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[–]mysecondone 81 points82 points ago

Sitting at an IT desk right now.. everyone around me has reddit open.

[–][deleted] 15 points16 points ago

Whenever I hear stories like that I wonder why are all those people even coming to do their job anyway? I mean surely you can't work non-stop for 8h straight, but it seems there are lots of people who 'take a break to read internet' more often than they actually do something useful.

[–]Crimeodial 29 points30 points ago

It like being a first responder. Some days there are just no emergencies to deal with.

[–]fixorater 13 points14 points ago

Yeah I keep trying to tell women that working in IT is just as sexy as being a fireman... for some reason it doesn't seem to work.

[–]Esteam 10 points11 points ago

Hey bitch, I risk my life every single day.

Well, uh, sometimes the servers get really hot then we turn them off for an hour or two!

[–]TastyAnimal 0 points1 point ago

Just tell them that you have the power to turn off the internet. Maybe they'll find that sexy. Or terrifying. Or both.

[–]messified[S] 21 points22 points ago

Exactly, if nothing is broken there is nothing to do.

[–][deleted] ago

[deleted]

[–]gech 2 points3 points ago

Okay but I bet you get paid good money. Which I doubt you'll give us an exact figure, but its probably more than I make at my support job.

[–]Zippity7 1 point2 points ago

Does your office function like that of Dilbert's? It's the only way I can imagine IT-related work now, having just finished watching a full season of the animated series without breaks.

[–]Questions0 0 points1 point ago

where can i get a job like this

[–]fapficionado 0 points1 point ago

The night of the 2007 election in my country I sat at my desk waiting for something to go wrong with the election results server (crunching big XML files).

Nothing went wrong.

By midnight I had developed a Perl/JavaScript image upload and crop tool. Still in use today.

But I didn't have Reddit back then.

[–]messified[S] 20 points21 points ago

You'd be surprised how often you come in expecting to work and there is nothing to do. Then you try to find something to do, I mean really try and still nothing. The other day I developed a website for 5 hours for my own enjoyment.

[–]Esteam 5 points6 points ago

You should freelance during your job.

[–]messified[S] 0 points1 point ago

Funny you say that.... I have worked on freelance projects, developed full websites, worked on personal projects, found a new job as a full time web developer and I'm happy to leave this IT job behind.

[–]trav3l3r 0 points1 point ago

Still better than surfing the web all day long. You picked up/used/polished some skills that could come in handy one day. The 5 hours you feel you "wasted" today may save hours in the future or give you better insight into a project later.

[–]---sniff--- 5 points6 points ago

I worked in a control room for a while and the boss loved to see the employees feet on desk reading a newspaper, meant he was making money because everything was working properly.

[–]ass_munch_reborn 2 points3 points ago

Tech work is hard. It is something that you can't do 8 hours straight. Two hours of productive work for me is worth more than 2 days of "eh" work for me. It's just the nature of the industry.

[–]sndzag1 0 points1 point ago

What do you do for a living? I know working on a PC all day (software development, and certainly IT because there isn't always a problem to be solved or something to be worked on) involves a lot of downtime, often waiting for others to finish something before you can continue, or planning something out in your head before putting it to code. You also can't just work full steam on something every single day. Thinking has to take place, especially for programmers, who mull over problems or ideas in their head as they, say, browse reddit.

That seems to be my experience and the experience of others I work with, anyway.

[–]PrimeIntellect 0 points1 point ago

A couple reasons. You need to be fixing emergencies if they do arise, but assuming you aren't a complete moron, or that nobody destroyed your infrastructure, likely most things will be chipping along just fine (especially at smaller less IT focused companies).

However, bosses don't like to hear "I have nothing to do. I'm going home" especially if you want them to give you money. You need to at least appear active, even if it means stretching out projects to absurd lengths.

[–]EvacuateSoul 0 points1 point ago

I work 8 hours a day with at most an hour downtime most days. It's a very busy, demanding hospital. I actually dread the days I spend doing nothing or watching loading bars when doing a reformat/reinstall.

[–]messified[S] 20 points21 points ago

As they should lol

[–]phailcakez 4 points5 points ago

I wonder if some of you "IT" people are just people with a slightly above average knowledge of computers and therefore everyone thinks you're IT, but you're a half step above an office monkey. The IT people I know work fucking HARD at their jobs, and even sometimes from home, on big projects with big ramifications and a lot of stress. I personally know very little about IT, but it seems like some IT people are only IT because everyone else is completely retarded in your workplace. And, downvotes...

[–]greensquares 3 points4 points ago

You get my upvote for bringing up a very valid question. This very much depends on the environment. I used to supervise the service desk at a major university (I moved into engineering) and a lot of the workers I hired really didn't have that much more competence than the general student body that I was hiring from. The main thing that I looked for in a service desk employee (basically tier one support, as we do escalation for obvious reasons) would be learning capability and people skills. I needed someone that could learn our management systems FAST (especially when we ended up with high turnover) and could deal with the pressure of interacting with faculty that may or may not know anything about anything. Technical skills were of course preferred but were secondary to that, as we have people in engineering whose job it is to make it easier for the service desk to manage user experience and such.

I've actually been thinking of doing an AMA on the subject but it seems like threads like this are so few and far between...

[–]Sir_Derpsworth 0 points1 point ago

I actually work one of those university jobs in a helpdesk. I did an AMA on it a few weeks ago. Kind a few good questions, but generally I sit around, goof off on reddit and facebook and occasionally do low level tech related jobs. I agree with Greensquares completely on the fact that while I had technical knowledge to begin with, the majority of my job involves 'customer service' skills. Either way though, I make a (shitty) paycheck and just generally chill out for the couple hours I work a week.

[–]Sir_Derpsworth 0 points1 point ago

Also, I JUST got back from a service call just now. Woman couldn't figure out why her new wireless mouse wasn't working when she plugged it in and the computer said everything installed correctly. I asked if she had put any batteries in it. Her reply:

"I didn't know wireless mice needed batteries."

