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I never thought I'd get sick of computers....

B

bluemax

Diamond Member
I've been a big computer geek for a good 20 years and counting. I never thought I'd get enough of them, but I must say.... I'm starting to get sick of computers! :shocked:

I've been a "technician" for many years, but only at the hobbyist, "help out all my friends and family" kind of tech, or doing some contract work once in a while. For the last two months, however, I've been employed as a REAL technician in a professional setting. I repair a bunch of the small-time users the other two techs don't have time for (they're usually out on-site.)

I've seen more computer weirdness in the last two months than in my 20 years of computing! I just can't stand backing away from a problem though, I normally plug away at it until the problem is solved.... here, I can't always do that. Sometimes I'm under VERY tight time constraints so I don't have time to research the problem, back up a drive, reformat/reinstall, etc. Not to mention when applying the proper fixes to a problem doesn't solve them as they should...... ugh.

I also know enough about computers to realize how much I *don't* know... servers and high-end networking (though I have the theory and a Cisco cert.) I could learn, but the two techs don't seem to want to teach or share. If I know something, they claim I'm aloof, if I don't know something they treat me like an incompetant. C'mon... we all know different things and some better than others. I know break-fix better than these two, but they know the IT business and server stuff far better. I know that and would like to balance my skills, but they guys seem to guard their specialties like Xenophobes.

And to cap it all off... the whole computer industry is so volatile! Things were great two months ago, now my boss is already talking about laying me off because work has died out for the summer (as usual) but sooner and worse than usual.

[sigh] I think I'll still use computers as a tool and a hobby, but I don't want to work on them anymore... I really think I've had enough of the sheer madness of it all.

Message to all computer users everywhere: Use antivirus! Use AdAware! Scan regularly! SAVE regularly! BACK-UP your files regularly! Don't open stupid email attachments! Incredimail and funny emoticon downloads are BAD! STOP IT!

[/rant] 😀 😀 😀 Thanks guys. 😛
 
Yeah, I feel for you man. You think maybe you could convince your co-workers that all of you will have a better chance of keeping your jobs if you share knowledge? That knowledge balance could be helpful later on if you decide to get another job you know...
 
I know what you mean. I did contract work for awhile. I love working with computers, but about 90% of jobs are just tedious work. A lot of times the fun ones are over your head, so it's a shame not to be able to work with someone who can show you new things. I remember cracking open a dual Pentium Pro system that had FCAL drives and fiber GB LAN and I couldn't keep any of it straight. Is this a hard drive controller or a network card? Nevermind the funny cables, WTF is Socket 8? 🙂

Back then I knew NT pretty well, but they were still trying to get me to take A+ certifications that ask questions about the Windows 3.11 system.ini files. I remember actually getting a question wrong on a certification because the test was written before Ultra SCSI existed. Anyway a lot of headaches, and I spend most of my time replacing boards in Toshiba Satellites that MAC Tools reps had dropped out of their trucks.

Sounds like you've run into a few crotchety old guys who don't want to learn anything new. They don't want to teach you anything, because the company will just fire them and pay you less money for the same job as soon as you figure it out. Or maybe I'm just too cynical.

Everybody goes through frustrations. You can tell where people are in the "pissed off at computers" cycle by what kind of things they recommend. At one end of the spectrum, you have the guys who think you should buy stuff on eBay or get PC Chips boards on NewEgg. Everything else is a waste of money! At the other end, you have people who are angry at having to deal with computers and won't recommend anything but ASUS boards and Seagate drives. You'll be sorry if you don't buy a $150 motherboard!

And you forgot the "use Microsoft AntiSpyware" to keep them from doing some of the stupid stuff to begin with.
 
I loathe computers more than most tools but they can do some neat stuff.

As bad as working with them may be, at least doing so is generally clean, dry and free of heavy lifting. 😉
 
Originally posted by: Auric
I loathe computers more than most tools but they can do some neat stuff.

As bad as working with them may be, at least doing so is generally clean, dry and free of heavy lifting. 😉
Click to expand...


