Since the departure of the other IT staff, i've been running a one-woman show of all IT functions, from servers and email administration, hardware support, applications support and programming, to dealing with vendors and the management. At the same time, i gotta entertain those consultants on never-ending questions and requests for information. Now i really feel like i'm a full-fledged IT person.
I don't mind getting my hands dirty (literally) in doing all the hardware stuffs, but i do hope the users (especially those stupid ones) could bug me less and let me
Ok, i know they are not really stupid as in being intelligence-challenged. Everyone is good in his/her own field. Their domain knowledge isn't in IT and that doesn't make them stupid. I know, i know all these. I was once in the role of user and i totally abhorred those techies who regarded business people as idiots just because we didn't know what "http" stands for. That was exactly one of the reasons why i decided to change field -- that i believed my training in business would make me a better IT person who could make technology works for the business and not the other way around.
So am i turning into the same kind of IT person whom i detested? Nay, i don't think so. Stupid is just an adjective i used to express my frustration on their perpetual pestering. I fully understand the fact that people are born unequal, with some having smaller brains than the others. I even empathize with people who are slow in picking up new things or understanding new concepts. What i cannot accept, though, is people refusing to use their brains to think and learn because they know that i'm just a phone call away and they could depend on me to resolve similar problems for them over and over again all the time.
For the first time when a certain error message appears, i could patiently explain why and how it was caused by their own mistakes. For the second time when the similar error occurs, i would remind them about the previous instances and explain to them once again the rationale. But if they still call me and expect me to guide them through step-by-step for the third time, forth time, or forever, instead of understanding the cause and effect of the error so as to prevent it from happening again, then can't blame me for being rude and impatient.
If they were born with a brain but they choose not to use it, then i think stupid is considered a mild derogatory word in describing them. There are many harsher words such as idiotic, moronic, retarded, or f*cktard, which may fit them even better.
Wow, i really sounded like i hate the users very much huh?! Oh well, IT persons are supposed to be in a constant tug-of-war with the users. So i guess my transition from a business person to an IT person is finally complete.
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