How many IT people here?

Joined
18 January 2002
Messages
1,174
Location
Glenview, IL
How long before you guys get burned out in IT? And what do you do to re-charge? I've been in IT (software development, e-business, etc) for over 7 years now and am getting kinda tired of it :eek:

-Awais
 
I was in IT for 5 yrs and got out of it because of what I saw with what was happening with my boss. He had been in IT for over 15 yrs and knew all the "old" systems and languages before NT domains came along. He had to study new systems and new technology being implemented, and constantly had to get re-certified in those systems.
He admitted to me that he felt like an OLD man at 42 in the industry because the high-school and college kids coming out of school, didnt have to absorb all the old fortran language and could catch on much easier to the new technology.
He really felt the heat to stay up on things, and in computer technology, where things improve at almost half the time as before, he was running himself ragged. The final kicker was that he knew that he could be replaced with someone younger, and for much less money too. He knew it happened with every job, but with the ever-changing technological landscape, he felt it almost daily.

Needless to say...he was past burned out!
 
NemesisX....trading the sp00s is pretty stressful too though :p We need to find something LOW stress and HIGH pay :D

-Awais
 
I've been professionally working on SW since I was about 14, which makes it 20+ years for me :cool: I don't feel burned out at all, although I often feel overwhelmed with the wealth of information out there. It used to be that you could know everything there was to know about a specific OS. Nowadays it's sometimes hard to know everything there is to know about a specific CPU or software package! The key is that you have to specialize and stay on top of your specific field. Thankfully for me I'm in an industry that is extremely fast paced so I'm facing new challenges every single day which keep me on my toes. The other thing is that for me it's not "just a job" -- it's an obsession, so maybe it's different. I don't see myself ever getting tired of this...
 
O-Ace said:
NemesisX....trading the sp00s is pretty stressful too though :p We need to find something LOW stress and HIGH pay :D

-Awais

Yeah, those Sp00s can be stressful too no doubt about that...but the funny thing is im not as stressed when I first started trading them. I can accept losses much better now because I know they will be small and if I do get a winning trade, it will more than make up for it.

How have you been doing with trading?
 
NemesisX said:
How have you been doing with trading?
Closed my futures account back in early March. I simply didn't have enough time to focus on trading. I might get back into it down the road when I have more time.

-Awais
 
I've been in IT for over 7 years. Every year I get trained on new technologies / software. It's invigorating and keeps me sharp.

When I started my career, I promised myself that I would quit a company if I ever:
1) stopped learning in my profession (thus investing in my core competency), and
2) stopped improving my other skills besides the core responsibility (ie - presenting information, managing people/customers, project management, running a business, etc).

I've done CPA work, IT work, sales work, consulting work, etc. The way I look at it, the more versatile I am, the better off I am.

I also try to learn during my spare time. Instead of watching regular TV shows, I spend lots of time watching Discovery Science, History Channel, Home & Garden, and other shows that add to my knowledge, rather than just pure entertainment.

So I guess my whole life revolves around constant learning.
 
14 years, I hate my friggin boss, the customers, the pay, and the ever changing landscape. We concentrate on LAN and WAN, DDD. ect ect ect.
One good thing, I get to sleep with the boss' wife. :biggrin:


Seriously, It's been 14 years of up and down, We found a niche in schools systems in impoverished areas and it has paid of in many different ways.
 
I have been in IT for about 10 years now I will be 29 tomorrow :) and at work I really like it a lot and I trade the spoos at work all day long and when the market is not moving I do some work, in fact I make more money trading at work then I would sitting at home. I am going to get a office at the end of next year and throw in the towel in IT because a few good friends / traders are going to get a office to trade / play games. Oh I will be trading 100 contracts at the end of next year, I am going to try to make more then my small company I work for lolrof. I just started with 1 contract and 3k again and going to build it for 14 months and see what I can do. IT is great if you like to learn, I have ADD and can sit down and read IT books for days in a row if I have too. Right now I am doing SMS2003, Veritas Clustering, and revamping the 130 servers we have going from Dell's to HP's. :biggrin:
 
8 years now for me as a Network Engineer. I am toast. Have been considering going back to law school. Not sure if that will be any better, but is different.
 
Been in IT for 8 years. Keeping a positive attitude is cliche but essential to enjoying any line of work. I find a healthy scepticism towards new technology helps ignore industry hype, and only keeping up to date on surface of what's coming out is the only way to avoid information-overload. Ignore everything non-essential. Focusing on the new hardware/software is overwhelming, so i keep focused on users and being solution orientated. Dealing with people can be the most annoying but also the most rewarding.

Working for myself means i take time off regularly to avoid the rutt, and i do video editing & web site design as something different. And since Lud now pays me $0.10 for every post on NSXprime, i've been able to make ends meet. Life's great! :D lol
 
I work in IT for a large fund company (60 Billion). They are very agressive so it never gets old here I'm a business systems consultant so I write all the specs for the multitude of large scale integrations we do when we buy other companies.

It's always fresh when your Senior Buisness Management is very good at creating work for you.
 
O-Ace said:
How long before you guys get burned out in IT? And what do you do to re-charge? I've been in IT (software development, e-business, etc) for over 7 years now and am getting kinda tired of it :eek:
I've been programming since 1973, and professionally since 1980.
I take 6-12 months off from work every so often. I've chosen jobs
based mainly on how much the work interested me. There's a lot
of work in IT that I wouldn't want to do; I've found a niche that I like.

But all that only goes so far. I get burnt out more easily now than
I did in my 20s. I'm still glad I work in engineering though.
 
For people like me who don't know, what is IT?
When I was a kid, my older sister use to refer to me as "IT". :biggrin:
As in "mom, could you tell IT to quit bugging me?"
 
I've been doing Network Engineering/Network Security for about 7 years. My colleagues have to call the fire department on a regular basis because I've gotten so burned up.

Have a backup plan -- I'm pretty close to implementing mine.
 
pbassjo said:
For people like me who don't know, what is IT?
When I was a kid, my older sister use to refer to me as "IT". :biggrin:
As in "mom, could you tell IT to quit bugging me?"

Information Technology - or the wonks who support computer systems in the corporate world. :smile:
 
I guess I'm in IT but think of it more as customer service. I've been at it for 11 years professionally but started 22 years ago. I do old school stuff and will retire from my profession and do something else unrelated once I become obsolete.
 
Back
Top