I officially now have answered the most quoted and joked about tech call in existence.

[–]katatonos 0 points1 point ago

My boss is the reason for my reddit obsession.

[–]Dlax8 0 points1 point ago

Stupid Question, but it has to be asked, do you ever laugh at the same time because you saw the same post?

[–]DUBd 22 points23 points ago

IT Job + Work From Home = Reddit + Netflix + Games

I only work maybe three hours out of the day. Once I have at least 10-15 tickets resolved for that day im pretty much done and not really expected to do anything else. I have my 2 week performance review bi-weekly and i always have way more work completed then anyone else... so i guess im doing something right.

[–]ward85 13 points14 points ago

Either that or they Reddit even more than you do...

[–]TenBeers 7 points8 points ago

Yeah, I clock out after about 3 tickets. This guy is making us look real bad, pumping out 15 tickets a day. He's gonna ruin it for the rest of us.

[–]GrumpyBear78 0 points1 point ago

wtf you guys do tickets?

[–]Kvothe24 6 points7 points ago

This is what confuses me. I know that I sit here and reddit half the day, and I'm still getting the same amount of work done that anyone else here is getting done working all day. I don't know how it is possible that I'm that much faster at them at this job.

Note: I don't work in IT.

[–]the_raptor 5 points6 points ago*

That would be due to you being competent at your job and your co-workers not being competent.

It is easy to "work hard" at something and achieve almost nothing. Unfortunately most manageers reward the incompetents who are at their desks for 10-12 hours a day over those who can do the work in 4 hours.

[–]Kvothe24 1 point2 points ago

I know I work with a bunch of idiots, but I don't know how it can take them this long to do this work. Oh well, that must be it, I can't think of anything else, unless they're just redditing as much as me, which I highly doubt.

[–]dermanus 3 points4 points ago

I suspect efficiency has something to do with it. I get things done faster because I'm capable of automating repetitive tasks and teaching myself short-cuts for the stuff I can't automate.

Then there's my boss who prints out an email and calls a meeting to read it to everyone.

[–]discworldian 2 points3 points ago

I used to work in first-line support and asked this exact same question (why am I doing 1/3rd of all the work in a team of 12, and later, how come I am doing all the work in this supposedly busy job and I have time for these 3 side projects) - he told me that a) I work faster than the average worker and b) I don't have a shitty work attitude.

Most people fall in category B.

[–]Androecian 6 points7 points ago

How do I get a job like this? What certifications/degrees do you have? How long does it take to get them?

[–]DUBd 0 points1 point ago

Honestly, it was fairly simple. I completed a 2 year Certificate Computer Systems Technology course which allowed me to get accepted into an additional 2 Year Degree course, Bachelors of Applied Information Systems Technology. The first year was a full class load and now the second year, which I am currently still enrolled in, requires me to complete 8 months of work experience at a legit company with a legit salary. So it was up to me, with some help from my instructor, to find a job at the beginning of September. They actually called me because my instructor had sent them my resume. Job Title: Application Support Analyst

Now I'm making 45k a year while still enrolled in college working towards my Degree.

Whats interesting is that other people I work with in the same position got the job without even completing their 2 year Certificate course. They actually dropped out but were still hired. Soft Skills are important.

[–]artieman 1 point2 points ago

Tim?

[–]DUBd 0 points1 point ago

Dave?

[–]artieman 0 points1 point ago

Nope

[–]n1c0_ds 0 points1 point ago

That takes a weight off my shoulders right here. I think I've only worked a 30 hour wee once.

[–]DUBd 1 point2 points ago

Sharing the guilt definitely helps.

[–]cdlrosa 17 points18 points ago

I wish. How many coworkers do you have?

I have 1.

2 desktop support guys, in a company with 500 users. That's 250 people per desktop guy.

It would be nice if all I had to deal with her software updates, but no. I have to roll out new hardware every month, I have to update our images on a monthly basis. I have all sorts of stuff flying at me, EVERY DAMN DAY.

So, yeah. My job is more 40% work, 60% reddit :)

[–]Kvothe24 7 points8 points ago

I think it's this way for our IT guy, too. There are 3 of them for a huge 3 story office building full of people. Seems like he's going around dealing with BS problems a lot.

[–][deleted] 1 point2 points ago

2 of us at our workplace. 1200 users and 400 workstations.

[–][deleted] 14 points15 points ago

Installation progress bars and subreddits, yup, sounds about right.

[–]messified[S] 4 points5 points ago

Backup/format computer = 3 hours of reddit lulz

[–]nasamuffin 0 points1 point ago

Code compiling... launching to target.... either it's time for a coffee break, or it's time to see what the Internet has to say today, and I've already had two cups of coffee.

[–]TNTCLRAPE 8 points9 points ago

This is pretty accurate, my day is 10% work, 90% reddit, unless there's a deadline rapidly approaching at the company I work at.

[–]aves2k 12 points13 points ago

I had that and made really good money at it but honestly it got boring quick. I ended up taking a new job which has a lot more responsibility and requires a lot more effort but it feels good to go home at the end of the day knowing that you actually earned a living and were intellectually challenged.

[–]messified[S] 6 points7 points ago

Yes I agree, I've found a new job as well and I can't wait to start.

[–]just_lurkin_here 19 points20 points ago

Well, that was quick!

[–]burdalane 1 point2 points ago

I think I'd rather make good money for little effort than have a job with more responsibility that requires more effort, unless the latter pays much better.

[–]aves2k 1 point2 points ago

Different strokes I guess. The upside is that the new job actually does pay a good deal more than I was making but I didn't know that when I was pursuing the opportunity. I thought it was going to be about equal.

[–]Onironaute 6 points7 points ago

Okay so... how does one get into IT.

[–]nasamuffin 1 point2 points ago

I'll share my situation - in middle school I started dicking around with Linux. In high school I applied to the nearby university's help desk - I had an in with the upper manager...... - and did quite well at my interview, citing Linux/programming knowledge and experience. Then, 1.5 years later, went to school for computer engineering and never looked back.

