I've just figured out I hate working in IT

[yeoo_andy_ni]

Can't agree more with the mental health thing. I've never been officially diagnosed, but I'm continually depressed at having to do what I do, that I'm missing time with my son and wife, and that I'm just angry at myself for not making more of an effort. In the end I feel like a failure as a husband, father and man in general. So I think it's out of necessity that I get out before I seriously consider doing myself harm!

[Nick H. Supervisor]

I've just started on a new campus in Tech Support. What's weird is that for the past few nights, without fail, I've had dreams of being at work, fixing problems. So now I'm fixing imaginary problems in my sleep, and problems that are sometimes imaginary on the user's part while I'm awake...however, oddly enough I'm still loving IT, so much so that I'm still sorting out friends' computers when I get home.

I'm sure this will change in time, and I'll get frustrated with doing IT 24/7 (if these dreams continue), but for the moment I'm feeling good about my position.

Anywhose, that's me. I hope you get in to something that you enjoy doing. I'm glad I have.

[Teebor]

I had exactly the same feelings as the OP so I quit IT and went to work in a Casino, and I loved it. It was great fun, still miss it today but due to family issues and the money being REALLY bad I went back to IT

Sometimes you just need to take a break from the work you have been doing and try something a little different

[Panacik]

I love my job, but hate the fact that i have little ****s telling me they know better than me just because they have a uni degree or are older.

Nothing worse than someone telling a user, "dont listen to him, just to this this and this and it'll work"... Then 10 minutes later he calls me to fix the problems he just caused. When i ask him why he told them to do that after is specifically told them not to, he replies either, "in Uni they said to do that", or, "urm, well, you know, whats wrong with you, why are you being so arsey with me for!?".

Then after all that, he tells me he wants to be MY boss and deserves more pay than me, because he has a degree.

I seriously wonder if he just paid for that degree!

Anyway, yeah, i have had this happen in most the places i worked and i want out. I want to make lots of money and own my own business.

[game_over]

I work in IT and share most of whats been mentioned, long days, constantly on call, you are expected to know everything, and expected to do it there and then. i'm a computer technician but i'm basically responsible for anything elecronic, i'm expected to fix microphones, sound systems, tvs, dvds, videos, consoles, photo copiers, laminators.. everything we have that goes wrong gets sent my way.

I do love it though, apart from being the skivvy i enjoy it and couldnt imagine doing anything else, i disagree about everything being 'your fault', the beauty of being the only tech person in house is you can tell them anything and they'll believe you :-)

[BGM]

the key to any job satisfaction is to be the profit centre of said business..

working in support, or an IT 'department' of any company you will remain to get **** on.. yet if you directly make the company money you will be treated well, have good job security and generally also enjoy good benefits. :)

so if you want to have an enjoyable job in the IT industry you either need to produce a product for a software developer, perhaps hardware, or farm out your skills via contracting

i choose the later

[yeoo_andy_ni]

Anyway, yeah, i have had this happen in most the places i worked and i want out. I want to make lots of money and own my own business.

Confidence and fear of not being able to pay the bills is what makes me not do this. I would love to be my own boss, doing support and consulting for businesses! I know I'm capable, but I would find it easy to get knocked down if something went wrong. Catastrophic thinking would kick in and I'd make something very simple seem terrible in my head and it would drive me mental.

I work in IT and share most of whats been mentioned, long days, constantly on call, you are expected to know everything, and expected to do it there and then. i'm a computer technician but i'm basically responsible for anything elecronic, i'm expected to fix microphones, sound systems, tvs, dvds, videos, consoles, photo copiers, laminators.. everything we have that goes wrong gets sent my way.

I do love it though, apart from being the skivvy i enjoy it and couldnt imagine doing anything else, i disagree about everything being 'your fault', the beauty of being the only tech person in house is you can tell them anything and they'll believe you :-)

Yeah, anything with a plug and you get it thrust upon you! If you're on your own, you can basically make up your own rules. However, if you have a manager or team leader, it's up to them to give you work that is both relevant and in line with your job spec. Too many employers rely on the line "Any other duties as required by the IT Manager" in the job spec!

