Tips for a Successful IT Career : by Tee Emm

Information Technology has taken our lives by storm. No matter who you are,you are bound to be affected by the advent of Information Technology. If technologies are about changing human life and improving its quality, noother technology does a better justice to this notion than IT.

We acknowledge the fact that Information Technology has, and will have, a driving - force impact on our lives. By the same token, Information Technology education and training is essential in today's environment.

We will talk about a few tips that can be consumed by young fellows who are either into IT Education or are entering into a professional IT Career. All this also applies equally well for people who are following some other profession 'applying' the Information Technology to their respective professional fields.

Tip 1: Identify yourself.
First off, identify yourself. Ask yourself if you would want to be an IT-Enabled Professional or a pure IT Professional? While apparently simple, this could be a tricky question. You could either be a 'Database Administrator' or a 'Finance Executive who does his Databases on his own'. You could be a 'CAD/CAM Guru' or a 'Mechanical Engineer who does everything on his machine'.

Once you answer this question, you are done with finding the right balance to strike between the endeavors in your professional career (or education) and your IT career (or education). The earlier you identify yourself, the less time you are likely to waste in a wrong direction.

Tip 2: Identify Your Key Technology Area. Information Technology is sort of a Swiss knife with all sorts of stuff bundled under the same label. There is a multitude of areas that can be classified under the IT umbrella and they are as diversified as they could possibly be. (Consider the divide between Computer Graphic Designing and Database Development - all being popularly
bundled under the two-letter magic word! )
One of the most important things you need to decide right in the beginning is the Key Technology Area you would be following in the rest of your foreseeable future. Of course, being dynamic in terms of goals and ambitions is good but there is a lot of difference between being dynamic and being undecided. If you are just getting into IT education, it's okay to take a diet that is a mix of a handful of technologies. But otherwise, you need to decide your key technology area. Nothing is more painful than to see someone into an IT career for tens of months being still undecided on this essential issue.

Tip 3: Don't Forget the Basics:
Whether you are into IT education or pursuing a professional career related to Information Technology, it is of utmost importance that you keep the 'basic rules and principles' of your technology in front of you all the time. Once you know what key technical area you belong to, identify basic rules and principles of that area. You would learn a few from the text books, a few from gurus around you and yet a few more from your own (most bad!) experiences.

If the current trend is to carry on, your 'Inbox' will remain a constant source of buzzwords and jargons that are constantly shot at you. These buzzwords and jargons usually tend to de-focus the activities of an average IT professional. You should be able to filter through this buzzword bombardment, sorting out the essentials from the junk. The mantra is to keep applying new trends and technologies in your respective interest areas as long as they go in-line with the basic rules and principals.

The quality of your day to day work and projects will depend greatly on the fact whether you kept the basics in mind while working on them or not. No amount of money or multitude of expensive equipment can undo the wrongs instigated because basic rules and principals were ignored in the design phase of a project. Learn your basics. And remember them!

Tip 4: Make Smart Use of Internet.
Today's corporate environment (and for that matter, IT Education campus) is extremely competitive. Unless you are the owner of your company, you either move up in the organization, or you move out of it. Remaining ahead of the rest of the crowd is a tricky job and requires a constant effort on your part. If you are pursuing a career in Information Technology, it is almost certain that Internet can be the very
tool you need to achieve this target of being a leader.
Making smart use of Internet sounds rather a trivial idea but just give it a thought and you would be amazed to see how often your class-fellows and co-workers get stuck up - and remain there - with issues answers to which are just a few keystrokes and clicks away. Making smart use of Internet might require some 'forced' practice for a few of us. Every time you face an issue, ask yourself how to address it by making an intelligent use of the Internet. With practice, you will see that making smart use of Internet lifts your efficiency levels up.

People who make smart use of Internet find themselves leading the crowd. Whether you are a student or a worker, remember that whatever you are doing now must have been done by someone out there. Remember that whatever stuff you are looking for, it might already be present on the Internet. Once again, there is a lot of difference between indulging in plagiarism and avoiding re-inventing the wheel every time you need one!

Tip 5: Interact.
As you move ahead in your IT career, you will realize how important it is to consolidate the new information and techniques that you learn everyday. Thanks to Internet, you can remain a student of your related field for as long as you desire. As new information makes its way to you, you would want to absorb all of it. This is a difficult job unless you make sure that you consolidate your existing information load on a regular basis.
A proven technique of strengthening your knowledge is 'Interaction' with others in the same field. What you teach to others is guaranteed to remain fresh in your mind for a very long time. As soon as you learn a new technique that relates to your area, teach it to someone. And this teach-to-learn exercise needs not be a formal one in a conventional class-room style. It can very well be done as you drive you buddy in your car to drop him home.

