Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I know most people think helpdesk people who help end users are IT professionals. They are assuredly not. I know IT professionals that get greatly offended when people think they are technicians.
Engineer
I'm an engineer. When I tell people I'm an engineer, they think I do laborious jobs that laborers and machine operators do or surveying jobs like what surveyors do. When they ask me what kind of engineer I am, I tell them structural/construction engineer. They immediately assume I'm a foreman. It's actually annoying to have to explain to them that I didn't get a masters and PE just to work as a foreman or a laborer.
And I know a lot of lawyers get misunderstood as ambulance chasers.
What do you do and what misunderstandings do you get about your profession?
I know most people think helpdesk people who help end users are IT professionals. They are assuredly not. I know IT professionals that get greatly offended when people think they are technicians.
Engineer
I'm an engineer. When I tell people I'm an engineer, they think I do laborious jobs that laborers and machine operators do or surveying jobs like what surveyors do. When they ask me what kind of engineer I am, I tell them structural/construction engineer. They immediately assume I'm a foreman. It's actually annoying to have to explain to them that I didn't get a masters and PE just to work as a foreman or a laborer.
And I know a lot of lawyers get misunderstood as ambulance chasers.
What do you do and what misunderstandings do you get about your profession?
There are a lot of different fields in IT, and most helpdesk workers are definitely IT professionals. They might not be programmers, engineers, or administrators, but they do work in IT.
I'm a programmer, specifically back end web development, and people usually assume either: a) I can fix hardware problems for them, or b) I can artistically design a website.
My husband is a Meteorologist, and he gets it a lot worse than I do. A lot of people assume that means he is a weather person on TV, and that it isn't a real science, just coin flipping.
There are a lot of different fields in IT, and most helpdesk workers are definitely IT professionals. They might not be programmers, engineers, or administrators, but they do work in IT.
I'm a programmer, specifically back end web development, and people usually assume either: a) I can fix hardware problems for them, or b) I can artistically design a website.
My husband is a Meteorologist, and he gets it a lot worse than I do. A lot of people assume that means he is a weather person on TV, and that it isn't a real science, just coin flipping.
I think misunderstandings like what we see come from the fact that most people only know what they see. For example, how often do we see a meteorologist work? But we see the weatherman all the time. How often do people see programmers slaving away behind a computer with thousands of lines of code? But they do see the helpdesk people all the time. How often do you actually see people like me working on planning, design, and managing construction projects? And yet you see laborers and operators working at the side of the road all the time.
On the side, I'm an app developer. I stopped using the word developer a long time ago after I noticed people keep assuming I build houses LOL.
My partner is an accountant. People think all he does is taxes... all year round. Some think he's a bank teller.
I know most people think helpdesk people who help end users are IT professionals. They are assuredly not. I know IT professionals that get greatly offended when people think they are technicians.
Engineer
I'm an engineer. When I tell people I'm an engineer, they think I do laborious jobs that laborers and machine operators do or surveying jobs like what surveyors do. When they ask me what kind of engineer I am, I tell them structural/construction engineer. They immediately assume I'm a foreman. It's actually annoying to have to explain to them that I didn't get a masters and PE just to work as a foreman or a laborer.
And I know a lot of lawyers get misunderstood as ambulance chasers.
What do you do and what misunderstandings do you get about your profession?
I think perhaps what you are trying to say is that not all people in helpdesk are IT professionals? As helpdesk is a generic term that can describe support services across various industries. But IT helpdesk is certainly IT, as it provides IT expertise to end users. So yes, you need to be an IT professional as your job requires knowledge in that discipline.
But to your point - if they're not in IT, then what are they in?
And ambulance chasers ARE lawyers (as the term originated to describe certain type of lawyers). But not all lawyers are ambulance chasers.
I think misunderstandings like what we see come from the fact that most people only know what they see. For example, how often do we see a meteorologist work? But we see the weatherman all the time. How often do people see programmers slaving away behind a computer with thousands of lines of code? But they do see the helpdesk people all the time. How often do you actually see people like me working on planning, design, and managing construction projects? And yet you see laborers and operators working at the side of the road all the time.