Tech support.... good for a while. Maybe not forever. Soulcrushing and stressful, every day. I'm so glad I got out.... (Sorry everyone...)

[–]rotORriot 4 points5 points ago

Are there any tech/IT related sub reddits that have ever helped you in your job?

[–]propool 0 points1 point ago

[–]Trebek007 0 points1 point ago

[–][deleted] 2 points3 points ago

I'm in IT, and I can tell you right now I am not a professional of Reddit.

[–]neffstatic 3 points4 points ago

Peter Gibbons: Yeah, I just stare at my desk but it looks like I'm working. I do that for uh, probably another hour after lunch, too. I'd say in a given week I probably only do about fifteen minutes of real, actual, work.

[–]trav3l3r 3 points4 points ago

I have been in the IT field for nearly 30 years. I work with a lot of "younger" (early - mid 20's) professionals.. When we are not actively working on a project we do have some slack time. We have a few folks that spend that time surfing sports pages, reddit, etc...We have a few that spend that time working on their college degrees, various IT certifications, or doing the scut work that keeps getting put off (updating diagrams and documentation, etc). Guess which ones will have good jobs in the IT field 5 or 10 years from now...Guess which ones will be bitching about how unfair the IT field is and how the only way to get promoted is to be a suck up.

I have never worked in a shop where there is absolutely nothing that needs done and where surfing Reddit is the best possible use of your time..

I am not talking about the folks that spend a few minutes a day checking the front page, the news or even facebook...Everyone needs a break and you are generally more productive if you get one. I am talking about the folks that spend the entire day surfing the web.

My $0.02..Let the downvotes begin.

[–]ass_munch_reborn 46 points47 points ago*

Uhhhhhhh.......

You know your job is going away soon, right?

You should be working on your skills, automating shit, going into a field you are interested in (e.g. finance), and doing stuff for them in the guise of your work. "Oh, you need a VBA macro for your Access database? I can whip something up in my spare time." No one says no to free help.

Or, you should go to your boss and say - "hey, in my spare time, I would like to experiment with a new problem tracking system".

Fuck, you should be building an android app (either for the company or yourself) right now.

You should be building up skills - because tech support is dying. BYOD (Bring your own device), cloud computing, and just computers getting cheaper and cheaper means internal IT is withering away. If your job involves helping people with Firefox updates, and you work for a company that cares about efficiency, then your job will go away.

And you'll be the first in line to bitch and moan and corporations being heartless, when, you really control your own destiny.

Note - if you work for the government - fuck it. Reddit all day and ignore my advice.

EDIT - for those that can't read or don't get how organizations work: I will repeat it. " internal IT is withering away" - meaning that inside a corporation, the internal IT departments for non tech corporations will shrink. I am not saying IT will whither away. I am distinguishing a group (the IT division of a company), from the actually IT vertical (Information Technology as a portion of the economy). I am kind of shocked that I have to spell that out to people.

[–]log1k 47 points48 points ago

Stupid people don't go away. IT jobs are pretty secure in my opinion.

[–]DastardlyBarnacle 13 points14 points ago

Right, but using "IT jobs" as an all-encompassing term is dangerous. Surely reddit doesn't want to hear this, but knowing how to update Java and install some RAM doesn't secure your job like a qualified sysadmin or engineer. End-user support is a dime a dozen business, and the market is becoming quickly saturated. Your A+ cert isn't going to help you when companies are looking to cut costs and/or outsource resources.

I don't think ass_much_reborn is saying that you can expect your job to be gone tomorrow. He's saying that you shouldn't expect job security with internal desktop support, and I agree. If you do nothing all day, why not see it as an opportunity to learn and pick up new skills? You're getting paid to do it, and it's not like you're wasting any time you didn't have before.

[–]log1k 0 points1 point ago

I agree. All the A+ cert lets you do is work for Futureshop or staples, etc.. But it's also pretty much required as a bare minimum (or so my teachers say) if you want to get hired anywhere else. Of course, you'd still need to have more certs than just that.

[–]Slayer706 0 points1 point ago

All the A+ cert lets you do is work for Futureshop or staples, etc..

You don't even need A+ to work in the GeekSquad or at Staples. Those positions are more sales oriented.

But it's also pretty much required as a bare minimum (or so my teachers say) if you want to get hired anywhere else.

It is put on job advertisements, but it is rarely a requirement if you have relevant work experience. If you already have work experience and you aren't trying to get a certification that requires A+ as a per-requisite, you can pretty much skip it.

[–]master5hake 0 points1 point ago

TLDR - Format Monkeys Beware!

[–]ass_munch_reborn 8 points9 points ago

Nope. You will always need some people, but not nearly what it once was.

Device machines (limited functionality with quick fixes like re-installing) are proliferating, and remote administration, cloud computing, and companies outsourcing their support to corporations are causing IT support to shrink.

My fortune 50 company does not have dedicated IT support. They have laptop contracts that go to a centralize support team in Dell or Lenovo. They pretty much ship you a disc image or a new part. No one comes over and sits at your computer anymore.

In the 90s, you would have to have a dedicated PC repairmen around. Now, PCs are dirt cheap, and it's just cheaper to get a new laptop than to repair anything.

People are more tech savvy as well.

The days of getting A+ certification and getting a good job are over. IT departments.

Essentially, if someone starts new in PC support, they are no longer a 50K a year job. They are a $12/hour job. And those jobs are tougher to come by.

My source? Me. 12 years in Silicon Valley working in tech and now managing products being sold to IT departments. Seeing a whole bunch of people who got laid off who didn't realize that jobs were being automated away or that scales of effeciency were making their return on investment nearly 0. This included "HTML Programmer", "PC technicians", and "manual testers".

[–]Azuvector 1 point2 points ago

The days of getting A+ certification and getting a good job are over.

Were there ever days like these, Dotcom bubble aside? A+ is a joke, just some vague proof that you're meeting some bare bones minimum baseline of competence, always has been.

