Damn BD...I Hope you have a better day at work today than you must have had yesterday...

I'll watch CNN for news of an office shooting in SC...

And you work in IT? take it from someone who knows. I'm only in COLLEGE for IT and i get those kind of questions all the time. My friends and family who barely know how to check their eMail lock up their computer and call me to find out how to fix it...It will never end my friend.

I dunno, I think you should be proud that people seek expert advice from you.

It's pretty typical that people don't spend a whole lot of time at home doing what they do at work. I certainly don't test chemicals on my dog. But on the same token if someone were to come ask me about the toxicity of a pesticide (for example) it doesn't infuriate me.

Now the bit about piss dribbles on the floor, yeah, you pretty much nailed that one on the head. Although, funny story... If it weren't for those piss dribbles on the floor, we may or may not have ever discovered diabetes.

I always feel extremely sorry for those individuals who are so overworked that they just don't have the energy to raise the seat, necessitating them dribbling all over it, and/or to be able to flush the toilet when they're finished.

Poor guys.

Jimbo, you hardly have the assload of people asking you about pesticides as we IT folks do about computers. I'm with BD here...

You go to a party, someone mentions you're an IT guy, and all of a sudden some dude wants to talk to you for hours about the latest virus he's got on his computer and wants step by step instructions on how to remove it. Or some0ne wants to talk to you about the latest piece of crap software they got with their scanner, which you've never heard of, and which you'd never use because you use your computer for something other than dicking around.

And I've had people say "Awww, you know how to fix it, you just don't want to talk about it right now". Yes, that's right. I don't want to talk about it. I'm out getting my drink on, I do not want to talk about what kind of RAM your computer needs and if how much you have right now is enough. (Especially considering you don't know how much RAM you have now, and you have no idea what kind of computer you have outside of "It's a Dell.")

I would imagine Doctors have the same problem... magnified even. You tell people you're a doctor and all of a sudden they're telling you about their strange rashes.

BD I feel your pain. I work in IT in Denver. All I can say is Office Space, and Dilbert sting with a bit of the truth.

I pretty much got burned out on software development and hit 'midlife crisis' early because of the very things BD and LiDJ are talking about. I spent the first 10 years of my career installing computer systems that the management wanted, but the rest of the staff did not. I can't tell you how much fun it was to put a new system in place, train someone to use it that didn't want to give up their current processes, then get blamed when the users weren't using the system because they didn't understand something that they never wanted in the first place.

I spent the rest of my career trying to get all the users (who would now be experts, of course) of any given installation to all agree on what it was they really wanted. An impossible task.

I've also been the go-to guy in my extended family for all things technical for over 20 years. Ever tried to explain how an Internet connection works to a 70 year old? The more technology becomes available to the masses, the more obnoxious the questions become.

Bottom line, there are a significant number of these people that want nothing to do with the computers, and will show no initiative in learning how to deal with even the most remedial of issues. They want their hand to be held one minute and to be left to their own devices the next ... sudden experts. Some resent that they even have to use computers. IT guys usually take the brunt of the childish backlash that results.

Amen.

Tim, I feel like the cops sometimes. People hate you in general and then when they need something you can't do enough for them. We can't get customers to agree on what they want. If they think something is wrong they will literally scream at you over the phone. If it turns out not to be wrong you'll never hear from them.

Oh well. Cest la vie. Its a living.

Indeed, it is a living. At times, a pretty good one. A pretty stressful one at others.

I live in with 3 boys and husband..you can imagine the pee I've had to clean up over the years..

As far as the IT issue..I have to say that when I was working outside the home, I found IT guys to always be a bit on the obnoxious side. You had to practically beg them and kiss their asses to even get them to look at your computer. The attitude of superiority coming off of the IT guys I've worked with is beyond belief. That being said, I've been home with my kids for a good many years so maybe things have changed since then..

Have you tried re-booting? Just kidding CLS.
I agree, I've worked with some preening divas for shizzle.

Hey, try making a living writing for blogs!

