How many people have inflated their role within a company? I'm sure many of you have. I have called myself different titles with 'Senior' being the most common, Why? Nowdays I don't know - what was the impact of the title change? no one came to me with enhanced expectations because now I was a 'Senior Janitor' and no longer a mere 'Janitor'?
In IT there is a tide of self fluffing through role enhancement, from Senior Systems Adminstrators to Assistant IT Director through to the current favorite 'Solutions Architect' which may be the most mis-representative title to date for many self appointed 'Solutions Architects'.
Lets break out what an IT Architect is? someone who develops, designs, plans and understands the broader picture, an IT Architect can relate technology to anyone within a business; this role is not typically a detail person, rather a high level thinker that understands concepts and plans and relates them to technology.
The Architect fragments into various titles from Technical Architect (shouldn't an architect be technical anyway?) to an enterprise architect (high level person who recommends centralising systems and minimising application stacks?) to my favorite, the Solutions Architect.
What is a Solutions Architect? does a Solutions Architect look after one solution or many? what is the solution that an SA manages? for all I know this role works with Water and Aspirin and creates a solution by dropping aspirin into water?
Curently a Solutions Architect is the favorite title for an IT administrator to take and what does it mean? above you clearly see no customer is going to take you any more seriously than they would as a Systems administrator? its the proof of experience that makes a person suitable for a title not the title.
Personally I've given up, no longer will I be Senior (no grey hair), or will I be a Solution Architect, I am a Consultant (talk to customers and relate my experience to their requirements) and proud of it.
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