Work and career-related features of technology: A grounded theory study of software professionals

Abstract

For software professionals, work and technology are inseparable. Their work and careers are intertwined with different features of technology. For instance, features such as uncertainty and market dominance influence the career prospects of Software professionals. Despite the criticality of technology in professionals' lives, studies exploring technology features that influence Software professionals' work and life are, at best, limited. Based on an exploratory approach, we found that Software professionals evaluate technology based on their perceptions and career expectations. The positive or negative evaluation captures the perceived fit/match between their expectations, preferences from technology, and the features of a given technology. Based on the findings, we conceptualized technology from the career perspective of software professionals. We highlighted the implications of the fit/match between the software professionals' preferences and the features/characteristics of a given technology.