[–]Daakuryu 1 point2 points ago

That's the reason our IT department (Just me and my boss really) don't put a lot of effort in Tech Support and get our users to buy pre-built dell boxes with service plans. We focus on internal software creation, db maintenance and bug creation (mostly my boss for that one.)

[–]veggiedealer 2 points3 points ago

i trust ass munch reborn. he's got my vote

[–]GrumpyBear78 0 points1 point ago

yup

[–]GrumpyBear78 4 points5 points ago

dammm some guy sent you a message and he deleted it. :( vashi I think was his name. oh well. I had a great response for him:

I guess it all depends on the level of IT you are in.

with more and more thin clients being deployed, there's less of "techs" needed.

everything ... almost is being on the cloud. it's not per say that all the admins will go away but it's just that we won't have a huge need for them anymore once pure automation and thin clients are in full swing. Right now, we are just touching the ice berg.

One of the companies I know had a FULL IT staff, cost $1.1 mil per year with 22 admins. One guy introduced thin clients, cloud storage, virtual systems, blah blah blah... and in short. There's only 1 admin left. and he only works 2x a month. that guy... me. :)

[–]ass_munch_reborn 1 point2 points ago

Exactly! This is the wave of the future.

[–]gech 1 point2 points ago

You're the job killer that everyone is talking about.

[–]GrumpyBear78 1 point2 points ago*

no... I'm the guy who figured it out before anyone else did.

but yes... something like that. it wasn't intentional, it was the way of the future. like you technology, you gotta keep up or be like a Dec Alpha. (which we don't use anymore, I have no clue how old you are).

now you know why I am grump... I'm also putting myself out of a job too. =\

[–]Esea 0 points1 point ago

I know it's not an "apples to apples" comparison, but as a support rep (customer service/tech support, ie. phone monkey), I have to agree.

[–]punt_the_dog_0 1 point2 points ago

i think it's also important to consider the idea that right now, society is going through the biggest changes it has ever seen. We (20 year old speaking) are the first generation to really grow up with technology integrated into most parts of every day life.

sure, right now there are people who don't know what a firefox update is. and sure, there always will be at least some people who are just fuckin clueless when it comes to technology. but in the future, when a majority of the people in the workforce have grown up with technology and used it on a daily basis their entire lives, i feel like this situation will be a little different, and IT jobs as we know them today could possibly be streamlined out of the picture.

[–]MagicTarPitRide 1 point2 points ago

Worked for a large company that got rid of almost all IT people and outsourced the job to India where they had remote desktop access and phone service. Those jobs aren't safe.

[–]MagicTarPitRide 1 point2 points ago

Worked for a large company that got rid of almost all IT people and outsourced the job to India where they had remote desktop access and phone service. Those jobs aren't safe.

[–]Chubbstock 6 points7 points ago

You had a downvote all the way until that last bit. I've been in govt. IT positions since I was 18 (25 now) and I can tell you, there's really nothing else to do.

[–]phailcakez 5 points6 points ago

"If your job involves helping people with Firefox updates, and you work for a company that cares about efficiency, then your job will go away."

YES.

I'm amazed at people thinking they are IT professionals and this is the shit they "do". Are you serious? Fuck it, I'm an IT professional now too, because I can use 3 different browsers and figure out how to format a Word document and CC people on email and unjam the printer! If you pay me extra I will upgrade your video drivers too! Whee! I'm pro-sauce.

Also, I can convert web pages to PDFs. It's my #1 qualification for life.

[–]PopeJohnPaulII 2 points3 points ago

I'm glad someone said it. There is ALWAYS work to do. Take the initiative and find it. I worked at a job for six month as a UNIX sysadmin where there was "nothing to do". Six months wasted. Now not completely wasted since I can look back on it now and realize my mistakes, but six months is still a long time to spend figuring out something so simple. Now, that isn't to say NO REDDIT at work. I'm at work right now. But stop spending all day on Reddit. Learn something new. Your bosses will take notice, even the dumb ones.

[–]CR00KS 2 points3 points ago

Please for the love of god don't tell me this. I'm majoring in IT(and it's a university level in one of the top business schools, not that devry bullshit) and fear finding a job since I know it's being outsourced. I'm still learning more and more about this major but besides internal support, what else does IT include? Isn't IT a wide range of things like support, management, and even developing new ideas for the engineers to create? I beg of you to answer me.

[–]hideinplainsight 2 points3 points ago

Absolutely.

I would say management, design, and automation are what you should be focused on. Become specialized in Scripting, VMs, "cloud computing", SANs etc. You will always be in demand.

The industry is shifting from clicking "next" and waiting for a menu on each machine, to remotely managing an environment with just a small staff.

[–]CR00KS 1 point2 points ago

Awesome! I was worried there for a second because I've followed the general consensus that IT only involves support (similar to how people believe accounting only involves writing income statements) so I wasn't completely 100% sure, nice to know IT is a wide range of things.

[–]trav3l3r 0 points1 point ago

I agree with hideinplainsight..There is little to no future in end-user support. In addition to the fields that were mentioned also think about security. Security is getting more money and more attention every day and is unlikely to go away any time soon.

[–]CR00KS 1 point2 points ago

Isn't security more of a computer science field, specifically information assurance?

[–]trav3l3r 0 points1 point ago

yes...and no. I was thinking firewall admin, Asim, etc

[–]CR00KS 1 point2 points ago

Ah well you were correct though, I forgot that CS is generally the ones that create the software while IT maintains it.

[–]ass_munch_reborn 0 points1 point ago

This is exactly right.

[–]GregoireStFrancis 1 point2 points ago

I think you're absolutely right in suggesting that people make better use of their "spare" work time to acquire new skills, but I don't see IT disappearing in the foreseeable.

I work in a pretty tech savvy industry (vidya games), but no way could we get by without our dedicated IT support.

