It takes a special person to be an IT Admin, it really does. These guys (and sometimes girls) are sorely needed within a company and they have a style that’s uniquely all their own.
So, what are some dead giveaways for identifying these techie geniuses? If a majority of the following criteria is met, you may in fact be an IT Admin – or maybe on your way to becoming one.
1) You own a fish tank.
Typically saltwater, your fish tank has its share of brightly-colored coral reef dwellers. At least one of these fish is the tank’s large alpha predator and you enjoy watching this fish eat its food while scaring the other fish. It’s sort of like waiting all day before you can go home and feed a tiny white mouse to a python – which you’d love to own.
2) You sport a ponytail.
Fashion be damned, you march to the beat of your own drum. Besides, who else “gets” to do server updates during the weekend maintenance window from 2 to 5 am early Saturday morning? That’s right, you and only you. Wear that ponytail with pride, yo.
3) You wear sandals.
Again, who needs fashion? Your job is making sure that websites stay up and information is processed smoothly. You don’t need a suit and tie and $500 Italian dress shoes to do that. From Birkenstocks to Crocs, you’re not trying to impress anyone; comfort and airflow is the name of the game here.
4) You drink copious amounts of Mountain Dew.
This is a no-brainer. You need that slime green-colored caffeine boost to give you energy to stay awake all night. Doritos are usually the accompaniment of choice to this nectar of the gods, obviously.
5) You have an unhealthy (or healthy, depending on how you look at it) obsession with kung fu movies.
Whenever a movie marathon with David Carradine, Chuck Norris, or yes, even Steven Seagal, is on TV, you’re definitely busy. All weekend. Your colleagues’ quarantined emails can wait.
6) You own at least one of the following: a sword, nunchucks, a bow staff, an axe, a mace, or a spear.
While some of these may, in fact, be illegal to own, who’s going to attempt to take away what’s yours? Try it, and they’ve got a swift Bruce Lee roundhouse to the temple coming to ‘em (well, that’s how you imagine it, at least).
7) You are a night owl and you send emails at 2 AM.
You do your best work in the middle of the night. Normal people work during the daylight hours. But you’re not normal – you’re an IT Administrator. Besides, there’s less network traffic when everyone else is asleep.
8) You know other IT Admins, but they’re not nearly as good as you.
Pretty self-explanatory. You may have friends that work in the same field, but it’s obvious that you’re the best at what you do, so much so that you don’t even bother talking about your job with them. I mean, why bother? But don’t feel bad, they feel the same way about you. Lame.
9) You’re not a Programmer.
How dare anyone confuse you with one of them!? It’s not that you don’t know how to do the simple, elementary, monkey-skills work of a programmer, you just choose not to. You’re better than that. Clearly.
Being an IT Admin is very important. Think of it this way: your company couldn’t function without you. Be proud of your IT prowess and take comfort in knowing that regardless of your quirks and style, the world simply wouldn’t be the same without you.
Kirk out.
