Hello
I am in a quandary and need to do something but have no idea what. I know I need a new job that is a given but in my area those are few and far between especially in the computer field and I’d love to get out of IT technical service. Money as with everyone in this economy is very tight for an IT guy I am not paid the typical IT salary, I punch a time clock and make far less than some folks who do way less.
I am 48 years old, IT Manager, in controlling a network of 25 users, three servers and the business maintains 15 websites that I also oversee.
I also handle several small local businesses that can’t afford a full time IT guy. They are two 3 and 4 man shops. They are not plentiful enough to hang my own shingle and given how I am feeling these days I’m not even sure I could.
The company is actually 4 businesses in one and I have been in charge of the network since its conception in 1995. I know everyone in IT has horror stories, it goes with the territory. I do not want this to turn out and be a bitch fest so I’ll give you only some of what I face. I am looking for a direction I can go and get out of this field. My brain is fried.
The company management style of this business is fear, intimidation, control, down to micromanagement and total absorption. Including spies two main ones but many others who report your every move direct to the owner with the total intention of causing trouble. The owner loves it because he gets his kicks out of stirring the pot. This business has sucked the soul out of several other employees. One of which has now settled for a stocking job at the local thrifty mart. She says it is so much easier than dealing with the over abundance of the personalities that I fight every day.
I am totally burned out on technical support. My health is giving out on me partly nerve damage and I’m sure 98% of it has to do with the environment in which I live. I just do not know how much longer I can continue supporting these people. It is not so much the computers. I have always liked working with computers.
It is people or maybe just these people. They do not learn, refuse to learn, and determine that they do not make mistakes. When something goes wrong it is my fault or if it is the computer’s fault. They did not do anything wrong and as the IT guy I’d better find out what did go wrong fix it and make sure they are not held accountable and that it does not happen to them again. This has always been this way.
I am sure the majority of the employees got this attitude direct from the boss/owner. He is a Harvard man and it must but horrible for such a precious perfect human being to have to live in a world with so much imperfection in it. You had better never -- ever tell him or one of his loyalist that ‘they’ did something wrong. As I have been done many times. I was carted off to the conference room where they brow beat me down to where it was not them that made the mistake or did anything wrong and no they do not have to learn how to move a file from one drive to another.
That is why they have me and no he is not after some 20 years using a computer able to manipulate a direction such as your file is located on c:\my documents\my pictures. He does not have to learn stuff like that. I’d better send him direct to the location so he does not have to do anything! What do you mean go to my computer go to drive c: I do not understand that kind of talk come here and do it for me.
I could handle this better when I was younger but after 20 or so years of it. It is all running together on me and I am having trouble coping. Just today I got up at 5.30 and emailed them that I was sick and not able to even force myself to come to work. Sure enough I went back to bed just dreading the day because I knew it would happen. Someone rather than rebooting their machine called me to fix a problem from home… hello I’m not feeling well does not compute nor matter. Yes, all they had to do was reboot. Yes they call me to do that stuff for them too.
I have read online of other folks who are suffering from job burnout and just can’t go on. I read on one page about his guy who actually pulled into the parking lot and just sat there because he could not will his body to move and go into the building. Yes, I know how you feel sir!
What is there an older tech can do in the computer field make money and not have to deal with this attitude? I had skills in programming in the past, have been doing mostly crystal reports for the company but must admit that my programming skills are lessened because I just do not have the head for it after 10 hours of the ‘attitude’ I come home stare at the walls and vegetate. I am willing and able to work. I am just looking for fresh ideas suggestions anything that would be helpful… has anyone else suffered this in the IT field and what did you do?
I need a change! Thank you so much for reading!