[–]GrumpyBear78 0 points1 point ago

I guess it all depends on the level of IT you are in.

with more and more thin clients being deployed, there's less of "techs & admins" needed.

everything ... almost is being on the cloud. it's not per say that all the admins will go away but it's just that we won't have a huge need for them anymore once pure automation and thin clients are in full swing. Right now, we are just touching the ice berg.

One of the companies I know had a FULL IT staff, cost $1.1 mil per year with 22 admins. One guy introduced thin clients, cloud storage, virtual systems, blah blah blah... and in short. There's only 1 admin left. and he only works 2x a month. that guy... me. :)

[–]nosfe 2 points3 points ago

You lost me at "e.g. finance". I have no idea why anybody would find "finance" interesting other than financial reasons.

[–]behemebash 2 points3 points ago

Ok, I'll buy what you're selling because I'm seeing it too. I just recently graduated & got an IT support job. I'm seeing that things seem to be leaning towards cloud computing and BYOD. I feel my current job is relatively safe, but I'm more worried about being able to advance. I know I don't want to stay at this level for the rest of my life. I enjoy working in support because I genuinely enjoy helping people. I also enjoy finding creative tech solutions for problems. I hate writing code though. So, now, what would you recommend doing to move away from this type of job?

[–]subl1m1nal 4 points5 points ago

I disagree. Certain industries will always need IT people. Especially regulated industries like health care and financial institutions.

That and somebody needs to figure out how to make BYOD work consistently. What happens when somebody bring in Windows XP home edition and they expect it to work perfectly in a domain environment. Or they take their computer home and get viruses. Who's going to clean it off?

[–]petedawes 5 points6 points ago

My company does IT for systems closely tied to food service. Spent half an hour trying to explain the difference between the windows login and the application login to someone today before I gave up, webexed in and signed in for them. Being completely computer illiterate is the industry standard for food service.

And in general this guy is just wrong. Every office has computers in it and the people who use those computers cannot be expected to maintain them, IT is not "going away."

[–]subl1m1nal 4 points5 points ago

My point exactly. As long as there is technology, there will be IT. It's sad, but there are still computer illiterate people out there.

[–]lolmunkies 6 points7 points ago

Of course industries will always need IT workers. The point is that they don't need as many as they currently hire. Just take an objective look at OP's post. If someone is literally just spending an hour out of his entire work day doing actual work, that's 7 hours worth of pay a company is pissing away. Companies simply aren't going to keep flushing money down the drain. It's easier and cheaper to simply cut IT staff, or outsource.

But if you want to look at it a different way, OP's company could simply outsource his job to a firm, and pay that firm quadruple OP's salary. OP's company would still half its total costs.

And I'm sure, OP is exaggerating to an extent, but if you have your IT workforce pissing away their day, there are cheaper alternatives.

[–]aghaiz 2 points3 points ago

Well said

I came on working in IT at a hospital. Besides me and my supervisor (who does nothing IT releated) I'm pretty much the only support. We do outsource for our engineering needs which does save money. It makes more sense having me on hand to handle simple stuff and only call our engineer in when shit hits the fan rather than pay and engineer to reddit all day.

[–]GrumpyBear78 1 point2 points ago

it's called thin clients. no cd rooms. you can't install win xp home edition. :)

[–]LeonardWashington 0 points1 point ago

I completely agree - but I also know that people who think like this are in the minority. Good for us, eh ?

I have ~6 years of professional experience since college, but it's always been in a capacity where I am deeply involved with the servers, AD and so much more on top of desktops. The past few years it is straight up Admin/Engineer roles.

It's still odd to be in your late 20's and reading resumes for people with 14-20 years of experience, who will be lower on the totem pole than you at your job...

[–]sharkoman 0 points1 point ago

That's highly dependent on your industry. I work in IT for TV/entertainment and the amount of work for support people is astounding. Almost everything nowadays is done on a computer or with something that needs a network connection.

[–]shenpen 1 point2 points ago*

In certain fields of IT there is an opposite process going on, internalization of formerly external services i.e. consulting.

I worked as a Navision (Microsoft Dynamics NAV ERP) consultant for consulting companies for 9 years and then hired to an end-user company, because the whole logic of consulting is so that you just cannot do a decent job as an external consultant and end-user companies are getting sick of it and hiring consultants as employees.

For example, accountant dude at end-user company needs to have automated a specific kind of report or accounting process as he is sick off working overtime doing the same thing manually all over. Writes a rough specification. Contacts consulting company. Consulting companies comes in, tells him to stuff his spec up his ass, it is their job to analyse business processes and propose a solution. Fine, asks the accountant dude, how much will that analysis cost? Well let's estimate 2 days at $800 a day. Accountant dude goes to the CEO (we are assuming a fairly small company say 100 people). CEO says WHAT? Should I pay $1600 for no real job done just a piece of paper being written? NO WAY! Project gets shelved, accountant dude suffers for another 3 months. Consulting company has not enough sales in the meantime. Need to get money in the door, so they stop playing smartass business analyst and just accept the customer's spec for the programming. They give an offer for the development. 3 days, $2400. They give the offer to the accountant dude. He gives it to the CEO. It takes 3 weeks to convice the CEO to accept it. Do we really need it? It is costing money, we need to be cost conscious! Whatever. Finally he accepts it. They do the development. Accountant dude realizes this is totally not what he needed. After all he is not a business analyst. They need to program it differently Consulting company says gleefully fine that is a request for change, not in the original offer, 2 days, $1600. Accounting dude goes to the CEO. CEO doesn't understand the problem. He doesn't use ERP and doesn't like using computers much. His opinion is this company said they will do the job for $2400 they will have to do it for that money, he is not paying extra, in fact he is not paying anything until everything works properly! (Not as specified, but as it is actually good, until accounting guy is satsified. After if he has to spend money to get accounting guy satisfied then he is not paying that bill until he is satisfied.) Consulting company refuses to do any more work until they are paid. Stalemate. Job never really gets done. Everybody is mad at each other.

