I am a 45 year old senior principal engineer in EMC Dell. I have been in EMC for last 5 years. I have all through been a top performer and recognized as such. I plan to continue in a similar way and based on my current financial commitments want to work for the next ten years and retire at the age of 55. I don't want to shift companies as I work in my comfort zone in EMC. Is my plan feasible. Will DELL survive for the next ten years.
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"and if you'd rather do the work yourself than tell somebody else how to do"
this is so relatable it hurts. I am a senior individual contributor and basically do all the work myself. I have 9 (including my functional boss) directors or acting like one telling me what to do as in what they need not how to do it. It's horrible I had to teach the juniors for each their direct reports (a lot of then) how to do it. It used to be manageable but with EMC in they just add in 2 extra layers and 3-4 extra bosses to boss people around. There are basically not many skillful people left. Dell truly only want directors.
I agree. Dell will survive. When they acquired EMC, they did it for the business expansion -- additional government / defense contracts and major enterprise accounts they could combine w/ their laptop & server business. They didn't do it for the sake of acquiring the thousands people working on all those projects. They did it for the customer base.
Now that Dell is offshoring the vast majority of its development to lower-cost regions (including UI/UX work for dell.com), the trend is clearly to lower-cost labor. They put a few senior people in charge of masses of low-cost producers, and rely on the senior staff to direct their minions (in every conceivable minuscule detail) to do the work. They don't want highly skilled (read: expensive) developers who think for themselves and can innovate like nobody else. They want an army of low-cost out-of-the-box framework-using order-takers who will do as they're told for pennies on the dollar.
So, if you can't position yourself as a "director" of sorts -- whether that's in your title or not -- and if you'd rather do the work yourself than tell somebody else how to do (and re-do, and re-do) it, you'd best look for other opportunities. They're are out there. You just have to bite the bullet, face reality, and act in your own best interests. Because it's not Dell's job to do that.
Their job is to survive, and if you aren't a cheap and easy contributor who fits cleanly into their grand plans... well, good luck to you.
Have super techies travelled to US lately..
Dell will survive. But in what form and selling what products is the question. Dell is a company which took on the mammoth IBM in the pc business and made is mark. It is important to understand that US government orders are the major source of revenues for software and hardware. Dell has his network and contacts where it matters. Remember Michael is always in the front row in industry forums addressed by US presidents. It is sales that matter. Technology and products can be brought to fulfill the demand. Dell will not go out of business as he is part of the elite network which controls the world.
Will DELL survive for the next ten years.
I would not count on that.
Is it true senior super techie in bdc storage was a manager in EMC handling a sustenance project. After getting laid-off from EMC he joined Dell storage as senior principal engineer as he knew the moron head of BDC storage. Now after this moron was laid off in October these super techies are like headless chicken.
Dude you should consult the two old directors and super techies in BDC storage. They have done lot of thinking and strategizing on retirement in Dell. With meagre technical and managerial skills these folks only option is to milk DELL high and dry as they can't get jobs elsewhere. Even laid off director is still unemployed.
Capitalism is basically designed to enrich a few by restricting access by others to markets and resources.Private property is essentially a restriction of access to resources. Patents and copyrights are about restricting access, limiting competition. The basic drive of businesses and corporations is to monopolize and control.The government is the enabler and protector of privatization. The concept of "free market capitalism" is absurd and laughable.
Let us be not be outraged thinking monopolization is an aberration.
Instead, be outraged that the organizing principles
of "capitalist" economics predictably
generates self-serving oligarchy and monopoly.
Are you one of the Super Techie... ?
there may be an economic crisis this year starting off in US
Yes practicing The Power of Now is a good idea, also try Mindfulness meditation . We have no power to control events but we can focus on what we can control and hope for the best. its a capitalist system and we are hired hands.
BTW Dell India retirement age is 62. You can continue as outsourcing will increase in troubled times and lot of work will. I've to India.
I am also 40+ I used to love coding and hands-on tech, but moved into management role, I do a bit of hands-on still. In India it will be very difficult for you to survive in your current role for long, my advice will be try to get into management role even if it means moving out of dell. Surviving in tech role for that long at your age in India will be very challenging. This is the reason I asked for your location.
It's almost impossible to answer your question. It's as good as crystal ball gazing. Ten years anything can happen. You might be hit by a truck or get pancreatic cancer and pass away. No point in planning so far ahead. I suggest you read Ekhart Tolle's book 'The Power of Now'.
I'm from India at Bangalore CoE
What's your location? IMO, it is also country and culture specific decision.
Remote possibility. Dell is a sinking ship.