Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Question for the IT guys

because computers and networking and IT stuff in general is so unlike anything else that it is tough to explain in laymans terms. especially to older people. try to explain virtualization and containerization and microservices to the uninitiated sometimes. whole different world

There are two types of IT staff. Those who can talk to normal people. And those who want to describe how to generate electricity every time you ask them to turn on the light switch. The second category should never be allowed to talk or interact with anyone except other IT propeller heads. Few and far between are IT professionals who can both deeply understand the technology and then articulate that understanding in a meaningful manner such that normal people's eyes do not glaze over... After 40 years of being locked in the back room, apart from normal people, I am gradually earning the privilege to occasionally talk with normal people...

IT guys in the 90’s were much better at talking in layman’s terms as EVERYONE was a complete dumb fuqk when it came to tech.

Practice makes perfect. And back then they were all mostly American white guys who could read and write English.

Mart,

This is in no way an issue limited to the IT world. The same problem exists in most call centers. The best reps are the one who understand they don't need to tell the customer everything they know, just what the customer needs to know about their specific question.

You guys would love my IT guy, have known him since a baby, he's 24 or so now. Works on cars, has a hella cool .45 his gramps built him. He's not real patient about explaining puter stuff or going slow enough you can see wtf he's doing. But he's no nerd, he's also bowled a few sanctioned 300 games and he buys me good whiskey that we imbibe upon after I cut his hair.

FatCity67,
It was a lot easier then because it was a lot simpler. Back then the Serial Peripheral Interface (SPI) bus was integrated into MCUs which was straightforward and easy to explain and understand. Now with cheaper silicon the Inter-Integrated Circuit (I2C) bus (and CAN bus which is in your car) has been integrated into MCUs which is a much more versatile bus and hence much more complicated. Not that I'd ever try to explain I2C to a layman, just an example of how much more complicated everything has gotten. (Ever try to combine Windows 98 and Windows XP machines on Ethernet? )

When I fix something, I usually tell the person that it's fixed and asked them to prove that it works. If they ask what I did, I'll give them an answer. If they don't I tell them to take care and I walk away. I usually have about 20 tickets in my queue at any given time and a handful of projects to do. I don't have time to stand around trying to explain everything I do.

I used to make something up. For something like this I'd tell them it was so that the bits didn't run out the end of the cable all over the floor. When They asked why their computer kept getting dicked up I either told them because they surfed too much porn (true about 90 +% of the time) or that they simply were not decent moral people (true 100% of the time). The absolute truth is that no one really wants to know anything abut it except the people who have to fix it, and most of them would sooner execute the user and have a complete solution.

That IT stuff is complicated and to hard for me. Being a softy I just play with 1's and 0's.

I've been in it for 20 years. Currently, I work with one other and we are definitely two different folks. Most everyone comes to me or emails me and ignores him because he does what the OP described. I realize the end user doesn't care how it is fixed and why it happened (unless it was of their doing). Just get whatever back going for them without a whole lot of fuss. I can't complain, I've had made a pretty good life doing it, if I had to do things over I probably wouldn't have got into it...but so far so good. If your IT person starts talking linux jibberish...back away slowly.

I think the biggest part of the problem is that IT is a people business that attracts people who would rather interact with machines. I got into it in the 90's because I was looking for a way to make money not because I particularly loved tech. At that time it was THE hot field, the place to be. I am not a big enough people person to succeed in say sales, but probably more so than the average IT guy. I got my first job after a few interviews because the guy that hired me said he could tell I could talk to people and hired me for that reason hoping he could teach me the tech stuff I needed to know. His customers were rural people and I guess he could tell I spoke their language.

I succeeded to a point. I was very good at the support side of the business, was a great right hand man, but sometimes needed help with the coding. After my last tech job got outsourced to Apu in India, I took stock and came to the conclusion that I was never going to be a department head or supervisor, most likely always a microserf in the field so I went in other directions.

As an IT guy for over 25 years now, most users really only want to hear three things when you come in to the room: 1. I understand your problem. 2. I can fix it. 3. It wasnt your fault. When I began at UPS, I regularly dealt with entry level, shipping people in warehouses (not your best and brightest). I quickly managed to learn how to speak in "laymans" terms. The main issues I see in the field: 1. People have a hard time explaining what the issue is (Its broke! thats all I know). Or, they dont like to ask for help. I imagine it is much like an auto mechanic explaining an auto repair to a "typical" millennial? Where they just nod their heads and pay the bill.

I've been on the development side for 25 years, I learned a long time ago to communicate with management with a completely different language. It's like like talking to a gun loony vs someone who doesn't understand the difference between a magazine and a clip. But honestly when you live in tech world, that's pretty much how you communicate in a complex concepts.

Think about a builder talking about hip rafters and valley jacks to home owner. it's just technically correct jargon.

I tend to think most IT guys I meet are rather lonely in their job, and so they enjoy "talking shop" about things that they are immersed in and make a living at. No different than any other person who has a complex job or hobby that they like to talk about.

I just let them talk it out, then ask them to explain it in idiot terms for me. They seem to enjoy the interaction, I learn a little bit more each time, and they know they have a relational friend in the building if needed.

Workplace advancement is primarily about relationships, not advanced competency.

Funniest thing is when a manager wants a number and asks what is behind the number you give them.
Those can get real technical with a lot of caveats behind them. And the shades of difference between 2 numbers can be very pale.

I sell building and construction materials out of two stores. We have a network that links them together. Our phone system is Voice Over IP. In the past 20 years, I've basically learned how everything works. I have to deal with software guys, hardware guys, telecom guys, and Comcast. I need to know a little because most of the time they are logged in remotely and they need me to show them what's wrong. To me, they're all IT Guys. I put them in three categories.

The IT Nerd: Usually a kid in his 20's or 30's. He eats, breaths, and sleeps everything IT or computer related. This is all he knows, and doesn't interact with regular people and can't communicate in layman's terms. At the end of the day, he goes home to Mommy and Daddy's basement and plays video games.

The Power Hungry IT Nerd: These azzholes think they're the smartest person in the room. They intentionally talk over your head to make you feel stupid and to show you that they're smarter than you. They know they have you by the balls. They often get frustrated easily with you're ignorance and cop an attitude. They rush through it and screw up more than they fix. At the end of the day, they also go home to Mommy and Daddy's basement to play video games.

The IT Professional: These guys know their schit. They're generally cool, calm, and collected. They are tolerant of your ignorance and can talk to you so you can understand. They get in, do what they need to do, get out, and move on. At the end of the day, they go home to their wife and kids.

I used to be the "IT Guy" , have you ever told your IT guy lets go for a beer or lunch or talk to him about baseball ? my problem was I became more and more isolated .

people came to me when they needed something and they hated to stand in line to get their problem resolved.

I always liked bouncing the rubber balls in the room. Of course, it was padded, not concrete.

And Terminators are needed to fix scheidt in the past the will fugg up the future for the ruling classes. Doesn't everyone know that?

Geno

PS, all I know is I screwed up big time in HS when I told my friends in "Computer Science" classes after looking at their COBAL and FORTRAN books that if the average Jill and Joe needed to learn that crap to use computers those things were going nowhere.

PPS, I should check, those guys probable made millions investing in MS and APPLE.

I always thought a bus was something that hauled kids back and forth to school.