The Hidden Dangers of Working in IT?
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- Everythingbutnothing
An interesting thought on the Dangers of Working in IT. Something any IT type needs to be aware of.
Working in IT has a lot of up sides, there is always new and interesting challenges that can be pretty fun to solve. Finishing a product is always exciting. Getting into a solid state of productivity is also a lot of fun, getting that rush of flow going and losing yourself in it.
But there are a number of negative aspects that I don't think many people are fully aware of. Sure most people know one or two but probably don't realize they may be suffering from the side effects of the industry that they aren't aware of.
I have experienced burn out twice in my career after working for 5 years in one job or another and I know it's a pretty common thing in IT. Just yesterday one of my colleagues was telling me about a friend of theirs who was a brilliant developer but got so burnt out he quite and now he works as an attendant in a parking garage.
Everything in life has a positive side and a negative side and while it probably isn't a good idea to dwell endlessly on the negative it is very beneficial to be aware of it and develop strategies to overcome it.
So lets go through the negative aspects of working in IT and look at some ways of overcoming them:
Mental exhaustion - Due to the intense nature of IT work it involves a lot of deep thinking, learning new concepts and hours of intense concentration. This can quickly use up our mental reserves and leave us feeling drained and brain dead at the end of the day. Especially when we are doing a lot of overtime. This in itself isn't so much of an issue but it often leads to other problems for example feeling too drained to exercise or cook a proper meal at the end of the day or do any productive things that can be done in the evening, like socialize and actually live your life!
The best way to deal with this is to work less or take a nap after your work day is over. Don't do constant overtime! Be aware of your mental energy and you will get good at not overworking yourself, there is nothing wrong with taking a break just put up a page of code and pretend you are thinking about it while you listen to some music or something. Pace yourself. I catch a 1 hour train to and from work so generally I deal with this by having a nap on the way home then I begin my evening with lots of mental energy!
Bad health - Humans aren't designed to sit at a desk for most of their life, we were designed to be active and doing things to survive. When working in IT we need to find some time to do some exercise and eat decent food. Beware the trap of too much caffeine and sugar to compensate for mental fatigue and poor health.
You don't need to go the gym or join a sports team, though these are also good things but it's important to find something physical that you enjoy and can do regularly. Try different things, personally I do a 10-15 minute exercise routine every morning involving things I can do anywhere like squats, star jumps, crunches and push-ups. Then I like to do something outside once or twice a week, squash, long walks, swimming, riding a bicycle.
The computer is not your friend - No matter how much IT guys fantasize about a sexy female AI we have to face the truth that these don't exist yet. Do female IT workers fantasize about male AIs? I'd love to know the answer to that one!
The fact is working at the computer means we miss out on the social aspect that most other jobs require so if we aren't careful we end up getting very rusty in the social skills which translates to fewer and fewer friends and eventually to lonely unhappiness. This often happens over a longer period of time so it can be easy not to notice it until one day you wind up at some party and realise you are struggling to relate to anyone!
Life draining - There will always be another urgent system that needs to be built yesterday, don't let companies take over your life. Its easy to lose sight of your bigger life goals when you spend all your days putting all your energy into someone else's code. I live in Australia where we get 4 weeks holiday, this isn't ever enough, here overtime is a social norm so with over time and 48 weeks worth of work those 4 weeks are mostly used to recover, catch up with family, and deal with other real life emergencies that come up like weddings and funerals. We need to live our own lives outside work, follow our own passions, develop ourselves, learn new things, travel and spend time with those we care about. I learnt this lesson the hard way after developing stress related depression. Work does not equal life.
My solution to this is to take big breaks. IT pays fairly well so save up some money, tell your boss you plan on taking 3-6 months off every couple of years. Give them lots of warning. Save a little extra in case they decide to fire you and you need to find a new position when you get back and take back some of your own life. This solution only works if you don't live at the edge of your means, don't get a mortgage you can barely afford to pay off, don't live a hugely expensive life style. Time is worth more than things so buy some of it back off your work. Other options might be working 4 days a week or moving to France where they are only permitted to work 35 hours a week.
Stress - likewise we can get a lot of stress can come from a lot of areas, deadlines (usually artificial), unrealistic expectations, unclear specifications, even lack of work can be stressful.
I've found the best way to deal with stress is to expect some level, remember IT isn't easy and is a highly important component of many business that they don't fully understand so they are likely to be fearful and stressed and put that stress on you as the expert. Don't buy it. Be really clear on what you can do and how long you think it will take. Raise any issues as soon as you are aware of them. Let people know if you are stuck on something. The main thing is to make sure you assess your own success and use your own judgment over that of your bosses or co-workers. You are the best judge of if you are doing a good job not them.
Taken from:
- flashbender0
WTF is the point of this?
- To save those who look like this chap - perhaps this is an indication Flashbender of the stress you might be going through ;) heheEverythingbutnothing
- nah - I take a month off every 4 months and I don't work in IT ... I doubt many people here work in IT actuallyflashbender
- Oh. So that picture is not yourself? I thought maybe it was a cry for help or something....Everythingbutnothing
- you need to get away from the computer more I think. Go out, maybe see a flim once in a while.flashbender
- It looks like the kind of ironic crap someone on a compute all day might watch...Everythingbutnothing
- nop, no itony in there at all.flashbender
- itony? no no, no irony.flashbender
- GeorgesII0
Your jail survival guide if you're a why who use to work in IT.
