Sure, there's no shortage of debate and grumbling about the changing demands and uncertainties around enterprise architecture. But it's a better job than... any other job you can think of. A recent article in Money magazine, which looked at the "Best Jobs in America" ranked "Software Architect" as the number one job in the country.
So, congratulations, all you architects out there!
Software architects were the best job in terms of mix of duties and pay, surpassing everyone -- environmental engineers, occupational therapists, physicians, and even CPAs.
Those do look like looks of extreme contentment on Michael Poulin's and Dave Linthicum's pictures, do they not?
Why is the architect's job number one? As Money puts it: "The job is creatively challenging, and engineers with good people skills are liberated from their screens. Salaries are generally higher than for programmers, and a typical day has more variety."
It's the variety; it's the challenges and opportunities of working with people to solve their problems one day; and then working with the latest technology the next. Yahoo's David Chaiken is quoted as describing his job this way: "Some days I'll focus on product strategy, and other days I'll be coding down in the guts of the system."
I also received thoughts on the nature of the job from Samir Ahmed, a senior architect with X by 2, a software architecture consultancy that specializes in enterprise and application architecture predominantly in the insurance industry.
"It's addictive," he says. The thrill comes from solving complex puzzles with technology, people and business pieces. Ahmed analyzes many possibilities, coming up with solutions that have real impact for clients. "You need to be a problem solver first and foremost," Ahmed says. "It's an engineering discipline. You need childlike curiosity--the personality of one who wants to tinker, to make something out of nothing. But you have to deal with people too. The best architects have a balanced combination of technical and interpersonal skills."
A graduate of the University of Michigan with dual bachelor's degrees in computer science and computer engineering, Ahmed has been with X by 2 for eight years. He started out designing and developing software. Over the years, the design work gradually morphed into architectural work. His advancement was accelerated as a result of the diversity of client experiences at the consultancy--a diversity that's often missing from the typical IT environment, he says.
Software architects, who design the blueprints for software systems and bridge the gap between business and IT professionals, need to see both the forest and the trees. These professionals work at two levels. At the application level, they're concerned with a discrete solution, while at the enterprise level, they work to create a technology architecture for the entire organization. Ahmed works on both types of projects. "I've always thought I have the best job in America," Ahmed says, "and my colleagues here feel the same way."
Cool stuff.
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