On the side, I'm an app developer. I stopped using the word developer a long time ago after I noticed people keep assuming I build houses LOL.
My partner is an accountant. People think all he does is taxes... all year round. Some think he's a bank teller.
I used to design DSP algorithms. That was always a hit at parties. It actually was a pretty good way to avoid the typical "Software developer? You must be good with the computer. Can you fix my printer?" situations. However, it was too far on the obscurity spectrum. People's eyes would just glaze over and they'd change the subject. For a long time I just made up fake careers, to mess with people. My favorite was trying to convince people that I was an arms dealer.
I just say i make apps now. That actually has a modicum of coolness, at least with younger people. However, people assume I'm rich, or are on the verge of becoming rich. Fingers crossed, I guess.
I think perhaps what you are trying to say is that not all people in helpdesk are IT professionals? As helpdesk is a generic term that can describe support services across various industries. But IT helpdesk is certainly IT, as it provides IT expertise to end users. So yes, you need to be an IT professional as your job requires knowledge in that discipline.
But to your point - if they're not in IT, then what are they in?
And ambulance chasers ARE lawyers (as the term originated to describe certain type of lawyers). But not all lawyers are ambulance chasers.
Well, I didn't say they are not in IT. I said IT professionals. I've had long conversations with IT professionals about this. They've told me that while helpdesk people are IT, they're not considered IT professionals.
It comes down to what you would consider professionals are. Are technicians professionals? Are cashiers cashier professionals?
Anyway, since I'm not in IT, I'll leave it at that.
I used to design DSP algorithms. That was always a hit at parties. It actually was a pretty good way to avoid the typical "Software developer? You must be good with the computer. Can you fix my printer?" situations. However, it was too far on the obscurity spectrum. People's eyes would just glaze over and they'd change the subject. For a long time I just made up fake careers, to mess with people. My favorite was trying to convince people that I was an arms dealer.
I just say i make apps now. That actually has a modicum of coolness, at least with younger people. However, people assume I'm rich, or are on the verge of becoming rich. Fingers crossed, I guess.
Haha, true story.
I have a few apps published in the android and windows store. They don't bring in much. Just extra cash on the side. When we bought this house, the underwriter had to look through all our finances. She kept enquiring about the monthly couple K's I've been getting regularly from MS and Google. First time, I wrote a letter explaining to her that the extra monthly income is from my apps that I created. I quickly got an email from her saying she still couldn't understand where that money was coming from. So, I printed out all the financial summaries from my developer accounts showing where each deposit came from. Again, I got an email saying she still couldn't understand where that extra income came from.
At this point, I wrote out an email reply detailing how I cook and distribute meth. Yeah, at the time we were watching breaking bad. I stopped myself from pressing the "send" button (phew).
I then printed out a detail summary of where each portion of the revenue came from, like what app brought in how much. After I submitted it that time, I got another email enquiring where the income came from.
By this point, I was beyond frustrated. So, I called up my banker and told him what had happened. He explained to me that that woman probably didn't know how to categorize that extra income since it wasn't from my day job. He suggested I resubmit it as a side business and write out a letter detailing my business model and stuff like that. So, I did and never got anything else from the underwriter. So, it worked.
But man, that was annoying. Why didn't she just come out and say how she should categorize that extra monthly income?
I am in IT. I perform mostly an IT engineering function and manage UNIX systems for a multi-billion dollar organization. No matter how I attempt to explain what I do, I either bore the person to death and have their eyes glass over or have them immediately respond with "So you get rid of viruses and do tech support right?"
I can see why it would be offensive. Not to take away from help desk or first line support roles, but these positions are seen by most as the most entry level and beginning point of an IT career. Many professionals are proud of their career achievements and to have a stereotypical assumption that you perform the same role that so-and-so's nephew in high school does can be a bit degrading.
I don't personally get offended. I know that many people do not understand the complexities of the IT field. I think that a lot of people would be shocked to realize my small 6,500 worker regional company employs over 800 IT professionals with an annual IT budget in the 9-figures.
We own a operate a janitorial company, and most people think we are up to our armpits in garbage.
Pretty much we vacuum, wash windows and change lights.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