1)Stay away from tattoos. Prison ink is guaranteed Hepatitis.
2)Don't fall into the Mentor/new guy trap. Some dude will try and "help you out" as the new guy. Politely decline. You will end up HIS bitch, or he will sell you to someone as a bitch.
3)Don't fucking do drugs while in jail. You'll probably have an easier time finding drugs in jail than you could in the streets. You get into bad debt real fast with a drug habit.
4)Get all the money you can together, get your family to put it on your books as soon as you get there. Little luxuries like packaged food and cigarettes(if they allow them) will keep you sane, not to mention they are de facto jail currency. Don't be ashamed to bribe someone with luxuries to get in good favor, or ease a hurt ego. If you think anyone has beef with you, pay it off.
5)Don't try and be a badass, but dont' be a bitch. If someone mouths off to you, walk away. If someone pisses you off, walk away. If someone instigates with you, walk away. There is always someone bigger and more dangerous than you in jail. That being said, don't just roll over for everything. You need to be exercising EVERY day, as much as you can. It will make the time go faster, and you'll "look" and "be" better able to defend yourself. Hold you head up, act confident, if you find yourself in a fight situation that you can't buy out of/escape from. Put your back to the wall, make ALOT of noise so the guards will notice, watch for secondary threats. (Most prison attacks are group affairs, you fight with one guy, and his friend that you've never said a word to shanks your ass).
6)Stay the fuck awake. Most newbies will try and sleep their time up. All this does is make you more of a target, deteriorates your physical and mental health, and wastes your time. Your incarcerated, not dead. If your jail doesn't have a furthering education class, enroll in drug counseling....or mental health counseling, or whatever. Keep your mind busy. Start working on your job resume so you can hit the streets ready to go. at the very least, File a damn appeal. Most likely nothing will come of it, but it will keep your occupied with a goal to accomplish, and you may luck out and get a resentencing.
7)If you get the opportunity to become a trustee, take it, no matter what it is. The highest sought after jobs are Kitchen workers, but even working a chainsaw clearing trees off of power lines is better than sitting in a cell all day. Once you become a trustee, DON'T FUCK IT UP. Somebody will always try and get you to smuggle them sugar from the kitchen, or extra socks from the laundry, or pickup some smack off the side of the road you are picking up. DON'T. Politely decline, tell them you were going insane sitting in your cell all day, and you can't risk losing the job.
8)Don't narc on fellow inmates. Shut your damn mouth and say, "I didn't see anything", or "I don't know what happened". the guards will make nice with you, and clap you on the back for helping them find that hooch. But then they are going to leave, and you are going to stay in your cell with some very pissed off inmates. Unless it directly involves you and your safety, it doesn't involve you. The only time you should narc on an inamte is if they have made an attempt to harm you. Not just talked about it, actually attacked you or pulled a shank.
9)Shanks are great, if you're an accomplished knife fighter that doesn't care about spending a month in 23 hr lockdown if you get caught. Don't bring a weapon to a fight if you can have it taken from you, because it will be used on you. Even if you get into a shank fight with another inmate that has one, and you win, you still lose. Because you WILL get cut up just as bad, or worse case, you kill someone, and now you just slapped a 25 yr prison sentence on the back end. To defend against someone with a shank, extend your hands outwards with a slight bend in the elbows directly in front of you. Turn your palms to your face ( a knife slash across the back of the hand is better than your wrist or palm) Get into an open area and move constantly away from your assailant, trying to get as close to the main door as possible, because that's where your only help is coming from. Swat downwards at the hands and arms of your attacker if they try and slash or stab, to knock the blade away from your torso, head, and groin. Keep moving backwards, but don't turn your back. Keep moving.
10)Don't...fuck..up...again. Despite your idealogies and beliefs, Marijuana is still illegal. Getting caught with it will result in the same shit as before. As soon as you get out, Move. Move as far away as you can from where you were living before. Get a job, get new friends, start school, leave every negative influence in your life behind.
edit #11) Don't be a dick. Be nice to your fellow inmates. Talk to them, respect their culture and heritage. Since it's jail, you probably won't get as much pressure to join a gang, but decline if you are offered. Give them shit from time to time, share cigarettes, toss them a hostess cake, whatever. Don't gamble on card games. Play only friendly games. If you lose, you lose. If you win, you lose, because now someone's pissed at you for winning. Don't try and be an aloof loner, but don't get to cozy with anyone. These are not people to hang out with on the outside. Don't believe a FUCKING thing they tell you, and don't pry into their personal lives. If they say they're in jail for burglary, they're in jail for Arson, aggravated assault, and burglary. If they say they're in jail for murder, they're in jail for DWI. IF they say they're in jail for Embezzlement, they're in jail for raping two nine yr old girls. Keep it on the level of coworkers that you aren't friends with. Talk nice to them when they are around, don't talk about them when they aren't. Discuss neutral things like sports, health care reform, the hotness of actresses, etc. Don't get locked in to discussing criminal activities, family problems, other inmates, or religion.
- why = guyGeorgesII
- NICE!
I try and refrain from being badass in relation to everything I do. Perhaps Im just a sucker...Everythingbutnothing
- bulletfactory0
*didn't read
hidden dangers of working in IT
- Virginity
- Acid-washed Jeans
- Polo Shirts- open shirt over t-shirt warning...maikel
- no way maikel - thats so a designer thing. Not IT thing.Hombre_Lobo
- Everythingbutnothing0
Dangers indeed.
