August 2014 marked my being in the IT field for 20 years! This also means I have not touched a printing press in 20 years. I am fatter, meaner, and more disillusioned than ever.
It is amazing to look back and see all the advancements in IT and computing in general, let alone electronics. Just as amazing is the gulf of misunderstanding of these advancements and the end users that just have to have the latest gadget. It does not matter that they know next to nothing about how to use it, protect it, and get the most use out of these marvels of innovation. As long as they can get it to make noise, flash images at them, collect meaningless points in some game – they are using it. And since every device today is more computer than nearly anything 20 years ago, they are IT professionals. Which means the help I offer at their request is wrong or worse I just don’t get new technology (yes, I was recently told that).
I use to think – no, I used to agree with my elders of the time – that it is IT’s job to educate the masses about the new tools being developed and how to get the most out of them. Now, I couldn’t disagree more. Twenty years ago IT dictated what technology they were expected to support. No one ever asked their IS department how to program their latest gadget, the VCR; or how to use the ATM. Today, any resistance to supporting someone’s iPad on our network, ignoring that we are a Windows shop, is countered with cajoling by the Almighty Tallest; followed-up by “why is it taking so long to get this report done?”
I hate this job. I love the profession but, despise this daily grind which is literally wearing away my ability to care.
The World of Dirk Radar 