When people ask me what I do for a living I cringe a little and feel like telling them I am a trash truck driver instead of an IT guy. It isn’t that I don’t like what I do, it’s more that when I tell people they feel compelled to tell me their horror stories about the computer they have. I guess they think I will have some great insight into the problems or will tell them some great secret which will allow them to access the knowledge which others do not have. I will share with you now the three secrets I have that the average user does not know, and every IT computer repair guy learns.
1. Google it: There are more error codes than brain cells in my head. I don’t know what most of them are. So what do I do? I look it up. I find an article that tells me what it means and I look through at least the first two pages of search results to see what others did to fix it. I try one and if it doesn’t work I try another until something works. The only ones I remember are the ones I have to do daily so chances are I won’t know yours.
2. Every IT shop is different: Yes something’s are similar but every place I have worked has variations which make my skill set very targeted. Chances are my knowledge of problems is based on my user group which will not translate to yours. There are so many variables, including network, patch level and others that a talk over the chip bowl at a party is not going to solve your problem.
3. I like computers: Yes I do, but I have other interests. I don’t always want to talk about computers, perhaps we can talk about our children, spouses or even football. I don’t have time to play video games and I am not very good at them. Sometimes I sit at home with my computer in my lap because it is warming my legs. I like to discuss music, God, cars, politics. If I tell you I work in IT we can talk about other things I promise it will probably come around to computers at some point, it just doesn’t have to be the only thing.