And this is beginning to be more and more well-known that this sort of external IT / ERP consulting thing just doesn't work. This way at least doesn't.

Now how it works with the internal consultant / programmer, myself, an employee? Accounting dude comes to me. Explains problem. I offer a solution. I don't give any estimate, no need to I have a fixed salary. I just do it by next day because that 3 days they estimated was for making money, not because it actually takes 3 days. Accounting dude realizes it is not entirely what he needed. He comes to me again. OK. In 2 days problem is solved. No other costs than my fixed salary, entirely plannable. Accounting guy is happy within 3 days. My salary for that 3 days was much less than their offer. And pretty much every day something gets solved. And nobody is mad at nobody.

This is just obviously better... and they are beginning to realize it.

[–]Fett2 0 points1 point ago

I've never had an IT job with that much free time. I've always worked for small companies though.

[–]bloodflart 2 points3 points ago

Can someone please tell me where I can get a job like this? I'm fine with being bored all day, in fact I embrace it.

[–]messified[S] 2 points3 points ago

Almost any job that requires an in-house IT Tech

[–]mig-san 0 points1 point ago

What qualifications do you need?

[–]deadboydetective 2 points3 points ago

I can't figure out why Chrome won't accept my php header redirect on one page (works on others, same basic code) so here I am...reddit is always the prefect break from IT

[–]messified[S] 1 point2 points ago

Make sure the php redirect is above all other code. Literally line 1

[–]deadboydetective 1 point2 points ago

have definitely tried that, ugh. It's been four hours of bullshit over here..the redirect works perfectly on FF, Safari, but not chrome...tried everything google/stack overflow had to offer

[–]messified[S] 0 points1 point ago

can you paste the code here, have you checked the htaccess file?

[–]Dontinquire 10 points11 points ago

Redditor makes thread saying IT jobs = reddit all day, later does IT work in the thread.

[–]messified[S] 2 points3 points ago

This doesn't count as IT, this is coding; Infinitely more fun than IT in my mind.

[–]exSD 0 points1 point ago

Post the relevant code.

[–]Rasta84 0 points1 point ago

Try using ob_start() at the top of the page then ob_end_flush(). Not 100% on end flush syntax but this may fix your issue

[–]messified[S] 4 points5 points ago

Time to get back to work .... Installing Skype on 7 computers :-|

[–]jay4523 3 points4 points ago

Your job really does sound awesome...if you're paid decently.

[–]mig-san 0 points1 point ago

Hell, it'd be awesome to be paid almost anything to just install stuff.

[–]greensquares 1 point2 points ago

You'd think so but it's really hell.

[–]xorn 6 points7 points ago

Use group policy. Its designed to do things like that.

[–]messified[S] 0 points1 point ago

Good call

[–]lowScore 0 points1 point ago

How do you go about getting an IT job like this? What type of requirements are there? Is the pay okay? Sorry if you already answered this somewhere else in the thread. I'm a college senior looking into jobs and IT was always something I thought I would be interested in.

[–]zach2093 1 point2 points ago

More like "I spend my day on Reddit." and will wait for the rest.

[–]CaterpillarKillr 1 point2 points ago

Truer words have never been spoken. When I'm not in school, I work as an IT Consultant. Most of my day involves either A) sitting in traffic driving to/from a client or B) browsing reddit and clicking "Next" on some prompt every few minutes.

Love my job, though. It can be boring, but you just gotta keep a positive attitude.

[–]Androecian 1 point2 points ago

How do I get a job like this? What certifications/degrees do you have? How long does it take to get them?

[–]CaveWitch -1 points0 points ago

Where I used to work I used to have to worry about getting assaulted and pissed on by confused patients. I would LOVE to have a job where I only had to worry about getting asked stupid questions.

[–]retrothomas 1 point2 points ago

Pretty much, yep. The more "on top of things" I am the more time I have to spend on Reddit, so interestingly the better I am at my job the less I have to do.

[–]rhfs 0 points1 point ago

I do tech support part time and I'm already convinced that I don't want to work in this field after I graduate from school. The work is easy and pays well, but it's so fucking boring. In fact, I'm at work as I write this post.

[–]GrumpyBear78 0 points1 point ago

you and everyone other redditor. :)

[–]Willie_Main 0 points1 point ago

For this very reason I'm actually quitting my job and trying something else. I've been a professional Redditor for about a year and a half and it has recently gotten on my nerves.

[–]Crimeodial 0 points1 point ago

Maybe a decent IT job. Mine involves a lot of that for the firs 3 dad of the week as I have nothing to do, then thursday and Friday are absolute hell because 5 different managers have programs they never bothered mentioning to you that just be done by the end the week. With no overtime.

Last Thursday I had 135 laptops delivered at 4 PM.

[–]leogeo2 1 point2 points ago

checks the todo list

Yup. Everything looks done. Time to check reddit.

[–]log1k 0 points1 point ago

I look forward to this industry I will be entering in the next couple of months :D

[–]AkwardTurtle 1 point2 points ago

Web Developer here... doing the same thing...but i have actual work to do.... oh well it could wait till tomorrow

[–]jgoodf 0 points1 point ago

Got 4 calls today, entered 5 tickets, looked at over 500+ reddit links.

Win

[–]alphastryk 0 points1 point ago

You're kidding, right? I work in IT for 8+ hours solid most days, with a lot of 24/7 support.

More serious note: To be fair, this is at an IT company, I can imagine IT within a company would be different.

[–]Cause_Fuck_Spelling 0 points1 point ago

as an IT i can confirm this, also i must add that having my own office with a door and a permanent workaround of the works web filter, there is no 5 minute period where reddit isn't open on one of my screens, also there is no NSFW link un-purpled

[–]ENGL3R 0 points1 point ago

IT goes way beyond computer help. Shitty job translated = professional redditor.

[–]Strivus -1 points0 points ago

I honestly pity you. I could not stand a day where I do little work, the day would pass too slow and would probably quit. I love my hectic job, the rush you get when you complete several important tasks before a deadline all the while planning a flexible schedule so that if something more important pops up, you are ready to handle it.

