* * * * *
                                        
                       It's rough being The Computer Guy
                                        
> Reason #9—Every Conversation You Have Is Roughly The Same
> 
> When the computer guy dares to mention what he does for a living, the
> typical response is, “I have a question about my home computer”
> 
> Or when the computer guy first hears about a widespread problem within the
> computer network he's responsible for, he can barely begin to assess the
> problem before a dozen other people call to report the same problem.
> 
> Or when the computer guy explains a certain process on a computer to a user
> who is incapable of retaining the process, he will inevitably need to
> reinstruct the user of this same process—indefinitely.
> 

Via The Endeavour [1], “10 Reasons It Doesn't Pay To Be “The Computer Guy”
[2]”

When I read this, I was taken back to Gregory's rant about the user community
[3] (which was more of a rant about people who ask the same questions over
and over again).

What really struck home, though, was this comment at The Endeavour [4]:

> No thank you. I dropped residential support and told all my businesses we
> put file servers in their business and we re-image workstations at the
> first hint of trouble. I also emphasize to businesses that work machines
> should be work machines.
> 
> Those jobs began to actually be worth the time.
> 

“It doesn't pay to be the computer guy [5]”

Fortunately, my exposure to residential support was brief (back in the mid
90s I worked at a local ISP (Internet Service Provider) and I was stuck on
the front line of support) and since then, I've been able to obtain jobs
where talking to residential customers isn't a concern—it pays to be a
programmer.

[1] http://www.johndcook.com/blog/2009/11/22/the-computer-guy/
[2] http://www.lifereboot.com/2007/10-reasons-it-doesnt-pay-to-be-the-
[3] http://www.thecorsairjournal.com/2012/03/01/an-open-letter-of-tough-
[4] http://www.johndcook.com/blog/
[5] http://www.johndcook.com/blog/2009/11/22/the-computer-guy/#comment-

Email Sean Conner at sean@conman.org

.