Like the rest of the things, Internet let you 'interact' in new, more exciting and more efficient ways. Identify your key technology area and then you can either join in an existing interest group or better still, identify people around you who have a potential for it and form a group of your own. Start a small, local mailing list for the group. Use free group-tools such as Yahoo! Groups (http://groups.yahoo.com) or Smartgroups (http://www.smartgroups.com) to build your community. Help people who are
new to the interest group making use of whatever you have learnt in the past.

If you are more confident, you can go even further. Team up with a few more people who are technically sound in your area of interest and organize 'Boot Camps' and short duration 'Workshops' for those who are new to your technology area. If you decide to be helpful, you would be amazed to see how much interested people could get.
You can also consider giving a try to technical writing. Technical writing can take many different shapes. You can write How-To documents for stuff you think you are good at. ('How-tos' are documents that target specific issues within a given technology area describing very precisely how to go about doing any thing). You can also write 'Beginners Guides' on topics that interest you. In the beginning, you can get you write-ups peer reviewed so that they are okay for consumption. Mailing lists could be great for this peer reviewing.

Tip 6: Keep a 'Book of Lessons'.
Try aintaining a small 'Book of Lessons'. A BoL is a set of very specific technical tips that you collect during your educational or professional career. Make a note of every lesson that you learn after an incident. Mistakes that ate up your entire days can be properly cashed if you derive proper lessons from them and then actually apply them afterwards. You can use an Internet blog to keep this BoL so that it is readily available over the Internet. [A blog is a facility that lets you maintain a log about anything off a website. You write your log on a website and when you publish it, it becomes the part of the website. For more information, check out http://www.blogger.com and
http://www.userland.com].

Tip 7: Develop a 'Financial Sense'.
People pursuing an IT career pose a general risk of being labeled as a 'purely technical' entity. People around you, and even you yourself, might end up marking limits around you that force you to remain a techy for the rest of your life. And it is not just about perceptions alone. A technical person who does not have a good financial sense would face problem sooner or later. Whether your job requires it or not, try to develop a financial sense that relates directly to your technology area.

Courtesy:Tee Emm

one good Mag

The Truth International , a very good mag for Children and teenagers to groom their moral and spritual values.

me also plan to subscribe it...o yes, of course not a teen , but what if i still read Nonay-Haal tooo :-)

Intizaar,nice Pic of chiRya (a bird)..

Chudya on a mission
Posted by Hello

Eid's Second day Chaand
Posted by Hello

Tabahii Masroofiyat...

Assalaam-O-Alaikum,

Hmmm......, Aray bhai logooon. Today was a very tough day for me. Aray at first I went to office and conducted lab after that I went to N.E.D, where I faced the bouncers from the teacher without having proper pading. Aray haaan yaaar, I had the exam over there. After three hours net practice I went back to office where I took three hours evening class.

Uff, when I went back to home I was feeling like I would never like to go back again, But I am sure in the morning my thoughts would be changed.

O' Allah give me power to face these days.

See you guys I am dozing off now.

Allah-Hafiz.

Yahooo! Azadiiiiiiiiii

Assalaam-O-Alaikum,
Uff now I am free, it was very difficult to be alone in Ramadhan. Hmmm, and can't talk to people much as well. Yeah, I know what you people are thinking. Aray chandaa, I wasn't in Minna but in Aitakaaf. Abb I am back and very much busy as well. So, I will bug you people but after longer duration.

There is a series of Thakay howay Shair started at our group, so, You people will have to read it and bear it.

RD:

Shaid mujhe Nikal k kuch KHA rahay hain ap
Mehfil mai is khyal se phir aa gaya hon mai .........................

AayDee:

shaid pay yaqeen kerna hota hay kab sahee
jo kha rahay hain wo khila tau nahee rahay

RD:

khanay k liye sab hain yahan is deyar mai
khain ap khilanay walay hi tou nahi...........

jab se hua hai band shadioon ka khana
ta'aluq ap ka b dil jalanay walon se tou nahi .......

UBR:

mushaayaro.n me.n police vaalo.n kii 'duty' lagatii hai
aur vo ghar jaate jaate Khud shaayar ban jaate hai.n. Is
mauzuu par ek sher:

raftaa raftaa har police vaale ko shaayar kar diyaa
mahafil-e-sher-o-suKhan me.n bhej kar sarakaar ne
ek qaidii subah ko phaa.Nsii lagaa kar mar gayaa
raat bhar Gazale.n sunaa_ii.n us ko thaanedaar ne

Intizaar:

Shadi ki baat kar keh chaid diyaa hay mujh koo
Dil kou pateela samajh keh ragaid diya hay iss kou

Khanay main kiyaa rakha hay Woh tou hay hii khilanaan
Dataa Darbaar jaa naan tou mairay liyaay bhii lay anaan

Pakanay main hoo haath Hamaraa tou Paraishaan naan HO jaa naan
Jab tak wooH atii nahien part time bhi tou hay laga naan

