21 Lessons from 21 years in IT

21. Don't run after titles- Titles look fancy and give you false sense of accomplishment as they don't have common standards across the industry. e.g. AVP in banks might simply mean Project manager whereas same AVP in large MNC might be a title holder. Rather than running after fancy titles, try to get what matters the most, i.e. Job satisfaction, CTC, Peace of mind etc.

20. Be Focused on one technology/Domain- In initial years of careers, say 0-8 yrs, you should try to get into depth of any one area. You should try to become the expert/Guru in that area. This is in alignment with T-Shape career philosophy.

19. Be Flexible-?Post 8 years, don't be rigid on your expertise area and try to be Jack of all. If you claim to know a topic, you should be able to explain it to anyone in simple language and speak on it for atleast 30 minutes.

18 Have good interpersonal skills- After certain years, it is your contacts and personal relationship within and outside company that helps you navigate and move up in corporate ladder. Knowledge alone doesn't work.

17. Stay up-to-date- This is one of the most important aspect, spend 30 min. a day to learn and update yourself. Daily and regular updates are much more useful and effective than dedicate effort of few days and then no effort at all. Our knowledge should be updated as regularly as our mobile apps upgrade. There could be one off major upgrades like-certification or degree but minor upgrades should happen at regular intervals.

16. Be Visible- Be your own brand ambassador. Feel proud to share your accomplishments.

15. Be Employable- Keep your Job interest option ON in LinkedIn to see if your skills are still relevant and you are getting calls for Job. If not then you have to take action.

14. Share knowledge- If you learn something new, try to document and share it with others within your company and outside. Sharing helps in many ways and it is must in today's world.

13. Maintain Work-life balance- there is saying- reward for "good work" is "more work". Remember, you can spend 18 hrs a day in job and accomplish few things earlier than others but personal time, family time lost here will never come again.

12. Learn from others- Life is too short to learn everything from your own mistakes so learn from others. Be a lifelong learner.

11. Set flexible goals- Do not stretch too much and at times give priority to other things in life, like for taking care of new member in your family, you can settle with less appraisal ratings or salary hike.

10. Develop problem solving skills-?IT is all about problem solving, everyone from Top to bottom is solving one or the other problem. CEO is trying to solve growth problem whereas developer is solving his program issue. What matters here is your approach and persistence.

9. Learn Opensource technologies- It will give you very different perspective about software and collaboration.

8. Compete with yourself- Always try to make yourself better by each passing year.

7. Spend personal time for personal growth- Be ready to travel, spend money and spend your personal time for your personal growth. It could be to attend conferences, joining courses etc.

6. Drive your career- There is no one else including your manager responsible for your growth in career so be at driver seat. It's ok to ask for promotions, hike etc.

5. Differentiate yourself- Find out ways to differentiate yourself by doing things which many others at your level aren't doing. like- filing patents, writing blogs, publishing papers/books, presenting in conferences, getting toughest certification etc. You should become the role model in your team/department.

4. Money is not everything- No matter how much you earn, you will never feel satisfied and you will keep on asking for more by changing your wishes. So don't set goals around getting certain amount of package to be happy. This will never happen.

3. Stay in touch- Be in touch with your old friends, it is always good to have 1-2 good friends with whom you can share all your frustrations/happiness in your work life.

2. Bring it on attitude- As you grow older/become senior (say 15+ yrs experience), adapt BRING IT ON attitude for any new learning, assignments, opportunities and challenges. This helps in many ways like- enhanced employability and interest .

and the last one

1. Enjoy life- Life is not all about getting to the CEO level and getting millions of $, it is about enjoying with your family, friends, colleagues and stay happy. Nearly all goals in our life are related to being "Happy" so why not choose to be happy