This is 100% true for progressing to management. However the OP doesn't want management, which is fine, that's what principals are for. They should just find a good "servant leadership" manager who will get all the BS out of their way, and let them do "their job."
Oh god no. No please don't let "power-users" anywhere near a Low Code framework. It doesn't take long for them to fuck up and go ask a real developer what is wrong. I've seen things...
I'm in a public university IT department on the administrative side.
If the professors would like to do admissions, then I encourage them to do so.
If the professors would like to do budgeting, then I encourage them to do so.
If the professors would like to do HR, then I encourage them to do so.
If the professors would like to run the ERP, then I encourage them to do so.
If the professors would like to run the Learning Management System, then I encourage them to do so.
etc etc
Fortunately all of the profs I've spoken to have a brain and understand division of labour. Which is great because I love working with them to build fun IT solutions that make their lives, and the educational experience better! If I wanted to make professor level money I'd work literally anywhere else.
I am hyper cognizant of that as a manager. I have to teach my new people not to fear me, because a lot of working class people come from industries where your boss is NOT your friend.
Probably exactly that. Looking for devs who used an if statement instead of a ternary operator. Not realizing that its sometimes really fucking useful to have readable code.
Sure you can sue them. The employee contractor line is a big part of labour law, and can affect UK mandated legal protections and benefits. The only problem is that a labour lawyer starts at $400/hr. One way to get around this is to band together with other contractors in your organization and pool your money to purchase a lawyer. We typically call this a union. I was high up in my union and signed some very big cheques to lawyers.
Of course that's hard so you should just get a new job.
I got both. Managing a low complexity worker and a high complexity worker requires vastly different styles. Managing a factory production line is very different (down to Left Hand and Right Hand specific tasks!) than managing infinitely configurable software.
Netflix is not a McDonalds, and a McDonalds isn't a Ford assembly plant.
The problem I see is that morons apply the wrong methodology to a business. Typically former 19 year old McDonald's Managers (TM) apply authoritative control to a scrum shop which should be decentralized and delegated by design.
I mean, yeah? There are very few people who can go straight from my question to the answer. And pausing to collect your thoughts is much better than saying uuuuuuuuuuhhhhhhhh ummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm uhhh I ... uhhhhhhhhhhhhh
Why not? They need digital soldiers. They farm spec-ops from the best grunts, so this would give them a pool to recruit their information warefare people from.
The Army isn't a business and should never be run as one.
I'm amazed at how many developers need ridiculous complexity to feel like they've accomplished something. I feel that too many people are focused on building resume keywords than solving problems.
If you can solve it in 20 lines of CSS / JS then do it.
The purpose of more complicated solutions is to prevent devs from becoming bored and leaving.
In my experience, KISS results in the easiest solution to maintain. Then I get a litany of complaints from devs that "this isn't programming" or "this is a dead end to my career" and then they leave. Which paradoxically makes it more difficult to maintain, as I have no maintainers lol.
The lowest grade I got in my business degree was Information Systems. The reason I got that grade is that I made a case for in-sourcing development based on my personal experience, where we provide services for cheaper than consultants, that aligns with OUR business processes.
The only answer to any and all business IT questions in non-IT companies is to outsource. The reasoning is that it is considered a support activity on Porter's value chain, and as such should be cut cut cut cut cut cut and cut some more.
Hilariously we're also taught to adopt best-of-breed software for ERPs, CRMs, and SCM tools AND CHANGE OUR BUSINESS PROCESSES TO MATCH THE SOFTWARE. You know, like Target did when they moved to Canada, adopted SAP, and ended up failing hard, because their entire competitive advantage came from a custom in-house developed supply chain management tool that beat all of their competitors.
Yeah its been wild seeing my grocery budget max out before the end of the month, despite having a good buffer a year before. YNAB has a great "cover overspending from" feature that got a good workout this year. Fortunately I got a raise so I used that to bump my food budget.
Anybody who doesn't demand a raise in this environment is a fool.