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Computers have captured my imagination my entire life. Nearly anything that communicates, entertains, educates, publishes, calculates, visualizes, or monitors is touched by computers. For some reason my enthusiasm, or lack thereof, toward computers has shaped my attitude toward the IT profession.  Here are a few things I’ve learned from my personal experience.

In School

• The Commodore 64 had great graphics and even better ads. So, why was everyone so impressed with that 1984 Mac ad?
• What says summer fun like sitting behind a TRS-80 at computer camp? Maybe reading the faded ditto machine manual on how to code BASIC.
• Photoshop 2.0 running on the first Mac was life changing, until an out of memory error would prevent me from saving my masterpiece.

In College

• I could save dorm room space by making a $2000 Mac emulate a $79 TV, but keeping my 14.4 dial up modem from dropping the free university-supplied internet connection was beyond me.
• There are many funny things in a college computer lab. The guy printing 50 flyers about his kegger when you have a paper due in 10 minutes is not one of them.

In the Workplace

• Opening MSMail in 1995 to read my first important memo was an “I’ve arrived” moment. Opening an email entitled ILOVEYOU a few years later was an “I’m an idiot” moment.
• Nick Burns: Your Company’s Computer Guy does in fact exist. Just call the Helpdesk.

There’s so much more to the nuanced IT landscape than computer follies and email foibles. Every day, IT workers are solving some of the greatest challenges of our time. It’s those darn computers which can give IT a bad rap. So, don’t let a blue screen of death ruin your attitude toward the industry too.

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