A new organization chart was released two days ago and my name was placed in the box that says "Acting IT Manager". Upon seeing it, i almost laughed my head off. Nay, i laughed not because i was hysterically excited about this pseudo promotion but because i found it extremely amusing. Seriously, there is absolutely nothing to be excited about, given the current situation of the company.
First off, this company may not exist anymore in two weeks time when the court passes down the verdict. If that happens, i would be the person who has acted as a departmental head for the shortest period of time in the history of IT. Why is there a need for a new org chart amidst this uncertainty? Beats me.
Secondly, there are only two persons in the IT department now, i.e. another guy who's in charge of IT infrastructure and myself who take care of IT applications. Even though the IT manager had left, is there really a need to have an acting one when there are only two persons in a department? Beats me again.
Ok, so let's say we manage to survive, but moi? Acting IT manager? You must be kidding me.
Oops, excuse me, please wait while i pick up my head as i just laughed it off again... *Ahem* So, where was i? Oh ya, the head, um, i mean departmental head. Let's forget about the number of people in the department. Let's just talk about IT knowledge. I know nuts about infrastructure and networking. Ok, i know what is TCP/IP, Active Directory, and the like, but only theoretically. If a user calls up and tells me that there's a problem in downloading emails, or connecting to the Internet, or accessing the network drive, i'll probably just stare at the servers not knowing what to do next. In fact, shove me all the parts in a PC and i bet i couldn't assemble the pieces into a workable machine.
This is exactly the problem i face with many users, and sometimes even with friends and family. Whenever i say "i don't know" about some infrastructure stuff, they will just have that strange look on their faces as if telling me, "huh, how come you don't know one? So lousy."
They think that i have a MSc and work as an IT professional, then i bound to know everything about IT. EVERYTHING. Hey, i wouldn't be called an "Application Specialist" for no reason ok?! I do coding and i know the ERP application inside out; thus the term "application". Just like the other colleague of mine who's doing network support, he doesn't know programming and the ERP system at all.
People just don't understand that IT is a vast field and it's not possible for a person to know EVERYTHING. I'm the software person and it isn't a crime for not knowing the hardware side. After all, i changed field from business to IT with the intention of becoming a business/system analyst and not a networking guru. So what's the big deal?!
Well, the problem is that it is indeed a big deal. Both hardware and software are the integral parts of an IT system. One couldn't work without the other. To be an all-rounder and become successful in this field, it may not be necessary for one to know everything in depth, but having adequate knowledge in both areas is essential. Especially when we are talking about heading an IT department, imagine an IT Manager who doesn't know anything about servers and such...
That was exactly what happened yesterday. My colleague wasn't around and a user asked me for help because his laptop couldn't start up in normal mode. I didn't know what to do so i just told the person to wait for my colleague to be back the next day. Well, so much for an Acting IT Manager, really acting saja!
Fortunately (or not so fortunate, depends on how you look at it), i'm not an ambitious person aiming for CTO or even manager. With higher post comes bigger responsibilities and lesser personal time. Just as long as the job provides a decent living and ample time for me to do the things i like (such as blogging), i'm fine with being the small prawn in the big ocean.
Labels: work
