Did he sit on a pinecone? Is he unmotivated or just lazy? Why does he drone on and on about details that no one cares about? Why hasn't he fixed my computer yet? Why doesn't he get out more? I wish he wouldn't talk down to me.
When someone gripes about the 'IT Guy', everyone can relate. We are a quirky bunch who often like power and control. We are often stubborn and unwilling, crass and sarcastic. We often know what's best for you and are unafraid to let you know. We often have the latest toys and love to tell you why yours is inferior.
Psychologists would say that we are 'type A personalities'. Our colleagues often say that we are douche bags. Is this stereotype accurate? Is it fair to put all IT guys in the same category? I would like to say emphatically that the answer is no but what examples are there to prove otherwise? Why is the 'nice' IT guy so elusive?
Ben Parker was right when he said "With great power comes great responsibility" but I don't feel that the average IT guy takes that phrase to heart. Our breed is often taught from early childhood that we are weird and inferior to most people. We had few friends in school because we were different. We didn't relate to 'normal people'. Social situations and interactions made little sense to us because we were forced to look for subjective clues which we didn't understand. We didn't like abstract or subjective details; give us the facts, tell us what happened then go away.
This is why we are drawn to technology. Technology is easy for us to understand. We can harness it and make it work for us. We inevitably discover that those who used to call us weird are interested in our newfound skills. They need our help. What comes easy to us doesn't come easy to everyone else. They need us. We learn that we can hold this over you; have power over you. What we once found solace in has now made us drunk with power. We can control it, we can control you.
A little bit of resentment and a little bit of skill can do a lot to a budding IT guy. Many of us also lack formal education or lack the drive to learn what we deem unnecessary. Because technology comes easy to us, we can latch onto it with little effort. If this goes unchecked and we work for a company where knowledge of technology is sparse, it's easy to see why the IT guy is the way he is. But just because it's understandable doesn't mean it's right.
There are a few in this industry that give the rest of us a bad rap (just as there is in any population). I hope that my musings might at least get you to think twice about us. And to you IT guys out there, I hope my musings can get YOU to think twice about 'them'.
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