Job Title Soup. Making Sense of IT Job Titles.

Engineer
(Sub)Contractor
Consultant
Architect
Administrator
Specialist
Technician
Analyst

Have you looked at job postings lately?  If you're one of the 14 million unemployed in the U.S., odds are you have.  Even with information businesses and providers of professional and business services increasing payrolls there are still a depressing number of people in Information Technology looking for work.

So, how do you interpret the job titles employers use to understand a potential job's responsibilities?  Human resources people and recruiters are often tasked with finding the perfect candidate for a position without really understanding what the position is.  Often, the hiring manager just gives them a list of requirements and a title. There may not be any guiding policy from the company about filling the position and the same job, posted by two different managers may have very different titles and descriptions.

Let's take a look at some of the titles used to describe technology services positions.  I'll try to make a few observations about each... I'm going to be stereo-typing each of them on purpose.  If you disagree with me or have a differing opinion I'd love to hear it.

Engineer
Wikipedia definition:

An engineer is a professional practitioner of engineering, concerned with applying scientific knowledge, mathematics and ingenuity to develop solutions for technical and practical problems. Engineers design materials, structures, machines and systems while considering the limitations imposed by practicality, safety and cost. The word engineer is derived from the Latin root ingenerare, meaning "to create".

My take:

Engineer has a professional connotation and generally refers to a very technical person.  When you say engineer it brings up visions of people using Autocad or some other design software and the word often is used to refer to non-IT people who are professionals in one of the engineering disciplines.  It is used in IT for very technical software and infrastructure positions.  It is similar to the technician title, but engineer positions often require more experience or training.

(Sub)Contractor

Wikipedia definition:

A subcontractor is an individual or in many cases a business that signs a contract to perform part or all of the obligations of another's contract. [...] While the most common concept of a subcontractor is in building works and civil engineering, the range of opportunities for subcontractor is much wider and it is possible that the greatest number now operate in the information technology and information sectors of business.

My take:

Contractor is actually a term referring to the type of employment rather than a position title in itself although it is often misused as a title by sloppy recruiters.  Being a contractor is actually a shortening of subcontractor or independent contractor.  Businesses hiring contractors may actually be referring to someone doing anything from coding to infrastructure to plumbing or janitorial work.  You'll need to look deeper in the job description for a useful clue about just what is required.  Often, businesses will use contractors to outsource internal business processes when it is too expensive or unjustifiable to keep someone on staff.  Contractors often are used for long periods of time rather than for shorter projects.  1099 employment is often referred to as "contractors."

Consultant

Wikipedia definition:

A consultant is usually an expert or a professional in a specific field and has a wide knowledge of the subject matter. A consultant usually works for a consultancy firm or is self-employed, and engages with multiple and changing clients. Thus, clients have access to deeper levels of expertise than would be feasible for them to retain in-house, and may purchase only as much service from the outside consultant as desired.

My take:

Consultants tend to be higher trained, sometimes with advanced degrees or certifications. In reality consultant really just means "professional."  A consultant generally works for a company that provides consulting services on particular subject matter like IT Infrastructure services or application development.  Just like contractors, the word is more of a description about the type of employment rather than the work they will do. Often, consultants are used for shorter projects rather than long contracts where contractors are used.  Consultants work for a business that provides services rather than directly for a client as 1099 contractors do.

Architect

Wikipedia definition:

An architect is a person trained in the planning, design and oversight of the construction of buildings. [...] The terms architect and architecture are also used in the disciplines of landscape architecture, naval architecture and often information technology (for example a software architect).

My take:

In the IT industry the word is often used to describe one of the most senior level technical positions available. The technical architect or software architect is generally the person responsible for the highest level design of a system or application.  They provide a higher level of technical capability that also goes hand in hand with some level of business savvy and a great deal of experience.  The IT architect is generally a mid or late career position that has much higher requirements than normal.

(System) Administrator

Wikipedia definition:

A system administrator, IT systems administrator, systems administrator, or sysadmin, is a person employed to maintain and operate a computer system and/or network. System administrators may be members of an information technology (IT) or Electronics and Communication Engineering department.

My take:

Administrator generally indicates the person most responsible for a particular system.  This might be a system, network, server, database or other administrator.  It is generally a role for someone with an IT infrastructure background rather than in coding with the exception of database administrators.  In larger organizations, this may be a low management position where a number of other "administrators" are part of a team headed by the head administrator.  The term is often misused to mean just about anything the job posted would like, however, and the actual position may be a more junior position than the word seems to indicate.

Specialist

Wikipedia definition:

Specialist frequently refers to an expert in a profession. An expert [...] is someone widely recognized as a reliable source of technique or skill whose faculty for judging or deciding rightly, justly, or wisely is accorded authority and status by their peers or the public in a specific well-distinguished domain. An expert, more generally, is a person with extensive knowledge or ability based on research, experience, or occupation and in a particular area of study. Experts are called in for advice on their respective subject [...]. Experts have a prolonged or intense experience through practice and education in a particular field.

My take:

Specialists tend to concentrate on a particular technology to the exclusion of most others.  You often see this title used with regards to particular software packages or hardware technologies.  For instance it is not uncommon to see positions like "Cisco Specialist" or "SAP Specialist."  Sloppy wording may apply the word to something that requires a lot of additional skills in addition to the primary one, so once again, be careful to read the entire description.

Technician

Wikipedia definition:

A technician is a worker in a field of technology who is proficient in the relevant skills and techniques, with a relatively practical understanding of the theoretical principles. Experienced technicians in a specific tool domain typically have intermediate understanding of theory and expert proficiency in technique. As such, technicians are generally much better versed in technique compared to average layman and even general professionals in that field of technology. [...] Technicians may be classified as either skilled workers or semi-skilled workers, and may be part of a larger (production) process.

My take:

Technician connotes a more technical, closer to entry-level position generally.  Technicians may be very experienced but will generally move in to a job with a different title before long.  Generally, you move out of technician positions when your communication and business skills develop.

(Business) Analyst

Wikipedia definition:

A Business Analyst (BA) analyzes the organization and design of businesses, government departments, and non-profit organizations; BAs also assess business models and their integration with technology. [...] The role of Business Analyst has evolved from someone who was a part of the business operation and worked with Information Technology to improve the quality of the products and services being delivered by the IT organization to someone who apart from gathering Business Requirements, also assists in Integration and Acceptance Testing, supports the development of training and implementation material, participates in the implementation, and provides post-implementation support. Business Analysts today are also involved in the development of project plans and often provide project management skills when these skills are not available in other project participants.

My take:

Analysts or Business Analysts are generally higher trained, more mid-career positions.  They often have advanced degrees in business or management.  Positions may include some technical components but are much more focused on business.  Unlike consultants (who may be business analysts also) a business analyst is expected to understand the effect of Information Technology on the business and to assist in the evaluation and manage the implementation of appropriate technologies.

These are just some of the job titles you might see if you looked on a job board like Monster, Career Builder or Dice.  If you took any three similar jobs at different companies and compared their descriptions they would all be very different.  There is no standardized language or use of titles especially amongst recruiters who often barely understand the actual requirements for the positions they are trying to fill.

I find that the most successful recruiters are those that take the time to educate themselves about the technologies and detailed requirements for the positions they are responsible for filling.  The most successful candidates understand that to get their dream jobs not only will they need to get noticed, but they'll need to navigate the alphabet soup of IT job titles successfully.