in another 6 months. I had already worked for the company in two consecutive positions within Enterprise Architecture and then in Microsoft technology development and knew people there. The drive was short and the company has affiliated locations throughout the U.S. As a Microsoft developer, my daily work would have been foreign to me, requiring a lot of ramp-up effort to learn SalesForce.com Java Apex. I wondered… what would my career look like with 6 months of this? Would it enable me or disable me? Lots of risk behind this door…

Job Option #2: Full-time Solution Architecture for one of the biggest airlines in the industry with a very strong opportunity of quickly transitioning into their new Enterprise Architecture department. A fantastic opportunity for my career, in an industry very reliant on technology. The drive was 40 miles one-way through city traffic and although there are multiple locations in the U.S., the corporate headquarters is here. The job would offer high visibility in the company’s upper echelons and probably come with travel benefits. Airlines of course are continuing to face profitability challenges. The job would have required less development than higher-level planning and design, communications, etc. Okay…

Job Option #3: Full-time Solution Architecture for one of the biggest private university conglomerates with 100% paid tuition and some benefits for my wife. Not a bad opportunity to finish up the degree paperwork, considering I left college after my 3rd year to join a giant chip manufacturing company as a department “webmaster” (I always chucked at that title in our industry). This company absolutely drilled me in the interview, which I loved. I am not a fan of those companies that drill you for hours with 5 follow-up interviews to join their exclusive club house (*cough* a big search engine *cough*).

Job Option #4: Sogeti USA! In my 10+ years of professional experience, I have learned that one of the most important tenants of providing quality technology services is to work yourself out of a job. Provide a working solution and move on either to the next project or to the next client. Here at Sogeti, when you’re not working, you are training, lending your expertise to technology communities, and working on opportunities. Your entire skill-set is evaluated for potential client projects. You get a solid variety of experience from various client engagements. There’s pressure for you to own the client relationship and deliveries for your project, which some people can’t accept responsibility for - they want their paycheck regardless. Through their registered “RightShore” strategy, technology services are delivered in ways that make sense with a balanced consideration of local presence, near-local, near-shore, and off-shore (they have a much better description) - not the typical layoff scenario you hear about at the water cooler. Sogeti USA is parented by Capgemini, another good company. The benefits are great, the salary is competitive, and there are ~20,000 other experts in the field to help you. There are locations throughout the U.S. and globally as well. Oh, and finally… The Capgemini University makes me want to make one of my career goals to work there permanently.

The Solution: Sogeti USA! Make it your solution too! (… and tell them I sent ya!)