Burnt out on being the "tech guy"

[cherrytwist]

So my wife has worked in small offices for the past several years.

In nearly every situation she has talked me up as being the "tech support guy" whenever a problem in the office occurs.

At first it was a nice income for a small amount of work on my part, mostly simple stuff like formatting/reinstallation of an OS including data back up, setting up simple office networks, securing it, etc.

I just finished up a proposal for a company that she started at a few months ago. I've already done a consultation for them and given them advice on minor issues. I'm just dreading doing the work, even though I'll make a few bucks for little effort.

Maybe it's a sign that I'm due for a career change. I'm beginning to resent any type of troubleshooting or support regarding anything technical. Hell, I don't even f*ck with my own computer anymore.

I'm sure some of you can relate...

 

[aplefka]

That's how I've felt ever since I ran into issues with my most recent build due to this mobo.

 

[mooglemania85]

:music:
ROXXXXXXXANNE! You don't have to put on the red light!
Those days are over,
You don't have to sell your body to the night!!!
:music:

 

[AgaBoogaBoo]

Yep, you'll find plenty of people here who ran into the same issue.

My advice? Start by making sure you charge a fair amount for your time, at least $60-75/hour, and pick and choose what you take. That's a VERY temporary solution and so I would finish up your agreements and find something else.

 

[shoRunner]

charge more, problem solved.

 

[kranky]

You aren't charging enough.

 

[Injury]

Originally posted by: shoRunner
charge more, problem solved.

:thumbsup:

It's amazing how many people think that lunch is the approximate value of the knowledge you have. I mean, lunch is the going rate for my family (and SOME friends) but when they start trying to pass off my skills as favors to friends I make certain that it's worth my time... or insist that I don't have the time.

Wanna make it worth your while? Throw a high dollar number from out of left field. You'll find that enough people will take it that you'll be getting the same amount of money, but like, 1/3 of the work.

 

[AgaBoogaBoo]

Originally posted by: shoRunner
charge more, problem solved.

Is money really the issue? I see the problem being that you're doing just the same work, so why would that be any different?

 

[edro]

I got sick of it too, so I switched to the engineering department. (Luckily my degree was good for computer and electrical)

Computers are so integral to our jobs now, you'd think people would be better with them...

 

[Nightfall]

Originally posted by: AgaBoogaBoo

Originally posted by: shoRunner
charge more, problem solved.

Is money really the issue? I see the problem being that you're doing just the same work, so why would that be any different?

That a question only the op can answer.

 

[pontifex]

Originally posted by: AgaBoogaBoo

Originally posted by: shoRunner
charge more, problem solved.

Is money really the issue? I see the problem being that you're doing just the same work, so why would that be any different?

no way. if my employer offered to double my salary but keep my same position, i don't think i'd take it. i'm so sick of working tech support type shit.

 

[trmiv]

I'm burned out on it too. I've been doing desktop support for the past 7 years, and I'm tired of it. Trying to decide what I want to do next since I've wasted so much time doing this crap.

 

[Demon-Xanth]

The reason why "charge more" is a solution isn't the desire for money, rather that it reduces the amount they call you.

Though I remember hearing a story where someone called a tech support line to ask a simple question, didn't take more than about 20 seconds to answer. Well, it was for some high end software or hardware, and that particular tech support line had a two hour minimum rate and charged $125/hr. So that simple question ended up costing that person's company $250 to answer.

 

[lokiju]

I agree with charging more.

For the reasons others have said, not just for more money.

 

[ATLien247]

You could say that I am close to being burned out on IT, but not as a whole, just certain aspects of my job that I abhor. It helps that I never offer my services outside of the work place, not even for friends and family members. And I don't even have any interest in computers at home other than a single laptop with internet access.

 

[rivan]

Originally posted by: kranky
You aren't charging enough.

:thumbsup:

 

[child of wonder]

I'm in this situation, too. I do consulting work for a small company and only charge $35/hour for my work. The reason I charge so low is because the owner of this company hired me on while I was going to school so I was getting great experience and income while I got my degree and I really feel it helped propel me into the success I have today.

