Spiceworks Community Digest: Found in translation
The painful but true reality of working in IT is that either involves explaining complex issues in layman’s terms or resorting to some form of every IT professionals favorite question: Have you tried turning it off and on again?
This reality is what often forces IT professionals to deal with bizarre scenarios and unexpected user errors. A recent thought experiment asked the community to imagine: If IT acted like another profession, what would it say? The answers reveal a shared understanding of the frustrating, hilarious, and sometimes gray area of their roles.
- PHtheAdmin: “IT as a lawyer – Before we proceed, can you confirm you’ve read the terms and conditions of existing reality? “
- Heidette: “If IT was like the Emergency Room, ‘you have a workaround . . . you’ll live . . . excuse me while I attend to this more critical patient’.”
- Adam345: “If IT was a plumber it would be sucking in through teeth ‘oooh, hmmm… not too sure… but it’s going to cost you…'”
- willsmith79052: “If IT was a chef: Have you tried removing the cookies and clearing the kitchen cache? haha”
- C-T: “If IT was a tattoo artist it would say ‘Yea, I can definitely do that but when you inevitably hate it, the removal process is going to involve a lot swearing.'”
- The Sith Admin: “I pulled you over because you clicked on a suspicious url, here is your summons for more security training.”
- Great and Powerful Admin: “If IT was a like a fast food restaurant … ‘Please pull forward while we finish installing your updates.'”
- dwo1064: “Veterinarian: It’s time for your annual shots (firmware upgrade)”
What these responses really say about the IT function
These scenarios provide more than just laughs; they offer critical insights into the complex role IT plays within any organization, highlighting the specialized skills that make the job. The core function of an IT professional is not just to fix things, but to translate chaos into compliance, which requires a cocktail of technical expertise, psychology, and strategic thinking.
Join the conversation on Spiceworks and share your own analogy.
