So my job is getting pretty FUCK AWESOME

[Ecrofirt]

Let me start by saying I enjoy my job a lot, but some aspects of it are starting to wear thin.

I'm employed by my college as basic IT staff. It's more than a student aid position, and less than a full time employee. I'm in the help desk area mainly, so you can imagine that I'm constantly fixing people's computers and shit. The people are great and I have a blast there, but some of the help desk stuff has started to get really boring. I work on Tuesdays from 9-7 or so (with a break from 2-3:30 for a class), and usually after my break there's nothing to do except clean spyware off of user's machines. The novelty of dealing with these distinguished mentally-challenged fellows' PCs has worn out, so i usually find myself doing next to nothing with the machines at night (This also explains why I get so hostile when people on forums have spyware problems. Sorry if I'm a jerk :\). I'll start a scan on a few of them and then basically sit there and browse GAF and EB until it's time to leave.

That being said, over the past few months or so, I've been able to weasel myself into doing programming stuff for people, and it's been pretty awesome at keeping me sane. I'm not making big applications or anything, but if for instance someone is trying to automate something a million times in Excel or some shit and a macro just ain't cuttin' it, I'll git 'r done. Last week I had a blast doing some archaic Access programming which uses some flavor of Visual Basic 6. One of the full time help desk people needed somethnig for a phoneathon that would cycle through a bunch of Pivot Charts, displaying each for 30 seconds. The damn thing was a bitch to get working correctly, but I had a blast slacking off from student machine hell and programming that little rinky-dink thing.

As chance would have it, I happened to go on a help call to a podcasting lecture for professors, and I noticed most of them weren't really getting the concept of editing the XML file and uploading everything online. I talked it over with the guys running the show afterward, and I'm now going to be making an application that lets them do a simple edit of their XML fields, and then uploads both the XML file and the .mp3 podcast to the school's server. Looks like it'll be fairly easy to implement, so that's pretty exciting.

So yea, here I am. IT guy / Programmer for Hire (only if you're my current employer lolz) and enjoying every minute of it more and more now. Oh yea, and I keep getting asked to do outside computer work for people. Nothing like quick cash money from cleaning spyware off of people's machines.

I just posted this to take a bit of a break from physics studying. If I had a blog, I'm sure that would be a more appropriate place for it.

[MrAngryFace]

Enjoying your job is awesome. I actually love my current job. Best fit for a job so far.

[demi]

I fucking hate fixing anyone's computer. I hate IT. I do like making websites and the sort, though.

[Ecrofirt]

I fucking hate fixing anyone's computer. I hate IT. I do like making websites and the sort, though.

I really wish I was better at doing websites. The local designers are really really shitty, and if I knew a little more I could probably make a killing. Sadly, I've never learned anything past the nested tables of yore.

[xnikki118x]

My boyfriend is obviously fucking awesome.

Also, Demi, you should be a business partner with James. Then you and I can hang out too and listen to GOOD MUSIC together.

[Ecrofirt]

My boyfriend is obviously fucking awesome.

Also, Demi, you should be a business partner with James. Then you and I can hang out too and listen to GOOD MUSIC together.

Nikki, he lives in Ohio. You're so weirdo.

[demi]

I'm open to relocation.

[bluemax]

Wow they actually service student computers there? Our university does nothing like that. They help you get on the internet and set up your email and that is it.

I work for our Student Affairs Division where I do similar stuff to you minus the programming. Because the computers are all bought by us its a lot less headache because we deal with standardized setups and have ghost images.

My job has gotten better since they hired a full time guy to replace my old supervisor. If I don't get an internship they're going to give me a raise to stay on for the summer.

[Ecrofirt]

Wow they actually service student computers there? Our university does nothing like that. They help you get on the internet and set up your email and that is it.

I work for our Student Affairs Division where I do similar stuff to you minus the programming. Because the computers are all bought by us its a lot less headache because we deal with standardized setups and have ghost images.

My job has gotten better since they hired a full time guy to replace my old supervisor. If I don't get an internship they're going to give me a raise to stay on for the summer.

All of our campus computers are leased Dells, and we've got 'em ghosted and stuff.

But yea, we do free work on student machines. We usually get bombarded after breaks because the fuckin idiots will go home and within a few days their computers will be FULL of trojans and spyware and shit. Out network shuts down their ports when they get that shit, so they bring the computers to us to get them cleaned. There's usually at least 2 machines in at a time, but it's been as high as 10 or 11 machines at once that we're trying to work on. Gets really hectic keeping track of what's what at that point, and takes a lot longer to get machines clean because we just physically run out of outlets and stuff.

[xnikki118x]

Wow they actually service student computers there? Our university does nothing like that. They help you get on the internet and set up your email and that is it.

I work for our Student Affairs Division where I do similar stuff to you minus the programming. Because the computers are all bought by us its a lot less headache because we deal with standardized setups and have ghost images.

My job has gotten better since they hired a full time guy to replace my old supervisor. If I don't get an internship they're going to give me a raise to stay on for the summer.

All of our campus computers are leased Dells, and we've got 'em ghosted and stuff.

But yea, we do free work on student machines. We usually get bombarded after breaks because the fuckin idiots will go home and within a few days their computers will be FULL of trojans and spyware and shit. Out network shuts down their ports when they get that shit, so they bring the computers to us to get them cleaned. There's usually at least 2 machines in at a time, but it's been as high as 10 or 11 machines at once that we're trying to work on. Gets really hectic keeping track of what's what at that point, and takes a lot longer to get machines clean because we just physically run out of outlets and stuff.

You forgot about the part on move-in days when people can't plug computers into walls.

Nikki, he lives in Ohio. You're so weirdo.

You're so weirdo. Go study some more.

[Tauntaun]

My boyfriend is obviously fucking awesome.

Also, Demi, you should be a business partner with James. Then you and I can hang out too and listen to GOOD MUSIC together.

   Za metalz iz good muzic ya?  KEEP IT METAL ECRO!

also the first time I saw this avatar I nearly died.

[Prost]

Hey man if you can do IT and enjoy it then grats to you!

[nufaust]

i admire ppl like you ecro, i got an IT degree and had an IT job but....i just hated every minute of it and ran away to management side of things as soon as i could. i wish i could have enjoyed programming, i would be doing much more money than i do now  :'(

[MrAngryFace]

I have liberal arts and digital design degrees and ended up doing something completel different and am pretty happy.

I think the time spent earning the degrees matters more than what degree it is.

[hyp]

I think the time spent earning the degrees matters more than what degree it is.

qft.  i got a business degree and didn't do shit with it.  now i'm doing motion graphics and video editing in the arcade industry.  go figure.  love my job, but at the end of the day, it's a job.  any place where you're not working for yourself is prison to me.