You know...

[canray.livejournal.com]

I'm wondering how little respect we feel we get.

We're the ones keeping the world running, and, often, I felt like I had to lie about my job...

"What do you do?"

"Oh, I'm a Pimp/Drug Dealer/Tax Collector." would probably get a happier reception than "Oh, I do Tech Support."

Is it just me?

Comments

[kalifla.livejournal.com]

I respect damn near everybody who posts here.

[superbus.livejournal.com]

Honestly? I think you're right.

I usually use my official job titles - "Applications Analyst", and soon to be "Security Engineer" - than "tech support", but honestly, I think we do it to ourselves.

Not US, mind you. But the majority of people that call into tech support do it to large ISPs, and they get either a completely moronic Lv. 1 tech in America, or worse, they get a completely moronic Lv. 1 tech in India, and it takes everything short of an act of God to be escalated up; too many times when even I call into some places, I get told "there is no one else that can help you" or "we have no managers", when I KNOW that's not the case. We're basically our own stereotype, which is why I always let a little bit of my personality come through when I'm talking to most customers. It humanizes me.

[emsporter.livejournal.com]

I worked at a call center like that. My manager was non-technical, didn't have her own extension, and explicitly refused to ever take a call, regardless of how bitchy the caller was. And the next tier did not have available phone numbers. The only way we could contact them was via the ticketing system.

(I hated that job SO MUCH.)

[tecie.livejournal.com]

Usually, yes. The fault is with all of us who allowed it to get this far. There aren't many good politician/geek hybrids, which is what a lot of major companies need to fix the situation. Most of the time, they are a politician who knows how to install the drivers for his digital camera.

[celyste.livejournal.com]

basic difference that I can see? tech support has to be seen as trustworthy... even when it involves lying to get that appearance. politicians are seen to be lying even when they are telling the truth.

complete opposite sides of the coin.

[siliconshaman.livejournal.com]

Yeah... basic problem is we traded points in our People Skills for Tech Skills, and it takes people skills to kiss/kick ass enough to gain respect.

[canray.livejournal.com]

Sometimes, I wish I was in Alpha Complex. Then I can go, "Friend Computer, this COMMIE is attempting to make me unhappy!"

Darn good game. Running a demo of it today! :-D

[the-reda.livejournal.com]

I think the 'no respect' thing goes with any service job people 'think' they can do themselves.
Tech support, teaching etc.

People are idiots.

[trayce.livejournal.com]

Aye I agree. Teaching's been in the news a lot in my area lately as our state's public school teachers are being royally shafted (compared both to other states, and to private schools), and just want a pay rise. The amount of armchair critic comments saying "but you guys have so many holidays and your work day is shorter, quit whining!" is stunning. Do people have no idea how hard teachers work!?

[jecook]

Heh.

When I tell people where I work anymore, I tell em, "I do back office support for [local indian casino]". This usually (but not always) cuts off the "cool! can you rig the slot machines for me?" gag before it even begins.

While I don't keep the place running on a day to day basis, I do keep the support team running reasonably smoothly. (I'm one of the two lead techs, and we get all the crappy paperwork jobs, the really difficult tasks, and other drudgework.)

[mynameisnotreal.livejournal.com]

Should we unionize?

[the-s-guy.livejournal.com]

It's a question which has been floating around for many years. Traditionally, techsupport has been seen as a 'white-collar' job, leading to some social resistance to the idea of unions, which are often thought of as blue-collar phenomena. On the other hand, our profession has not been seen as requiring a high enough degree of formal training, education and testing to elevate it to the status associated with national and global professional associations and societies. System Administrators have SAGE, but it's not that well-known.

Part of the problem is that IT in general is a very new type of work. Doctors, engineers, traders, explorers, middle management... these have all been around for millennia. Even more modern trades like auto mechanics could build on the legacy of general repairers, machinists, and metalcrafters.

A surprising amount of the general public don't even know that we exist as a profession - the first time they even have to consider the possibility is when looking up a computer shop in the Yellow Pages because their computer's acting funny or gone dead. It wouldn't suprise me to hear that some folks think Geek Squad was the first ever computer-fixing service, simply because it's had more advertising.