Seriously, I find myself much happier since I changed careers in midlife. No boss looking over my shoulder, no face-to-face with unhappy consumers, no punching a time clock, and no pee spray, either.

I hear ya, Miss C ... same for me on the midlife career change.

Except I still have the pee spray. I'll have to work on that.

Cindy, I still believe that many guys develop the Diva attitude out of self-defense.

I have certainly worked with my share of d**kweeds. However, as a non-jackass, I often find that people take my kindness for weakness. And they're not any more civil when they deal with you... They just know that you're the guy they prefer dealing with, so they call you and are just as childish as ever.

It's a catch 22, if we're polite and helpful, we're the guy who gets called every stinkin' time you screw up your computer by installing Weatherbug or similar... If we're jerks... Umm, what's the downside to being a jerk?

Much like anything else, it's 1 or 2 users that screw up the experience for everyone else. I serve over 1,000 users, and 30% of my calls come from 5 people. They're experts when it comes to installing a bunch of sh*t, but then they're helpless babes in the woods who have never done anything wrong when you ask why they let their 14 year old install a game server on their work laptop. Then by the time you've removed it, they're experts again, and they resent you telling them that their work laptop wasn't meant for playing WoW on.

I literally had someone yell at me for 15 minutes the other day because I wouldn't install her diet program software on her work laptop... "What, the company doesn't want me to be healthy?" The level of ignorant entitlement was actually somewhat charming/amusing... And then she decided to complain to her boss that IT was such a pain in the ass to deal with...

And this is one of those users who likes to call me directly like we have some sort of friendly relationship... And yet I now have to explain to my boss what I did that was so "Rude".

As far as the superior thing, I get that from the auto mechanic too, and he has a patch on his shirt with his name and grease all over his hands... I think that comes with having any type of specialized knowledge, and is magnified by our own internal thoughts over and above what was intended.

Well said, LiDJ.

Well I can understand (though not relate perhaps) that it can be annoying to be asked for IT help by people in social situations when it's your work. That's rude of them if they press. If it bothers you that much then just tell everyone the solution to everything is to reformat their hard drive or something equally unhelpful and you'll probably find they stop bothering you.

As for people who start conversations about opinions on tech issues (not to get help but just talking gadget porn basically), get over it.

It's what you do for a living and just like anything else people will use it for conversation. Not to mention gadget and tech talk is something a lot of people get into. If you think it's just because you're an IT person then think again. Just so you know, when you IT people aren't around us regular stupid people still talk about stuff like that.

If you aren't personally interested in tech stuff enough to have a discussion on the latest cool gadgets or whatever, then just say so: "Yeah, I don't know about that, I only really pay attention to that shit at work because I have to. But did you hear there's a new Celine Dion album coming, I can't wait."

Ok I made that last part up for fun.

"If it bothers you that much then just tell everyone the solution to everything is to reformat their hard drive or something equally unhelpful and you'll probably find they stop bothering you."

And then we're rude divas with a superior attitude...

And, yes, it is rude when they press, but most people don't think about that. My Father-in-Law being a prime example.

Again, it is the .05% of people that screw it up for everyone. Answer one question helpfully for them and you've acquired a new parasite that will not detach unless you get really salty. So, you take the unhelpful attitude to protect yourself from these people, and everyone accuses you of being a jerk/diva who needs his butt kissed to get any help.

Catch 22.

Oh, and I did mention that Doctors probably have it worse... At least people don't hear my profession and start telling me about the problems they encounter when they pee. Auto Mechanics probably get the same treatment. "Oh, you're a mechanic? I have a 2 year old Volvo that makes this noise..."

Gadget pron conversations don't bother me. My #1 annoyance is people who have a virus on their computer and want you to tell them how to fix it. And then get testy when you say "Look, it's not that easy." ("Oh, you don't think I'm smart enough?" "Umm, no, or you'd be removing it right now instead of talking to me.") #2 is ANYONE who asks me how to do X in some piece of Microsoft Office. I spend my days inside of Visual Studio... I honestly know NOTHING about MS Outlook except how to read and delete mail.

