It's really strange how IT people (especially support people) are treated by some companies. Thank $DEITY I'm out of support for the most part, but I've had the full gamut of experiences. Being treated like the electrician or the guy who cleans the bathrooms is not good for your self-esteem or morale.
Dealing with some companies can be worse though. My current employer is really pissing me off...the three-month old promise of a raise and promotion is still not here yet. I'm getting married in 2 months, so I can't start a new job *yet* (what company in their right mind gives two weeks' vacation effective your hiring date?:)) but I will be looking elsewhere, preferably in the consulting world. I'm sick of corporate garbage.
OK, first a little background. I graduated from college two years ago with a chemistry degree. Had a great time, learned a lot, but didn't end up going into the chemistry world. While I was working my way through school, my primary job was being a support monkey on the campus help desk. Since we had 30,000 users and a ton of equipment to play with, I learned even more here than I did in my classes. So, when graduation time came around, I decided to go into the computer industry instead. For one, I was better with computers than chemistry, and the money was also much better (entry-level lab techs make about $25K per year).
Now I'm in the computer field, and I see exactly what's happening. I work for a large systems integrator; started out in support and worked into a network admin position. My company doesn't hire the sharpest crayons in the box for entry-level jobs. Most of the people who I work with who did go to college got psych degrees or something similarly non-technical. The company pushes these people through "MCSE-school" and ships them out to the real world. One of the support people I used to know said "I don't really know what I'm doing, but I heard computers are the way to go." Most of these people are definite PHB material, but at least they're getting *some* exposure to technical stuff before becoming our managers.
So, the high-tech people are out there, they just don't have CS degrees. Or a clue in some cases.:)
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It's really strange how IT people (especially support people) are treated by some companies. Thank $DEITY I'm out of support for the most part, but I've had the full gamut of experiences. Being treated like the electrician or the guy who cleans the bathrooms is not good for your self-esteem or morale.
:)) but I will be looking elsewhere, preferably in the consulting world. I'm sick of corporate garbage.
Dealing with some companies can be worse though. My current employer is really pissing me off...the three-month old promise of a raise and promotion is still not here yet. I'm getting married in 2 months, so I can't start a new job *yet* (what company in their right mind gives two weeks' vacation effective your hiring date?
OK, first a little background. I graduated from college two years ago with a chemistry degree. Had a great time, learned a lot, but didn't end up going into the chemistry world. While I was working my way through school, my primary job was being a support monkey on the campus help desk. Since we had 30,000 users and a ton of equipment to play with, I learned even more here than I did in my classes. So, when graduation time came around, I decided to go into the computer industry instead. For one, I was better with computers than chemistry, and the money was also much better (entry-level lab techs make about $25K per year).
:)
Now I'm in the computer field, and I see exactly what's happening. I work for a large systems integrator; started out in support and worked into a network admin position. My company doesn't hire the sharpest crayons in the box for entry-level jobs. Most of the people who I work with who did go to college got psych degrees or something similarly non-technical. The company pushes these people through "MCSE-school" and ships them out to the real world. One of the support people I used to know said "I don't really know what I'm doing, but I heard computers are the way to go." Most of these people are definite PHB material, but at least they're getting *some* exposure to technical stuff before becoming our managers.
So, the high-tech people are out there, they just don't have CS degrees. Or a clue in some cases.