[Digitalx]

working in IT can be a b**** sometimes. I recently turned down a job offer cause company wanted to make me do a lot more then was advertised and even break minimum wage laws to pay me, I just went F**k that stick it where sun doesn't shine. Luckily I still have the army reserves every now and then to roll on with but considering moving to security work along side it rather then I.T cause the job markets been screwed by the downturn and it's now an employers garden atm and their exploiting it badly in I.T market not to mention trying to stand out among hundreds if not thousands of others applying for similar jobs.

[game_over]

Yeah, anything with a plug and you get it thrust upon you! If you're on your own, you can basically make up your own rules. However, if you have a manager or team leader, it's up to them to give you work that is both relevant and in line with your job spec. Too many employers rely on the line "Any other duties as required by the IT Manager" in the job spec!

i have a line manager but basically make up my own rules as you say, honestly i could walk into work an hour late then sit on neowin on all day not do 1% of any work, then leave early and no one would even know... i never get any set tasks, i have my job description and i'm just expected to get on with that... i could lie my way through not doing it and everyone would believe me... i wouldn't do that though :)

[]|EGG|[]

badblood - just wanted to say that I completely know where you're coming from and hear you loud and clear.

Im 39 and have worked in IT since I was 18 and have come to the point where I totally loathe it. IT doesn't inspire me anymore and hasn't for a long time and to be honest I feel that the whole IT scene is cold and unrewarding and I'd be much happier doing something that actually 'means' something or has some significance and makes a difference. I've got 3 small kids and recently finished my last contract and would do anything to not go back in to IT again but my CV as it where kind of says it's what I should be doing due to bringing in a decent wage etc and 21 years of experience from support to programming etc.

I'm just pleased you actually have an idea in your head of something else you'd like to do instead and to be honest the whole driving instructor thing sounds interesting - especially as you can work as your own boss and work the hours you like and hopefully get as much out of it as you put in to it which is the complete oppossite of my own personal experiences of working in IT. As you say driving instructors are something that will always be required and I know for a fact that I'd get a greater buzz seeing the smile on one of my students faces as he/she jumps in joy at the news that they've past their test then any of the rewards I've received in any of my IT career.

Maybe it's an age thing, maybe it's being a dad with responsibilites and having the clarity to see what's really important in life. It can take a long time to finally work out whats important in one's life and when it hits you it's time to do something about it make the changes you know are the right ones - not just for you as you said but for your family too as they will notice a difference in you and your happiness and that can only be a good thing.

Sincerely wish you the best of luck mate and I'm really hoping that my moment of clarity happens soon too.

[RandyC]

I've worked in and around the IT since leaving uni nearly seven years ago (I work as a Project Manager for a small consultancy so I have managed business change projects that always have some sort of IT element in them) and for the most part I enjoy it. I agree with what others have posted that the corporate overhead (usual mix of good and bad managers and the pursuit of ever greater profits) can make things difficult and the hours are variable (15 hour days are not uncommon). I've also worked for large and small businesses and I find that although you have greater freedom in small businesses there is greater pressure to perform as mistakes and problems are more easily noticed.

Late last year I was feeling really drained and fed up after a particularly demanding project so I took a six month sabbatical this year and worked at a small social enterprise & charity for six months to help me get an understanding of the industry and also what it takes to set up one myself. I'm back working for my old company but I feel that I have a plan on where I want to be (running my own business with charitable objectives) which I am working my way towards now. I found out that I am not very creative ... but am pretty good at breaking down other people?s ideas and working on improving them.

My advice would be to try and get involved in another industry in your spare time or (if your employer allows) take a short sabbatical to experience what that job is like before making the jump.

[ahhell]

Personally the worst parts of IT are the following:

- Incredibly thankless job...people only contact you with problems

- No recognician for preventive maintenence...having a smoothly running environment makes it look like IT aren't needed

- IT is always seen as an unnecessary expense.

- Go home at the end of the feeling like you accomplished nothing.

I'd rather be a ditch digger than be in IT. Sadly, I'm still in IT.