Well said. :thumbsup:
 
Originally posted by: bluemax
I've been a big computer geek for a good 20 years and counting. I never thought I'd get enough of them, but I must say.... I'm starting to get sick of computers! :shocked:

I've been a "technician" for many years, but only at the hobbyist, "help out all my friends and family" kind of tech, or doing some contract work once in a while. For the last two months, however, I've been employed as a REAL technician in a professional setting. I repair a bunch of the small-time users the other two techs don't have time for (they're usually out on-site.)

I've seen more computer weirdness in the last two months than in my 20 years of computing! I just can't stand backing away from a problem though, I normally plug away at it until the problem is solved.... here, I can't always do that. Sometimes I'm under VERY tight time constraints so I don't have time to research the problem, back up a drive, reformat/reinstall, etc. Not to mention when applying the proper fixes to a problem doesn't solve them as they should...... ugh.

I also know enough about computers to realize how much I *don't* know... servers and high-end networking (though I have the theory and a Cisco cert.) I could learn, but the two techs don't seem to want to teach or share. If I know something, they claim I'm aloof, if I don't know something they treat me like an incompetant. C'mon... we all know different things and some better than others. I know break-fix better than these two, but they know the IT business and server stuff far better. I know that and would like to balance my skills, but they guys seem to guard their specialties like Xenophobes.

And to cap it all off... the whole computer industry is so volatile! Things were great two months ago, now my boss is already talking about laying me off because work has died out for the summer (as usual) but sooner and worse than usual.

[sigh] I think I'll still use computers as a tool and a hobby, but I don't want to work on them anymore... I really think I've had enough of the sheer madness of it all.

Message to all computer users everywhere: Use antivirus! Use AdAware! Scan regularly! SAVE regularly! BACK-UP your files regularly! Don't open stupid email attachments! Incredimail and funny emoticon downloads are BAD! STOP IT!

[/rant] 😀 😀 😀 Thanks guys. 😛
Click to expand...


Now you know why painters homes always look like they need a coat of paint.

 
rodger that. bluemax. pc's are frustrating to me because like you said its volatile. one week something is safe next week it isent. new viruses /worms come out every minute of the day it seems. have to invest in security software which in a perfect world you shouldnt have to do. etc etc. i feel your pain
 
I can relate. I never have done it on a professional level but I have learned enough to fix mine and have never encountered a problem that I wasn't able to sort out in the end. It may have taken longer than a shop would take but the time and problem were mine. Just because I build my own and a few for family and friends people tend to think I know everything, but I DOT NOT and have never pretended otherwise. I enjoy it because it's my stuff and it's on my time. Still, some people feel compelled to call and ask questions about why a driver won't load or the USB won't work on a Compaq model XYZ. Since they think I live for this crap it doesn't bother them that I might be having dinner or trying to chill out from a long day. Those conversations are usually short - "Try Google."
 
I totally understand. I was a CS major at UGA & dropped out after my junior year. Of course now I make peanuts, while experienced programmers make $60k+ per year, but I don't really regret it.

Honestly, while the money would be nice I wouldn't trade the experiences I have had since dropping for $80k a year...although I would be able to get a nice house then...lol
 
I'm certainly planning a career change... taking a little accounting on the side... I'm just not sure where to go - I've been in "computers" for so long...
 
Just to let you know, i went into sales...but I'm a people person & I know most of us "computer people" aren't (trust me on this one, I sell to you people...lol). It's all about what you want to do & if you found computers to be tedious, boring, or a pain in the ass you probably don't want to get into accounting honestly. I would suggest just doing a little soul searching & finding out what you like to do whether it be sitting at a desk talking on a phone all day or digging ditches for the exercise. I'm in sales because I like helping people & I like to chat with folks...some more than others of course.
 
Originally posted by: Auric
I loathe computers more than most tools but they can do some neat stuff.

As bad as working with them may be, at least doing so is generally clean, dry and free of heavy lifting. 😉
Click to expand...
Amen! :thumbsup:

I've never done the kind of work some of you guys do, but even in my personal system, I used to tweak endlessly, but now I'm more content to get things running reasonably well and leave well enough alone. That doesn't mean that I don't savor the moment of doing a major upgrade on my PC once a year, and the subsequent moving of old parts down to my lesser computers - and of course the week or two of software tweaking that follows. However, I wouldn't want do this every day of the year, which is why I'm probably going to head more in the EE direction when I get to college this fall. Or heck, I might throw this experience all away and go into ME or nuke. 😀
 
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