Who is "the IT guy?"

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Who is "the IT guy?"

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kcahow Grasshopper Points: 14 More actions · Answer 1

I am an application developer, I don't deal with hardware. IT people were the guys upstairs that deal in hardware. Usually the people that refer to me as an "IT guy" want me to fix their computers or build them one, which I avoid doing at all costs 🙂

chris-785301 Newbie Points: 1 More actions · Answer 2

I find it funny that you don't want to have the image of the lawyer or doctor, but you want the same titular respect.

That said, our titles need to have meaning. A Patent Attorney at one law firm does the same thing as a Patent Attorney at another. Because of that everyone knows what a patent attorney is.

However a "Data Architect/ETL developer" is essentially a meaningless title outside the bounds of the company you work for. Simplify it and use words that have universal meaning.

Ted Manasa Default port Points: 1461 More actions · Answer 3

Someguy (6/26/2008)
Hmmmm...
I've read over all the posts, good comments of course, but I'm not sure we're getting the point.
Why are "lawyer" and "doctor" titles that seem to escape having "guy" tethered to their titles?

Thank you, Someguy! This really was the point of the editorial; what's with the "guy" part of the title? I think "guy" does, in some subtle, but real way, suggest something different about the people who get that title. I just wanted to explore what that suggestion might be.

I'm glad you brought us back on point =)

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paulm-724105 SSC Journeyman Points: 75 More actions · Answer 4

Are we really going to discuss this...who gives a flip!

alfred.ortega Newbie Points: 1 More actions · Answer 5

1) When all "IT guys" have 7+ years of schooling before they enter the workforce then they can earn the "prestige" that titles like lawyer or doctor provide.

2) IT guy can be (and most often is IMHO) a general term just like lawyer or doctor - so what that you don't know software architecture or cisco routing? There is a difference between a general family doctor (Geek Squad guy) and a heart specialist (DBA or Software Engineer). It's not insulting to the family doctor to refer you to a specialist who is better able to assist you. The reverse is also true that a specialist might not help you outside of their limited (and intentionally focused) realm of expertise - that is the price to pay for specialization. Are they not both still doctors?

3) As Rodney King so eloquently put it, "Can't we all just get along!":)

-Al

Dave23 Hall of Fame Points: 3903 More actions · Answer 6

In my experience, those who refer to anyone in the hardware and/or software industry as an "IT guy" simply don't understand exactly what it is we do. I've never taken it as any type of insult.

Part of the problem may be that there is no universal standard for naming our specialties. For example, physicians have the Health Care Provider Taxonomy (http://files.medi-cal.ca.gov/pubsdoco/npi/docs/taxonomy_61.pdf) which not only names the specialties, but provides codes for each one as well. AFAIK, we haven't got anything like that.

chapterthirteen SSC-Addicted Points: 449 More actions · Answer 7

Ok Going back on the point:

I think the Doctor gets called Doctor and not 'the doctor guy!' because of respect for the profession. Nice bonus being called a doctor as a courtesy when you aren't a PHD so everyone's a winner there. The main thing is though its a very established, respected, regulated and well defined profession. When you say 'Doctor' people kow what you mean and trust that title.

However when you get to the 'IT guy' it's a very young profession which has exploded into a huge and diverse profession very quickly. People are not really 100% sure who does what and why. Also within the profession the roles are not clearly defined nor are they even finalised to any degree. Regulation is almost none existent (which is both a good and bad thing). Basically people are confused and 'IT Guy' makes them feel they have resolved that confusion.

Additionaly I think the IT profession suffers from a poor reputation partly due to it's almost smoke and mirrors quality due to all the back office infrastructure most people don't even know exists. Not helped by all the Charlatans who call themselves experts when they are just not even competent. Lastly because the industry undersells itself and what it delivers rather than paying for an expert and appreciating what you get people simply see it as an expense they'd like to do without. To be honest people resent paying for intangible products anyway (like expertise and MP3's! 😉 )

IT also jointly suffers with engineering professions from a general distain for vocational technical work that seems to infect the western worlds psyche (despite everything the profession has delivered to the economy past and present). It makes me want to kick them in their Kingdom Brunells

JMO,

D

AMO AMAS AMATIT AGAIN

chapterthirteen SSC-Addicted Points: 449 More actions · Answer 8

D Smith (6/26/2008)
In my experience, those who refer to anyone in the hardware and/or software industry as an "IT guy" simply don't understand exactly what it is we do. I've never taken it as any type of insult.
Part of the problem may be that there is no universal standard for naming our specialties. For example, physicians have the Health Care Provider Taxonomy (http://files.medi-cal.ca.gov/pubsdoco/npi/docs/taxonomy_61.pdf) which not only names the specialties, but provides codes for each one as well. AFAIK, we haven't got anything like that.

D doesn't MCP count as a specialist job code? 😉

Seriously though some official certs do cut the mustard like CISSP for example.