Another issue is turnover. We probably have one of the highest levels of churn of any industry, and that includes fast food. The median age for techsupport is very young - a lot of younger phonemonkeys won't even realise that better pay and conditions are even available until years after they've moved on to other careers. They may not even care, if they're thinking of the job as just a springboard to other work.

Then there's the comparisons - "Well, my job is indoor work, no heavy lifting, I can't really complain." Or that in some cases, all staff at a shop (including techs) already belong to the local relevant industry union.

I'm not saying it's impossible, and it may even have benefits in the long run, but anyone looking to set something up is going to have their work cut out for them.

[onyxrising.livejournal.com]

There is at least one existing union I know of that covers tech support call centers.

[canray.livejournal.com]

There aren't enough Jock Geeks around to handle the Strike Breakers I'm sure the companies will call in.

[fallconsmate.livejournal.com]

my comment to tech support people varies. from "will you marry me?" to "oh gods, i am sooo sorry!"

the last two otherloves were tech guys. i miss them terribly. heart attacks and cancer are no respecters of relationships.

[pellucidae.livejournal.com]

Having been a secretary in a past life, I would much rather tell people I do tech support. You've never seen respect fall off people's faces till you've seen their expressions when you tell them you have a clerical job.

[the-s-guy.livejournal.com]

Isn't it "Executive Assistant" now? :)

[canray.livejournal.com]

I find I get more respect as a Temp Bureaucrat than I ever did as a Tech.

[the-s-guy.livejournal.com]

Depends on how you spin it.

For impressiveness? "When the computers that run everything break, I'm the one they call."

For avoiding requests for free support? "I stare at colored dots and press little plastic squares with my fingers, all day long."

Precise descriptions are only for talking to other techs.

[omg-teh-funnay.livejournal.com]

I tell people I protect my company's (commercially sold) systems from the end users.

If I'm feeling froggy, I tell them that my job is so nerdy that I can't explain it unless you already know what I do. It's AMAZING how often that works.

For the record, I provide front-line and escalated support for a clustered network storage system. It's not a NAS and it's not a SAN but it it's something new entirely. I love startups...

[celyste.livejournal.com]

Sadly... it can get worse. Include the word "callcenter" when you give the job description. see if you an even get people to let you finish speaking before they stop listening.

[canray.livejournal.com]

Yeah... That was me. :-(

[canray.livejournal.com]

So were some of my workmates.

I am positive they took the short bus to work every day.

[wignersfriend.livejournal.com]

I generally qualify to people what I do (tech support) with whom I do it for (currently a nationally renowned tasty frozen treats company). I've never noticed a person's respect for me drop off after such a statement.

[soldierx.livejournal.com]

I think people would get more respect as tech support if people were like myself who did tech support had half a brain and knew what they were doing and actually knew something about computers.

Call centers make me look bad and in retrospect make actual tech support people who have diplomas in computers and what not look like crap cause of the people they hire off the street, if they hired people with actual technical knowledge then it wouldn't be so bad. Hence why tech support is so looked down upon.

My father won't say it to my face, but I know when I went into computers and took support he thought i'd never get anything out of it and now i'm making sweet money, 100% benefits and a pension. I also get to live back in the place where I feel most at peace with myself which was the hometown I grew up in.

You take the call centers out of the equation and suddenly again were heroes of technology.

[celyste.livejournal.com]

That is incredibly demeaning to those of us on here that do choose to work in callcenters. Do we get the odd person that can tell the difference from a enet and a coax... yes; but we all work dang hard to teach the teachable, and there are a good number of us that are not the scum of the earth.

[bamatone.livejournal.com]

My users respect and appreciate me because they know me. Other than that, I think you and some others who have commented are pretty correct - a lot of people have a bad perception of tech support because of their experiences with phone support and local news outlets showing how lame Geek Squad is.

Huh?

[rose-welch.livejournal.com]

All of my friends are in awe of myself and my husband, even though I am really just a user, and my hubby is tech support. When we meet new people, they get all wide-eyed and are impressed. (And alot of the bastards ask for help, although my hubby usually pulls out the 'I have a non-compete agreement' speech on them.)