Is it possible to make a living from cost centers?
Does anyone have any tips for making a successful career from working in business units and parts of business that a would be considered a "cost center" (in comparison to a "value center")?
I am a generalist programmer and am finding that jobs and projects I excel in are not usually the sexy, new-technology, greenfield, trail-blazing projects. I'm most often doing well in the jobs and projects that require mopping up technical debt, replacing legacy systems, bridging old and new worlds.
The trouble with cost center work is that budgets are usually very tight, timelines are rarely flexible, there's rarely appreciation of a job well done.
I have found that most often the project has either been delayed beyond reason due to inability to fine people happy to work on it, or has had people working on it making the problem worse.
Has anyone here sound success thriving in this sector of software that exists but is not valued?
I've built a software development company that most of the time is working with "cost center" businesses, as you called it.
I think it's not really about getting involved in cost vs value centers but mostly about the amount of value you and your team bring to the table. Saving money in those cost centers is a huge selling point. Maybe, on average, budget isn't as high but still a lot of money to be made.
Regardless of the business line, you should focus on bringing A teams and very dedicated people that can solve real problems on time and on budget. Stakeholders care a lot about deadlines and delivering good quality projects. If you can do that, you're on the right track.
Eventually those stakeholders move to the other side of the business and they for sure will remember to call you for more business.