It's utterly glorious.

[–]burdalane 0 points1 point ago

I either pity you or am mystified by you. Your job sounds exhausting.

[–]Daakuryu 0 points1 point ago

I'm more in the middle on this; I like being busy to a certain extent but I also enjoy having a few lulls in my day to relax, read a few posts and think.

Plus I prefer being busy with projects rather than support so it really is a matter of what you are doing and why.

[–]Vusocool 0 points1 point ago

lol! Hurrah for the technically challenged giving jobs =D

[–]BreeMPLS 0 points1 point ago

UX job translated = put the buttons where people will see them; spend rest of day facebooking about this weekend's party.

[–]DrProv 1 point2 points ago

25 calls, 66 pages of neverending Reddit, 3 hours left - better grab my waders, I`m going to be trudging through /new

[–]boxxa 0 points1 point ago

When you work at a computer all day, its a nice break to split up the day and between tasks

[–]justanotherwiseass 0 points1 point ago

It seems so at times. At least I never struggle to get up for work in the morning like i did before finishing school working retail.

[–]tyrannosaw 0 points1 point ago

dude, don't blow this sweet deal for all of us

[–]Tyrien 0 points1 point ago

To be fair, I've had to go ask if I can hit the update button. I know exactly what it does, but I've been bitched at for doing it without asking the manager/IT first.

[–]Kvothe24 1 point2 points ago

I'm not in IT but I spend a considerable amount of my work day on reddit. Sometimes I get a little worried, but no one's said anything yet crosses fingers and keeps redditing

Sounds like I need to get into IT.

[–]Scriptonaut 0 points1 point ago

I'm a web-developer, who also does a lot of IT stuff for my department. A minimum of my 90% of my day is spent on reddit. In fact, I'm at work right now.

[–]evilGUI 0 points1 point ago

IT. People that get paid to be moderately intelligent.

[–]Daakuryu 0 points1 point ago

It's more than moderate intelligence, sure the example OP posted happens a lot but often it's all about breaking everything down and figuring out what's broken.

For example, when a user calls me with a weird error I've never seen before and the boss just shrugs and goes "No clue man." I sometimes have to pull up the old devs machine and go through the section where they are getting that error line by line in code that was written 10-15 years ago to figure out what the error is talking about and what the user could have possibly done to trigger it.

Even when I was doing tech support for an internet service provider the job was to listen, communicate well enough to figure out exactly what the person is experiencing, and guide them to a fix in a way they can understand.

[–]MrFilth 0 points1 point ago

Or Google the error and get the solution in 2 seconds flat.

[–]Daakuryu 0 points1 point ago

wrong, googling "subscript Out of range" for example only tells me that an array or recordset is being used outside its range. it doesn't tell me where and why.

I'm not dealing with commercial software either; this thing was built in house 2-3 predecessors ago.

[–]MrFilth 0 points1 point ago*

I realised that, I was just being facetious, but most IT support jobs, you can just google the errors, most of them just look at a troubleshooting list, well, the ones I've dealt with over the phone anyway.

The worst problems we get at my workplace is someone getting a friggin' virus because they have no basic computer awareness skills. otherwise I just Reddit the day way, and my life.

[–]Daakuryu 0 points1 point ago

Yeah I love those too, especially when their local tech tells them "There's no virus/malware, it's a problem with your head office." Then I remote in and the AV is disabled due to the virus circumventing access to it, the process list is a mile long, a simple right click takes half an hour and trying to go download any free antivirus off the web is met with redirection to unsavory web sites.

You're absolutely right tech guy, accessing basic windows functions and internet pages is all controlled through head office... -_- lazy dumb-asses.

[–]Kvothe24 1 point2 points ago

Did you say you're in IT? hey bro can you help me with my computer

[–]messified[S] -1 points0 points ago

haha what seems to be the problem sir?

[–]bengalfan 0 points1 point ago

My company just blocked reddit..now what?

[–]TeenageGranpa 0 points1 point ago

I'm currently switching jobs from an IT support role (2 days a week, all of it spent on reddit) to a programming gig doing PHP and Python... i couldn't be more excited to do something that has an actual goal. And for the record my role at my current job is maintaining my bosses 2 torrenting machines so he can download porn and pay me to ignore it. I hate that place.

[–]LukeOfHazzard 0 points1 point ago

In IT at a university. I might sit idle for 8 hours one day, then get a simple trouble call and it turns into an 8 hours job. Its not a job for someone who cannot amuse them self, but it's not for someone who cannot stand idle hands either.

[–]Androecian 0 points1 point ago

How do I get a job like this? What certifications/degrees do you have? How long does it take to get them?

[–]messified[S] -1 points0 points ago

Honestly experience is the key, I have no certifications or a degree related to this field. I started by reading an A+ book to learn the fundamentals then did the freelance thing fixing computers and what not. Got a job working for a small PC repair shop, then expanded to Windows Server stuff and the rest is history.

[–]pantisflyhand 0 points1 point ago

No one at my last place realized the benefit of productivity a second monitor can give, until we had the extra monitors laying around. One morning I came in, plopped one on all the IT desks and told them to try it. Work on one screen and reddit on the other.

Do something, while it is loading / applying / etc. look at reddit. Less boredom more work output.

[–]ibasawstealth 0 points1 point ago

Why is this a problem?

This sounds like the greatest job in the world. Surf Reddit, get paid. Use that money for poker, stocks, investments, vacation trips, parties, drugs.

[–]sixout 0 points1 point ago

They blocked reddit at my job today. :(

[–]antilyon 0 points1 point ago

As a freelancer programmer, no. I do have the urge to open it again and again, but I know that if I don't get my shit done and update my knowledge during my worktime, I'll be past in no time.

[–]anduin1 0 points1 point ago

I want a job like that.

