Kristy's Blog

5. You are the recipient of mass panic when anything goes wrong with the system
When error messages pop up and system outages occur, employees and managers quickly start pointing fingers at IT and the pressure is intense to get things fixed quickly to keep users from losing productivity. That’s part of the job and you have to always be prepared for it. In fact, some IT pros even get an adrenaline rush from this type of high-pressure stakes.

4. People assume you’re an expert in everything about computers or networks
Just because you know how to program doesn’t mean you know how to fix Windows, install a network, or recover lost data for people. Many IT pros can’t help but get a little frustrated by this, or even feeling a little inadequate. Worse, because you’re a techie, a lot of your co-workers will come to you for advice on buying PCs, digital cameras, and TVs. Some will even ask you to fix their PC for free or help troubleshoot a problem with their cable modem.

3. It’s extremely difficult to keep up with all of the new trends in technology
I am always learning new things about Programming (word in capitals as I think it deserves) and the systems, even in the narrow world of web development. Continuing education? Just working with new clients typically requires massive amounts of research to find something which fits their system.

2. The hours are long and irregular
Most IT workers are always on call, or are at least part of an on-call rotation, in case critical systems go down during off-hours. In addition, many IT pros have tasks that they need to do when there aren’t as many users on the system. That means coming in early to run backup routines or staying late to update an application or patch a server after most of the users have logged off at the end of the day.

1. The job market is getting competitive
One word: Outsourcing.

During the late 1990s, in order to get a job, you only had to know how to spell the word “programming” in order to make big bucks. Then the dot com implosion and the wrap up of the Y2K fixes meant that a lot of tech jobs disappeared. Now, India, Russian and Indonesia all have cheap, talented labor at a fraction of the cost of US workers, and that spells trouble for us.