Yaqeen nahien hay Tum koo tou Imm bhai seh Poochoo
Hubby keh Chubby honay main Haath kiss kaa hay bata naan

Shadi Shadii SHadiii, Sun Sun Keh HOo gaa aiy hain Adiii
Hoti kiya yeh balaa hay? Zaraa Sooch keH bataa naan

RD:

aray............

in hakoomati baton mai mujhe na tum ghaseeto
hal hai is ka jo ho hukam bus us pa ankhiaan meeto...

ab to shadi k khanay mai milta nahi sookha naan
bhol b jao ab mehndii mai milnay walay pakwaan

chup raho b'aee Police waloon ko koi bta na dai yeh ja k
ain gai DARBAAR ka sun k wahan b jain gai FINE laga k

khanay mai gar par gaya ghalti se b hath tumhara
hum to sooch k ghabrai hain k kia ho ga haal hamara

ghar wali lai aao to tab hum ko b bat'lana
hum b daira jama hi lain gai ,subah shaam wahin khain gai khana

Imm bhai ke to bat hi choro keun bhabi se pitwao gai
khud ko ghar ko bhago gai ,bhai ko kaisay bachao gai?

jo sun k shadi ka tum ho gaye ho adii....
yeh to zara btaoo k kab karo gai ab tum shadi

hum to kehtay hain bhai k tum jab ban jao BAKRA...
utha utha k thak jao tum BEWI ka har NAKHRA

tab yeh kehna k shadi kia hoti hai sarkaar.......
hamara to bus hai aik hi nara shadi hai bekaar..........;)

Intizaar:


Well, although I have paper tommorow (bhai logoon dua karnaan) I felt like continuing the Shaid series. Tou it starts like this:

Sahdi keh Khanoon peh howa hay jou BAN
Waja hay uss kee Kuch bhai logoon Kaa Nisbul-Ain

Hakumat aur police seh dartay hain bauhat Aap
Tax khanain kaa Aap nain bhi Tou nahien kiyaa paap

Khanain koo jou naan mila tou lagta hay, hoga bura haal tumhara
Hamaray Khanay Seh Ghabranain ki koi baat nahien Detol soap hay naan hamara

Ghar wali lai aa ain gay tou aaap kou tou zaroor batain gay
Aaap hiii tou Walimain kaay Khanain kaa bandobast karwain gay

Imm bhai kii jou hogi pitai tou hoon naan aaap paraishaan
Aaadii jab aap bhii hoon gay tou khaa ain gay dou aur naan

Aadii tou hain sun sun keh jou aap nain kiya sawal
Kab, Kahaan aur Kiss seh hogi? Allah hii janain haaal

Biwi kaa hoo nakhra, yaa hum banain bakraa
Tum naaan samjhoo gay yaroo, yeh maamla hay wakhra

Abb bolnaa naan yeh keh tumhain hum samjhaa dain
Chaloo line main peechay lagoo Kiyaa itnii jaldi bata dain.

Achaa, Its time to go now.

Allah-Hafiz.

*sniff* Khansi or Gala kharab...but still having fun with JUnit

Azaan!

Azaan ! Don't you think it is more attractive than any thing else..yes,a call from our Creator,our Lord a Lord of Alameen.Allahu Akbar.

Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar
Allah is the greatest, Allah is the greatest

Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar
Allah is the greatest, Allah is the greatest

Ashadu an La illaha illAllah
I witness/declare that there is no illah (god) but Allah

Ashadu an La illaha illAllah
I witness that there is no illah but Allah

Ashadu anna Muhammad ar Rasool Allah
I witness that Muhammad is Rasul (Messenger) of Allah

Ashadu anna Muhammad ar Rasool Allah
I witness that Muhammad is Rasul of Allah

Hayya 'alas Salat
Come towards the Salat

Hayya 'alas Salat
Come towards the Salat

Hayya 'alal Falah
Come towards the Success

Hayya 'alal Falah
Come towards the Success

Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar
Allah is the greatest, Allah is the greatest

La illaha illaAllah
There is no illah but Allah

No Haya, No Life

its 7:07 pm PST,25th Ramadan...here is one more artlice from Albalagh.

By Khalid Baig

Imam Shu'bah ibn Hajjaj was riding his horse when Abdullah intercepted him. Abdullah was a known street urchin. Not only he was given to a life of sin, he was also unabashed about it. Imam Shu'bah knew that trouble was ahead when Abdullah stopped him.