[BGM]

as i've said, you all work inthe wrong part of it :D

[+StevoFC MVC]

I agree with most of the things mentioned here. I think my main problem is I just can't stand sitting at a computer all day every day anymore. I used to love computers and messing around on them all day, but it's different when you have to do it and know that the next day you will be doing the same. I leave work and barely spend any time on the computer. Really the only thing I do is play TF2 or DoD:S. Next year will be my 10th year working at this same company. In some ways it's nice to be here so long, but in others it just sucks. My job duties have changed a lot over the years. So that has helped a bit, but not enough to really enjoy what I am doing all the time.

[speedstr3789]

... You never get paid what your worth

sometimes you get paid more that what you are worth. They call them unions

[cork1958]

IT is DEFINITELY a mentally stressed out tho the max job, for one.

Can be harder on you than any physical labor type job.

[_bobcat_ Veteran]

There is a theme of tech support jobs being pretty naff, but development work is more interesting, more comfortable and for me, less involved with the damn phone.

[morphen]

lol

I do see where you're coming from, but in the UK there is a serious shortfall in Instructors (approved ones anyway) and if you put the hours in, say 40 a week, you could be earning about 35k a year (in $, what's that atm, about 60k?).

Plus, it's a skill that will always be necessary, at least in my lifetime anyway. I don't think I'll ever see the day that an I, Robot lifestyle with self driving cars are about.

Again, as mentioned just a moment ago, I love IT and computers, but I've just lost the love for them in my working life. I'll always keep a track of what MS and Apple are trying to do to each other, and learn what the latest technology is and how it will change my life. Just in my spare time.

I can really see that the paychecks are higher in norway than in the uk, how much do you make ayear with your IT job?

I work as a service technician in the area of POS systems + we have service deals with the norwegian defense and others.

I make about 43500 GPB (about 400 000 in NOK) + I have the company car at my disposal all the time.

although there is a lot of traveling, regularly about 500km a day in week days, and some overtime, I love this job.

Flexible hours, payed diet as long as we are more that 15km from the office (varying from about 12GPB to 40GPB, depends on how long you are away).

bottom line is anyway, you should have a job that your happy with, so whatever you decide to do, good luck:)

[morphen]

sometimes you get paid more that what you are worth. They call them unions

are you a commie? ;)

[riceBox]

By the looks of it, IT seems to be a glorified internal tech support? :unsure: :pc:

[Nick H. Supervisor]

500km a day in week days

500km a day, 5 days a week? So a total of 2500km a week?! That can't be right, surely? Unless you're also talking about flying places I guess...

[BGM]

By the looks of it, IT seems to be a glorified internal tech support? :unsure: :pc:

that's only for people who let themselves get into a support style role..

i work in an advisory role where people pay me for my opinion, experience and implementation skills.. it is much more rewarding and i don't get **** on.

I can really see that the paychecks are higher in norway than in the uk, how much do you make ayear with your IT job?

I work as a service technician in the area of POS systems + we have service deals with the norwegian defense and others.

I make about 43500 GPB (about 400 000 in NOK) + I have the company car at my disposal all the time.

i push 50k plus car, plus benefits

still salaried, would be more if i took private contracts

[Phixion]

I thought there were too many driving instructors in the UK?

I heard about that RED driving school taking on loads of people and they can't find any customers.

[sc302 Veteran]

as long as you can live off of it, it doesn't matter what it converts to. If it costs me $1 a year to live where I am at and I make $5, I am doing pretty good (rich even to those standards). But if it costs me $5 to live and I am making $3.50, I am under and need a second job. US is an expensive place to live compaired to compensation, unless you have nothing and live in a box and make 45-50,000 (single or combined salary). At least in the north east. To live comfortably you need to be in the $100,000 range (single or combined).

[anthdci]

I understand where you are coming from IT can be stressful and thankless but a dont think a driving instructor is the way to go. my old instructor told me he used to work from 8 till 8 6 days a week and often did some lessons on a sunday just to make ends meat, coupled with hugh insurance prices and rising fuel costs the money just isnt there to make it worthwhile, at least thats my opinion.