[–]pancakehiatt 1 point2 points ago

r/DAE

[–]ebob9 0 points1 point ago

Productivity Consultant = Reddit Web Filter

[–]minno 0 points1 point ago

You're being paid to be available in case you need to work, not just to work. So keep your alt-tab ready.

[–]windybiscuit 0 points1 point ago

In my last position at my company I worked as a remote support tech for the IT help desk, and my day-to-day was much as OP described -- with a healthy dose of Pandora and tech blogs thrown in.

And then my position was eliminated. Now, I work 12-hour shifts on rotation in the Operations Center, putting out fires and yelling at service engineers in Bangalore. It's a wonder some days that I can even get up from my desk to take a leak. Shit, I barely had enough time to finish this comm

[–]Probably_Your_Boss 1 point2 points ago

Hmm...last time I checked, using reddit wasn't part of my IT department's job description. But I'll let you convince me of it's benefits tomorrow morning.

[–]messified[S] 1 point2 points ago

If you're commenting on Reddit you already know the benefits :)

[–]Probably_Your_Boss 1 point2 points ago

Fair enough.

Carry on then.

[–]Knitler 0 points1 point ago

Wish my IT job was that easy, and all I do it run a Help Desk. I leave every day mentally drained, and wanting to pull my hair out, just to then find out that the users think I'm bad at my job.

Well if thats a case then you not knowing how to open an excel plug-in or the software you need for you job makes THEM bad at their job, I spend most my week trying to show a person HOW to use a laptop and how to hook up a god damn projector because for a "cutting edge web advertising company" we hire the DUMBEST FUCKS on the planet. I give the place 7 years of my life and I get shit every day. Fuck IT.

[–]Hiphoppington 0 points1 point ago

I can confirm this is the case, though I also play videogames too.

[–]XCygon 0 points1 point ago

shit you caught me. ಠ_ಠ

[–]hornytoad69 0 points1 point ago

I love it how you say this yet I continually get rejected from every job I apply to.

[–]watersign 0 points1 point ago

I briefly worked as a "Business Analyst" ..(under a year)

the senior level BA's make good money but my role was pretty junior (clicking buttons, use cases,etc) ....not sure if i want to continue pursuing this. I got lucky getting that job but every job i come across requires 3-5 years experience.

what shold i do?

[–]Buttertop 0 points1 point ago

If you're spending your day being this bored at your IT job, you're doing it wrong.

I work in a pretty specialized IT sector, WAN Networking. I write code and scripts for provider edge routers, and I spend literally my whole 8 hour work day doing real work. That being said, it's challenging, rewarding, there's a ton to learn and expand on, and it's very lucrative. I think it's a great starting point for something like datacenter networking or large-scale SANs or CDNs.

There are days that I think it would be nice to be able to be to have a slower paced IT job, but when I look at how low those salaries are and how basic the work is, I'm pretty glad to be where I am now.

[–]the2belo 0 points1 point ago

Yeah. I'm here at a company that sells hardware and software to the manufacturing industry. Much of my day involves writing emails to overseas suppliers.

I mean, just look at my reddit karma.

[–]Artegan 0 points1 point ago

I've been working for almost a year at an IT desk.

On busy days, I get paid to answer the phone and help people with their various technical issues.

On slow, easy days (and during the night shift), I get paid to browse reddit for 7-8 hours.

[–]MrPickleCoppter 0 points1 point ago

reddit="did we just become best friends" me = "yep"

[–]Makelevi 0 points1 point ago

Haha, love it. Though as someone trying to get into the IT Field in Toronto, I'm not sure whether it makes me happy or not. I work in my University's Student Center and it can get hard finding stuff to do to fill in my shifts, are most general IT jobs like that?

[–]Alienwalker 0 points1 point ago

There is always something you can do to help the company you are working for, even if this means researching different products and solutions for the future.

[–]flecko 0 points1 point ago

Pfff, that's nothing. Back in 2000 I was working a full time IT job. At one point (when I was busted and suspended without pay for a week) I was running two instances of IRC, 10 open MSN Messenger windows, 2 Yahoo IMs, AOL IM, Skype, and something else. I got suspended not because they found those 50 windows open on my computer with absolute crap, but because several months ago I downloaded Serialz 2000 and showed it to a co-worker just to make a point about piracy.

Oh yes, and my job was to fix stupid little issues with people's templated websites.

[–]cdlrosa 1 point2 points ago

Skype wasn't even out in 2000 was it?

[–]flecko 0 points1 point ago

I honestly don't remember. I remember getting a huge reprimand from the CEO, the IT head and my supervisor. I didn't get fired because I was my teams top performer.

[–]scaramanga1 0 points1 point ago

I literally get paid for being on Reddit all week I am the only dude who is on the Helpdesk and fix any of the issues within 5 minutes of them being logged if anything at all....... Some days I get nothing not even a telephone call!

[–]laiyaise 0 points1 point ago

I discovered reddit about a year after I got my first IT job, needless to say that was one boring year.

[–]Draemalic 0 points1 point ago

To everyone who says they've been "working in IT" and don't want to go into out of college:

There are a lot more IT jobs out there than just helpdesk support and pc repair tech. A lot of the fun of this job is planning, design, and implementation. Being a Network Engineer/admin, Systems administrator/DBA/Sys Analyst/programmer/consultant/etc. Technology jobs will always be in demand. We're not going anywhere.

That being said, yes, due to our awesome economy a lot of governments/businesses are cutting back in IT to save money. People are leaving and they aren't filling their empty position, just closing it. This is only really typical for those helpdesk/pc suppor tech jobs though. The burden of the work is just being offloaded on everyone else in the IT department. It's not as if IT is being phased out.

Also, if you're a rockstar at your job, you're not going anywhere. Doing 2 hours of actual work/day is just fine with employers as long as you're available for all the break/fixes. If your servers are running smoothly and everyone is happy - and here's the key - your boss(es) know it's running smoothly because of you - you're fine.

[–]ThaHarterIII 0 points1 point ago

you really are a professional redditor if you think a story is a "text rage comic"