Shu'bah (d. 100 A.H) is known as the "Amirul Momineen fil hadith." He is one of the foremost scholars of the science of Hadith Criticism. Abdullah knew his stature as a great hadith scholar, but he was bent on having some fun. "Shu'bah! Tell me a hadith," he said with mischief in his eyes. "This is not the way to learn hadith," Imam Shu'bah replied. "You are going to tell me a hadith or else…" Abdullah threatened. When Shu'bah realized that he could not talk his way out of this he said: "OK, I'll tell you a hadith." He then narrated the isnad (a chain of narrators) and then the hadith: "Prophet Sall-Allahu alayhi wa sallam said: "If you have lost haya then do whatever you feel like."

Abdullah's demeanor changed suddenly. It was as if the Prophet, Sall-Allahu alayhi wa sallam, had himself caught him in his mischief and was speaking to him: "Abdullah, if you have lost haya then do whatever you feel like." He was totally shaken. "I just wanted to cause trouble for you," he admitted, "but please extend your hand. I want to repent."

This hadith turned a life around. Abdullah, the street urchin, became a student and then a great scholar of hadith. Today he is known as Abdullah ibn Maslamah Qan'awi. His name can be found repeatedly in Sihah Sitta or the six most authentic collections of hadith, especially in the collection of Imam Abu Dawud who was his disciple.

What is haya? It is normally translated as modesty or inhibition but neither word conveys the same idea as haya. Modesty suggests shunning indecent behavior but it also implies bashfulness based on timidity. That is why the adjective based on its opposite, immodest, is sometimes also used as a compliment suggesting courage. Inhibition is defined as: "Conscious or unconscious mechanism whereby unacceptable impulses are suppressed." This is a very neutral definition with no reference to right or wrong. So one finds psychiatrist "helping" their patients overcome inhibitions.

In contrast to the moral ambiguity of these words, haya refers to an extremely desirable quality that protects us from all evil. It is a natural feeling that brings us pain at the very idea of committing a wrong.

Along with its unique connotation comes the unique value of haya in Islam. Prophet Muhammad, Sall-Allahu alayhi wa sallam, said: "Every religion has a distinct call. For Islam it is haya." [Ibn Majah]. Another famous hadith says: "There are more than 70 branches of Iman (Faith). The foremost is the declaration that there is no god except Allah and the least of it is removing harmful things from the path. And haya is a branch of Iman." [Bukhari, Muslim]. As some Muhaditheen point out, the number 70 is a figure of speech. What the hadith tells us is that the declaration of faith is the most important part of Iman but that is not all. Iman also has to reflect itself in all kinds of actions in real life. Moreover, haya is a centerpiece of most of the actions that Iman calls for. It is the basic building block of Islamic morality. When it is lost everything is lost.

Based on such teachings, Islam brought about a moral revolution of unprecedented dimensions with haya as its cornerstone. The pre-Islamic Jahilya society of Arabia knew the word but did not understand its meaning. Nudity, the antithesis of haya, was not only common in every day life, it was even part of the most important religious ritual of tawaf (circumbulation of Ka'bah). So were all the other evils that flow from it. Islam exterminated all of those evils and changed the society in such a way that haya became one of its most cherished values. To this day in Friday Khutbahs around the world, the third Khalifah Hazrat Usman Radi Allahu unhu is mentioned as the person with perfect haya and perfect Iman (Kamil lil-haya wal Iman). Is there any other religion that celebrates haya like that?

Islam's laws about hijab, its ban against free mixing of men and women, its teachings about gender-relations --- all of these reflect a deep concern for haya.

For men and women who have not lost their haya, these come naturally. There is a moving story from the earlier Islamic period about a woman who learnt that her young son had been lost in a battle. She ran in a panic to confirm the news, but before that she took time to make sure that she covered herself fully in accordance with the newly revealed laws of hijab. She was asked how did she manage to do that in a time of great personal tragedy. She replied: "I have lost my son, but I did not lose my haya."

And for centuries afterwards Muslim societies did not lose their haya.When Muslim lands came under the western colonial rule about three centuries ago, they were faced with a civilization that was no different than the pre-Islamic Jahilya on the issue of haya. While it did not have better morality, it did have better guns. At the gunpoint of military and political domination, Muslim societies were made to loose their grip on haya on the collective scale. The powerful and attractive media became an important instrument in this war. First it was books, magazines and newspapers. Then radio. Now it is television. Together they projected ideas and images detrimental to haya. They made indecency attractive. The pace was increased tremendously by television, which has shown more firepower than all the previous media combined.

When historians write about the moral decline in Muslim societies in the twentieth century, they will probably underscore television in subverting the moral fabric of society. We can get a sense of the rapidity of our fall by realizing that what was unthinkable just a decade ago has become routinely accepted today. In some cases, we seem to have lost all control. Isn't it shocking that while contraceptive ads cannot be shown on TV in the U.S. or U.K for moral reasons, they are freely shown in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan?

We can get out of the morass by making haya as our number one concern in both individual as well as public lives. There is no Islamic life without Islamic morality. There is no Islamic morality without haya.