Wikipedia wrote of Bob Dylan " (born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter, author, musician, and poet who has been a major figure in popular music for five decades. Much of Dylan's most recognized work dates from the 1960s, when he became an informal documentarian and a reluctant figurehead of American unrest. A number of his songs, such as "Blowin' in the Wind" and "The Times They Are a-Changin'" became anthems of the anti-war and civil rights movements. "

Raising concern about the proliferation of unprofessional IT workers, I am singing "The Times They Are a-Changin" :

The order is
Rapidly fadin'.
And the first one now
Will later be last
For the times they are a-changin'.

About two decades ago, Information Technology (IT) or Electronic or Data Processing (EDP) as it was called before, were composed of computer experts very dedicated to deliver a completed and quality program or system.

Then, an entry level programmer has to undergo a battery of test which include the dreaded Programmers Aptitude Test (PAT) aside from the usual IQ and Psychological exams. This rigorous selection process resulted to getting the cream of the crop. Therefore, their dedication to work.

Now, for such flaky reasons such as better opportunities, further study , etc. - IT staff resign. And what do they make of their tasks, projects and deliverables? Well, they just don't care if the project/s they left behind turned to chaos.

Why would some suddenly resign? More often than not, the real reasons behind (irrevocable!!!) resignations are : audit of failing programs, missing documentations, and misrepresentations of project progress and losing face with their peers due to non-performance.

And what happens to the project? Of course, the company has to do a lot of fire fighting, debugging and damage control. What about the resigned staff? Oh, very easily they have moved to next job. (Most companies do not even require that the staff they hired are cleared from the previous company.)

So, what made it very easy to get a new job? During our era, everybody in the EDP industry knows everybody. From Cobol, RPG, Fortran shops, the industry knew who were the top guns and the tweets as well. Today, the industry only knows what they read in the submitted resume or CV - and not the person.

But, some resigned staff are not so lucky. One government employee moonlighted as a programmer in an IT company, then went AWOL, leaving an important foreign funded project hanging in the air. Today, the long arm of the law has caught up with him. He is found guilty of reneging his contract and now being ask to pay damages. Poor guy, he is blaming his lawyer for the misfortune. He should have realized some lawyers are law twisters and breakers. I know that for sure. Another IT worker who has been a certified trouble maker is still lucky - but maybe not for long. She is now with another private IT firm and given this worker's IT record - for sure she will end up in jail sooner than she thought - as disclosed by her former co-workers.

So, how do we put a stop to this mayhem? Simple. The industry associations such as PCS and PSIA lobby for the professionalism of the IT practice in the Philippines. Assuming that the applicants are technically capable, hiring companies must conduct due diligence on their attitude for work, respect for team members, integrity and honesty.

Meanwhile, I would rather continue singing "The Times They Are a-Changin" :

Come mothers and fathers
Throughout the land
And don't criticize
What you can't understand
Your sons and your daughters
Are beyond your command
Your old road is
Rapidly agin'.
Please get out of the new one
If you can't lend your hand
For the times they are a-changin'.

(picture from Wikipedia)

Labels: Bod Dylan, COBOL, EDP, FORTRAN IV, IT systems, PCS, PSIA, RPG

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