cracked smile and
While sitting in on one of the regular FDI gatherings today, I discovered that IT people are a different breed than I first expected. Macs are progressively being adopted everywhere in the university, at an accelerated pace thanks to Boot Camp and Parallels, so this FDI meeting was targeted at IT people having to deal with Mac support for the first time, or their own first Mac.
Maybe it is only the case here at Virginia Tech, but the IT people are remarkably patient and intuitive. And they sometimes speak a language I cannot understand. Any technologic English beyond HTML and I am lost in a matrix of variables and indecipherable characters. Yet, despite this new tongue, most of the IT people are very kind and sincere. For years, I envisioned the IT guy to be something like Dwight Schrute, a person who actually does have spare pairs of Birkenstocks on hand and who takes martial arts classes weekday nights. In fact, IT is a challenging profession highlighted by amazing people-handling skills, similar to a telemarketer or an airline steward[ess]. Plus, you usually get the top-of-the-line computer technology before everyone else in the office (again, at least here at VT).
Now that I consider it, my favorite jobs, or my favorite employed moments, have been ones where my people-handling skills are the most challenged and stretched. Dealing with rude students at the Math Emporium was a joy because I aimed for changing their mindset towards math before I left their desk. That entire job was a test of patience and physiological caffeine limits, a year-long bench press of sanity.
I salute you, IT.
May 5th, 2007 at 2:40 pm
Yeah, I think university IT being described as intuitive and patient must be an anomaly at VT, because my current and previous universities seem to hire brutish dolts.