True enough Mr. Lost. But Bigus doesn't really seem to be in the fame of mind to worry about that, heh.

I have a mac, so no virus conversations for me, woo hoo. I just annoy everyone by constantly pointing out they should get a mac to solve most of their problems. Of course they can't play WoW then.

Oh, and I'm sure you're right about doctors and mechanics. I'm a government employee so no one ever asks me for my expertise, heheheh.

Anna, we know each other now, just Lost is fine. No need for "Mr.". My father was a "Mr.".

The only reason Macs aren't swarming with Viruses is that there's so few of them. So don't tell your friends to get Macs... Too many Macs and it might just be worth it for someone to write a virus for them. Keep it as your little secret.

Oooo, good point Lost. *waving a little flashing thingy from Men in Black in everyone's face*

Well, Bigus, we ARE special.

As an IT worker, I have to join this...

It's really annoying when people keeps asking for your help at parties, clubs... this really sucks. And it's not that I hate helping people out, but as have been already stated here, sometimes you just want to rest and forget your work. Everybody wants me to tell what's the best computer to buy and/or want me to go together to the shop or else they'll be scammed by the attendant.

In my former job, in a workers union, I had all the guys from the directory board asking me for help, to go to their houses and fix their computers. I was young then, and I didn't know how to say no. After some months, when I decided to start charging for the technical help, most of them stopped calling me.

There was a guy, who was a real pain in the ass, who stopped calling me after I had given him a rude answer to a lame question he had made about his PC.
I was stressed, I had too much to get done in a little time, and his question was REALLY idiot.

One night he ringed me at home--I don't know how he managed to get my phone number--saying that he had and important meeting on the next morning and his computer was so screwed up he could not finish his report and he was going to my house to pick me up to fix it. Well, he left "unsaid" but still flying in the air, the words about how he could have me fired in the next day if I said no... So I decided to go there and see how hard could I fuck him up.
His problem ended up being that he had hide the win98 task bar. He could have told me that by the phone, 3 minutes and problem solved. But noooo... he needed to take me from my rest...
Before fixing the task bar, I've dismantled his computer, took everything out, then started trying to turn on the PC putting back piece by piece--with a worry face to keep up the drama--and then, last but not least, I fixed the taskbar. Told him I had to replace his parafuseal repimboc, realign the bit-flowing strap and clean some lost data from the connectors (it's funny how you can confused them). Charged him an expensive amount of dough--which he paid gladly after seeing his computer working again--and went home feeling good for my vendetta and with lots of cash for beer in my pocket. And he stopped asking me for help because I had become an expensive diva...

Just a disclaimer: I'm not a douchebag who does these things for fun. I don't like to take advantages on people who asks me for help--some I help just because I like them, for some I say I don't have the time to help them--but I hate people that keeps bossing around you even after you have left the office. He deserved that.
I think this one is marked in my 'why should I go to hell' book, but I don't really care.

For the piss issue, place a banner on the stall saying "If you can't aim on the water because either you have issues or your dick is too short for the range, try to do it sitting"

Wow--this is a post I can relate to....and I actually got out of IT...partly because I realized that if I had to spend ridiculous amounts of time studying for certifications that would expire in a few year's time, I might as well just go get my bachelors' degree....

I did IT work for doctors...which means I wasn't put in Leo's after hours situation because then I would have turned around and called them at home about problems family members were having.

But I guess my next career goal as a lawyer isn't much better--but at least I can hand people a business card and tell them to call my assistant.

In either case, if I volunteer my assistance to friends and family, it's my choice. When I am volunteered to help people who still have dial up connections at home, viruses and spyware galore, and a PC that can't handle the OS that someone else installed, I have no patience.

And BD, maybe your workmates are pee in the shower kinds of guys at home...so trying to figure out how to pee in a much smaller venue is a challenge they're not up to.

I did appreciate the clients who would tell me that I was not the typical IT person--because I treated them like a human. I went to school with those guys who were asses--I didn't not want to be one of them (next goal--being an honest lawyer!!!).

Leo, good hustle. That guy deserved a little hassle.