A little recognition goes a long way.

[mightyj.livejournal.com]

I am the IT Operations department for my company. I install, maintain, and support 2 distinct networks, 35 servers, 50 PC's, 12 Macs, our company web sites and our antiquated phone system. I am responsible for our SOX and PCI (credit card industry) compliance. I am on call 7x24x365.

Today I was helping a user with an especially difficult to track down intermittent problem on his PC. It was extremely gratifying to hear him say, "Boy you have a lot of work to do. I can't believe this company gets by with only one IT person."

Comments

[major-error.livejournal.com]

What a suck-up...

We all know the best way to show appreciation is to bring us beer or shower us with geeky gifts ;)

[xforge.livejournal.com]

Thinkgeek.com gift cards.

The entire run of Thunderbirds on DVD.

[xforge.livejournal.com]

From your lips to the CEO's ears, buddy.

[jecook]

Although gratitude is nice, gifts say "thank you" in a very nice way.

The hacker's dictionary has some nice care and feeding instructions.

[jjjiii]

What do they pay you for all that?

[anamacha.livejournal.com]

sweet. I love that stuff. I'm happy that you got that recognition -- especially in teh face of a little manager-love I got the other day.

[wignersfriend.livejournal.com]

PCI Compliance. My boss has begun cringing at those three little letters now.

Kudos to you for doing that by yourself. There's only two of us here and we have a hard time as it is.

I'm just glad our users are so friendly and understanding.

[mouser.livejournal.com]

It's gone from one to three here (and I need, but won't get, a fourth). Fewer servers, lots more PCs and three POS (Point of Sale) systems plus three different systems where we sell access to the internet. (The first one of you that thinks we should just give away access is invited to pay for the multiple T1 lines, then to bite me.)

Most people say "Thank you, know you how hard you work, etc." when I fix their problems. To date, only ONE has said it anytime *other* than when I'm working on their crap.

[margaretc.livejournal.com]

Shit, I hope they're paying you enough for it! There is NO WAY I'd do that kind of work for less than 3x what I'm making now, which would put it well into the 6-figure range.
I guess you're without family, hobbies, or free time. Don't kid yourself, do a little bit of job research and tell your boss/CEO what others in your field make for half the work.
Sysadmin slavery. Jeez.