Slashdot Mirror
One Terrible Job: IT Manager
editingwhiz writes "I suppose we've always suspected this to be true, but IT Manager's Journal reports that a recent email survey by the authors of a new book called 'Crap Jobs' says that IT managers have the U.K's third-worst job -- ranking just below phone sex operator (No. 1) and ferry cabin cleaner (No. 2). Hmmm. Do you agree?" (ITMJ, like Slashdot, is part of OSTG.) Maybe it's better in the U.S.?
The cycle that the job requires as far as time input can also be stressful at times. One week you replace a couple monitors and make a printer recommendation and the next week 100 new computers show up that need imaged and deployed in a short period of time.
All in all though, if I had to choose I would keep my current job over a lot of other jobs out there. I have time to work on training, work with a pretty nice team and have a somewhat flexible work schedule.
Anyway, IT Managers don't have the worst IT jobs as far as I'm concerned. Try any kind of phone tech support and you would beg for an IT Manager position. I used to do phone support and I wouldn't go back to that unless I had no other choice.
If you've ever mucked barn stalls, it's not really all that bad, unless it's dried on.
Dried shit does not come off of things very easily, especially if it was pretty wet in the first place.
Holy crap people, has anyone ever been a dishwasher before? That's a crappy job if i've ever had one.
Minimum wage, and slave work. The last 2 dishwashing jobs i've had i lost half my fingerprints and went nearly crazy from being isolated 8 hours a day by the roar of the machine.
Once i had to clean out a fridge that had been on and broken for at least a week. 3 huge turkeys had expanded and escaped from their packaging, leaking blood and oily skin all over. And then there was the fish. I vomited. The mask helped some but sometimes it would come around the seal on my face and the stench would come through.
And you have to do whatever the surly chef tells you to.
The number one problem with IT support is that without users you have no problems...you also don't have a job. So minimize the user threat to the machines.
:)
If you want to keep all of your users in line, be a network Nazi. Use a web proxy and email the usage summaries to department heads. Mail a full summary to the top dog. The top dog will barely glance at it, but if the department heads know it's getting to him they'll definately look...no... stare at it. The result: nobody does anything because they think they're being watched. And trust me, their mind is very limited to cavorting about the internet...and that really is the source of 50% of your problems.
Don't worry proxy settings can be pushed via Group Policy before you close port 80 and 443...etc
Our users' whimsical flights of fancy with various spyware/you name it sites has gone down 99%. And I have the logs to prove it.
As an added bonus, block every outbound port(you should be doing this anyway) except for long-fought battles over services they really need. Even then, limit it to an IP range and put DHCP reservations in to make sure only certain consoles can do anything. Log everything, email to managers as described above.
Don't limit yourself to PCs. Many phone systems have a serial interface that dumps extension used, number dialed, duration of call, number of rings before answer... the list goes on. Use your imagination!
If you've learned anything from M$ or the Bush administration FUD controls people. Issue emails with dire consequences for the most simple idiot user habit. Tie in a $ amount and you're a golden boy.
Congratulations, now you can sit back and tidy up that resume, you may not need it but who the hell wants to be an IT janitor/paramedic/scientist/philosopher/guerilla warrior forever?
That was a joke, but seriously try the reports. I did and I'm so much happier. "software push of spyware removal tools? why? they're too scared to click accept! muwhahhah"
Unless your a doctor of such. In the UK/EU there is a MAXIMUM working week of 48 hours. If you sign a contract that says you will work more (this is legal) then it's your own bloody problem. I refused to sign the last contract that said this. If necessary (and it sometimes is) I will work more than this (I've worked 100 hour weeks when the need arose) but I WILL NOT SIGN AWAY MY RIGHTS.
Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like a banana.
2. That's not my experience, but if someone put me in such a place, I'd go looking elsewhere.
3. Make sure there's a hotline that people know the number for. Make sure someone's manning it. If someone calls your mobile tell them to call the hotline. If they won't, and your manager won't back you up, then you are fscked and may as well leave.
4. Have a backup guy to give 24 hours support. If you can't get the budget, it's a cheapskate outfit and you may as well leave. If you get a support guy, have instigated a procedure of "call the support technician" and they still call you, then leave.
Seriously, if you are an IT manager and have a terrible management structure above you, you really may as well find another job.
I've done IT management in good places and bad places. The good company was a pleasure to work for and we all had fun. The bad company was just horrible and I got the heck out as quick as I could.
When people yelled at me, complained about how the pizza was short on toppings, had too many toppings, was over/under cooked, ect.. Either they got a free pizza, or they got blacklisted in our delivery book.
I never got fired, I never got scolded, we sold pizza, a lot of it, and therefore the 'How' was not as important.
Now i work for a major defense contractor, if even gave a reason for our customers to yell at me... I'd be fired... end of story.
So sometimes being a low paid grease junky is not all that bad.