D

AMO AMAS AMATIT AGAIN

BDUNN SSC Enthusiast Points: 122 More actions · Answer 9

I don't think that the general populace quite understands what we do, so IT Guy is about the best we can hope for. I've been happy to get some coworkers to refer to me as "Evil Emperor of the Database". But, mostly I don't care what anyone calls me, as long as those numbers in that little box on the right side of the paycheck keep getting bigger.

Robert Seliga SSC Journeyman Points: 92 More actions · Answer 10

The term IT guy, I've found, is usually only used in small companies where the department is 5 people.

If IT is a big part of your company, then the desktop support team is typically referred to as 'helpdesk', while the rest of the technical folks are just called 'IT'.

No, medical professionals aren't called 'doctor guys' - but doctors have been around since the dawn of man. How long has a technical crew been a financial necessity for a company?

Give it time.. you can't expect immediate acceptance.. computers have really only been in 'wide' use for 'maybe' 25 years?

Ted Manasa Default port Points: 1461 More actions · Answer 11

chapterthirteen (6/26/2008)
Ok Going back on the point:
I think the Doctor gets called Doctor and not 'the doctor guy!' because of respect for the profession.

chapterthirteen, thanks for staying on point. I suppose I should have been more clear in my article about what I'm trying to get at here.

I agree with you that centuries of establishment have helped doctors earn respect. IT folks are part of a very new and rapidly changing field that is hard enough for us to keep up with, let alone "laymen."

At one (long) point in history, "doctors" had to steal bodies from graveyards to learn anatomy and avoid pitchforks and torches. My wife is a doctor and she is the first the say that her field is still not quite a "science". As a matter of fact, the white coat was deliberately adopted by the medical profession to give it more "scientific" credibility.

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NotElite Right there with Babe Points: 764 More actions · Answer 12

Talk about a tempest in a teapot!

Doctor, Lawyer, Engineer, Information Technologist, Cop.

Which one of these has too many syllables?

Anyways, IT Guy it is better than computer guy. Around here, since the majority are women, we're generally called "IT folks", an "IT Professional" or "Someone in IT"

My advice, get over it. One of the reasons you are well-paid is because folks outside the field don't understand what you do.

GSquared SSC Guru Points: 260824 More actions · Answer 13

I think it just boils down to lack of traditional title. "The plumber" is a title that goes back to ancient Rome. "The doctor" has similarly ancient origins. There is no such embracive term for people involved in computer operation, upkeep, etc. (or for cable installation people, for that matter), with any such tradition to it, and such common practice.

The vernacular is trying to catch up with this, by including such general terms as "geek" or "nerd" to refer to "IT guys", but these aren't accepted fully as adequate terms for a generic computer professional, probably at least partially due to derogative connotations and origins of the terms. (The word "geek" originally refered to someone who bit off the heads of live chickens in a circus freakshow. "Nerd" means someone who is socially awkward. Thus, "go get the geek" doesn't refer as well to a computer professional as "go get the doctor" refers to a medical professional.)

Until there is a commonly accepted term for this, "IT guy" is probably the best the language will get. Hopefully, it will end up with something better than "geek". "Doctor" goes back to a word for teacher. Lawyer goes back to a word for one who lays down a foundation. Even plumber derives from someone who works with metal. But if we end up with "geek"? (I would rather end up with something associated with "wizard", which at least has a good derivation and some connection to what we do, than with "geek".)

- Gus "GSquared", RSVP, OODA, MAP, NMVP, FAQ, SAT, SQL, DNA, RNA, UOI, IOU, AM, PM, AD, BC, BCE, USA, UN, CF, ROFL, LOL, ETC
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Ron Kunce SSCrazy Points: 2128 More actions · Answer 14

Now wait, other than the "guy" part, other professions suffer from the same sort of public misconceptions. Just look at the medical field. They are all doctors but have numereous specialties (not including nurses, techs and staff). You wouldn't go to a Poditrist to cure your acne, yet to much of the public any "Doc" should be able to do it all.

The medical field has dealt with this misconception far longer than us "IT guys" and have insulated themselves behind a progressive refferral system. And, in fact we are beginning to organize along those same lines where the Help Desk "guys" are becoming our general practitioners. We may never be totally rid of the "IT guy" just like Doctors still have the "Doc" label but eventually we may achieve the same level of insulation and public awareness of specialization the medical field has.

Ron K.

"Any fool can write code that a computer can understand. Good programmers write code that humans can understand." -- Martin Fowler

Kit Brandner SSC Enthusiast Points: 147 More actions · Answer 15

I think the term "IT guy" is just because people outside of the industry don't understand what we do. I don't particularly care what people call me, especially when I'm not willing to explain the principles of application development to them if they're not going to understand it anyways.

People also call me a bassist and an alcoholic. I suppose you could translate that to the bass guy and the whiskey guy, but it's just another way to say the same thing. We're all unique, just like everybody else.