Job Responsibilities
As a Software Program Manager for a leading international
hardware firm I managed third party software programs for
enterprise computing technology. The development encompassed
middleware or what many consumer development organizations refer
to as low level software that permits commercial and custom
applications to send and receive data from the largest redundant
data systems built. Most of the applications supported by the
software are for the financial, telecom and consumer retail
industries. My duties included negotiating and managing
contractual relationships with third party software vendors who
developed applications using our core communication software for
branding, sales and support to our hardware customers. The
maintenance aspect of my role encompassed in large part
identifying and managing new software features for future
releases and managing minor releases to respond to product
defects. The executive reporting portion of my role included
monthly reports to executive management and quarterly
participation in customer quality reviews with our international
counterparts related to customer satisfaction and release
schedules for new products, and of course budgeting and financial
forecasting for the products I managed.
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Job Requirements
Because of the nature of the job there are many avenues both
technical and business to program management. My background
included experience in both the technical and business world. I
was recruited for the position with 7 years of experience in the
financial industry and 6 years of experience as a software
project manager. A minimum of a bachelors degree is required,
preferrably in a technical field such as computer engineering
with a graduate degree such as an MBA plus business experience.
The core requisites include both an ability to grasp and identify
both technical issues and broader business applications.
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Uppers
The best part of the job is the level of independence with respect to setting
your own priorities and work schedule with the context of the larger business
objectives and deadlines.
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Downers
The level of responsibility and corporate "red-tape" in holding
an upper level management position are sobering and demanding.
Such as required annual legal training for managers, budgeting
drills, and annual reviews for employees.
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Lifestyle
The work hours are definitely not 9-5. For the most part you can schedule your
work within an acceptable work-week, somewhere between 40-50 hours, but there are
always crunch times that will require late nights, conference calls that are
scheduled for non-optimal hours due to international time-zone considerations,
and all encompassing business emergencies like Y2K and 9-11 (some more
predictable than others). This is due to the 24X7 support requirements for the
technology we supported (stock exchanges, ATMS, emergency systems...)
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Compensation
Base salary for the position from 1999-2003 ranged from $120,000
to $170,000 depending on experience and the level of the
position. Bonuses and stock options were awarded annually
dependant on overall corporate performance and individual
performance. Smaller awards are given quarterly on a division
basis and can be up to $1000 prepaid corporate American Express
giftcard. These are awarded based on individual performance for
unanticipated customer issues that are resolved by employees.
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Advice to Jobseekers
In the current climate of corporate outsourcing and the
increasing tendency toward commodification of technical skills
this is increasingly a contractor based industry.
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