But they've been getting cheap IT consulting from me for over 3 years now. I think it's time to starting paying the piper.

 

[AgaBoogaBoo]

Originally posted by: Nightfall

Originally posted by: AgaBoogaBoo

Originally posted by: shoRunner
charge more, problem solved.

Is money really the issue? I see the problem being that you're doing just the same work, so why would that be any different?

That a question only the op can answer.

The title of this thread saying he's burnt out is what I made my assumption on.

Cherrytwist: Get the book, The E-myth, and treat it like a treasure.

I take my previous statement back and would recommend doing two things:
1. Find out what other local companies would charge for this work
2. Find people to do this work on a contract basis

Do step 1, pad the numbers all around, present it to them, but make it clear that you're selling the services of your firm, not just yourself.

If you've been doing this for a while, you probably know how to find others that can do it too. Find them, and have them do the work. Do this for a while for this one client, then try and replicate the system over multiple locations. You're burnt out because you've been doing it all, but in this case, you'd be hiring a group of people to do portions of it, and so that will keep you from getting burnt out. Rather than doing the technical work, you'll be managing the people that do it.

 

[AgaBoogaBoo]

Originally posted by: child of wonder
I'm in this situation, too. I do consulting work for a small company and only charge $35/hour for my work. The reason I charge so low is because the owner of this company hired me on while I was going to school so I was getting great experience and income while I got my degree and I really feel it helped propel me into the success I have today.

But they've been getting cheap IT consulting from me for over 3 years now. I think it's time to starting paying the piper.

How much were you charging while you were a student? I've got nothing against helping someone out, but you need to charge what the market says you should be charging.

 

[Deeko]

I got tired of that sort of thing in high school...friends/family thinking you should fix their computer for free. Hence why I never went into that field.

 

[rh71]

I've stopped freelancing as well... not worth the time/effort.

Although.. the "overcharging" idea sounds good.

 

[wwswimming]

i had that happen with a corporate child care firm in San Diego.

i told them they needed to upgrade RAM on all their computers;
their response was "we can't afford that, but you can fix it, can't you ?"

after 5 minutes of that, i was out of there.

 

[cherrytwist]

Originally posted by: Nightfall

Originally posted by: AgaBoogaBoo

Originally posted by: shoRunner
charge more, problem solved.

Is money really the issue? I see the problem being that you're doing just the same work, so why would that be any different?

That a question only the op can answer.

Money isn't the issue (my rates are competitive but fair). It's that time off for me has been scarce and "freelancing" my skills in my free time isn't worth it any more.

And just to clarify, I don't do desktop support on a daily basis. It's more of a hobby turned enterprise.

Bottom line: I've learned that my free time is more valuable than ever and it leaves little time for earning "extra" cash on the side.

Oh and Aga you've got me curious about the book.

 

[dougp]

I got sick of it too - and I was rather up front about it to my family. It might have seemed harsh at the time, and I don't mind answering a question every now and then - but when it gets to the point of your harassing me - screw off.

Funny thing is, a friend came up and asked me for some advice on a GPS - but he didn't even have a budget set, or knew what he wanted out of a GPS ... I was kinda like I don't know what to tell you - technology isn't as some people make it out to be in their head. Asking him some questions, you could tell he was getting overwhelmed about what he wanted for, simplicity, stuff like that ...

 

[TXHokie]

I know what you mean. I bought a harddrive last year during BF that was cheap to upgrade my own computer and still haven't put it in to this day. It's quicker for me to delete old files to free up space - LOL. Now that boxed harddrive is not cheap anymore :-(. Considering I'm on the computer all day at work, when I get home that's the last thing I want to touch. Those quick 15 min job always turn into a day long thing. (Yeah, I already have 2 ext USB drives hanging off the PC, it was to consolidate all the data from all the drives into one big one). Tweaking computers used to be fun but not anymore. I'm already designated techsupport for my wife and two kids.