Who is REALLY an IT?

Last week I couldn't spell "Information Technologist' -- now I ARE one.
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But seriously folks --

I have noticed that some posters in these forums suddenly claim to be ITs whenever their viewpoint is taking grinds in a discussion. I wonder -- who are the real ITs and who are not?

What does it take in order to become a REAL, full-fledged, *professional* IT? Does calling yourself an IT MAKE you one? How can we discern who are the real ITs and who are the pretenders?

Is there such a thing as a "license" or some other credential to validate that someone is really & truly an IT (as opposed to just another tinkerer)?

Standing in a garage doesn't make you an automobile. By the same token, tweaking & fiddling with the computers of friends & acquaintances doesn't make you an IT. Right? Or does it?

Bottom Line - If someone posts "I'm an IT and blah blah blah..." would it be uncouth of me to ask him for more information concerning that claim?

 

Why should it matter who they are, really?

They could be Kevin Mitnick or Linus Torvalds, or my grandmother for all I care. The only thing that matters is whether they have a valid point to make or not.

 

Although I basically agree with you --- if it doesn't matter, why do they mention it?

 

Ego... insecurity... you name it...

 

Im in college for it right now.

I have to take a load of certification exams. I have to take 3 of CompTIA's certifications (A+, Network+, Server+), an MCSE exam, and a few others.

 

It's an online forum. You can pretty much ask for anything you damn well please-- even if the 'him' is a 'her'.

Getting a response, or the response you're seeking, might be a different story.

 

Go for the gold, man! I wish you the best success. Just please don't go to work for the outfit with the bright-red website.

 

Good questions, bellgamin. And because we are all gathered here at one of the world's best computer security forums, I'd appreciate seeing your questions addressed by the forum ownership. After all, it's a form of deception for a member to say he or she is an IT professional, and for that to not be the case.

I have certainly had my doubts about the validity of IT professional claims made by a couple of forum members. Fortunately there is sometimes a very knowledgeable member on hand to dispute the IT claimant's shaky qualifications. If we are real lucky, maybe even a handful of bonafide pros are present to out the quack.

But if there is no one present who is willing to step up and challenge the puffery, it has been my experience that the truth becomes somehow obvious anyway. I have heard it said that if a group of people are locked in a room together, within 15 minutes, everyone knows who the a**hole is.

I think that the same can be said for people falsely claiming to be IT professionals... many of us already know who the phonies are.

 

The certification has more bearing to me in narrow scope. Someone certified in citrix is certainly more qualified than I to teach citrix. Take a larger scope view, and the certification begins to decline in value, where IMO the one who does the most trumps the one who studied the most.

Sul.

 

There is a one letter difference between one who is an IT and one who isn't an IT.

Obi-Wan Kenobi
Obi-Wan Kenoobi

Just call them Obi-Wan and you'll never be insulting or wrong.

 

Walk the walk and move on.

 

Who is REALLY an IT?

Maybe, unbiased members should start figuring out 'Who is Not an IT':

-Pseudo-geniuses who come here to Show-Off themselves.
In reality, they are Ηalf-Learned individuals who come here to play the "expert".

-Specific software Fanboys who attack anyone who dares to question
or -even worse- offers evidence against their "always-perfect" software.
These "specialists" pretend that they "know everything" about
a specific software (e.g. Firewall, Browser, AV etc.) and canNot
accept a different opinion especially when the last exposes
their "expertise".

 

I suppose it's a bit like people who call themselves engineers, and/or their companies do, when they are not.

Phone up to get someone to fix for eg your washing machine, and they say they'll send round an "engineer" More likely than not, they are NOT an engineer at all, but a technician. Nothing wrong with being a technician, but to actually be an Engineer you must have a degree etc to be one.

Of course there are lots of people who know all kinds of things on all types of subjects, that aren't "qualified" as such in those fields. So it doesn't matter, as long as they give good advice, and do a good job etc

 

It has been my experience that those with less qualifications but more experience usually turn out to be "better" than those with many qualifications, on the whole. It does not apply to computers only, but about everything.

Sul.

 

Agree with Sul, i have saw many guys who do not have all these certifications and Degrees but they have vast knowledge on Windows, Linux, Sun Solaris and Avaya Server.

 

But I don't think the OP is desiring to discuss the comparative skills of a certified individual versus one who has lots of experience.

I believe what he is driving at is the members who, for whatever reason, come here and tout their technical title, and possibly do not have one.

Sully's point about experience often trumping certifications is valid, of course.

But what are we to do here at Wilders about the member who is constantly involved in giving advice, and declares himself to be an IT professional? If that individual is lying about his qualifications, and at the same time it is possible (likely) that more than a few members are placing significant weight on what is being said, there is a problem.

 

I guess it comes down to whether you place a level of trust on the title of IT or not. If John G Noob is reading infos here, and discards some good information by someone who is quite knowledgeable for that of some who state they are "IT Pro", and the information from "IT Pro" is incorrect or whatever, what can you do? The title and certification is supposed to mean that you do know what you are talking about. John G Noob doesn't know enough to discern whether the infos coming from the "IT Pro" are correct or not. It is an unsolvable problem. It is best to ignore anyones "title" claims then, and reward trust based on merit. IMO anyway.

Sul.

 

The real determinate in whether someone is qualified to be called an IT is whether they know what they are doing and talking about. whitedragon551 and others who have access to a high level of training are getting the basics they need to grow into productive and effective IT with experience.

The key though is real experience. Most (as Avinash details) of us who come out of the wilder west days of the past had to research and then teach ourselves the basics so experience came with the experimentation and review of the results in relation to a specific purpose or goal. Those coming up have access to a wider range of knowledge by default, but may not have the focus we had so will have a shallower level of understanding in some situations when the discussion goes into the deep end of the pool.

My advice here is to pay attention, ask questions, and don't be afraid to make a mess of things while you are learning. In my own case, I learned more from destroying a Windows 3.1 install than I ever did from reading a manual or tech paper...

YMMV
Mike

 

My take on the subject ...

Real IT is someone who works in IT, be they a technician on an engineer or anything in between, beyond and above. As simple as that.

However, working in IT does not make you automatically smart or even good at what you do. You could be doing something you don't like, be underqualified, overqualified, bored, a dinosaur, a million things. And you could be someone who's never worked in IT and beat your average sys admin to pulp.

It's personal. If you're a good problem solver and analyst, then you have universal skills for any kind of job, especially related to science and engineering. And if you don't have it, you're just a mediocre worked.

Certifications are good for your ego, that's my personal take on it. Sometimes, you use them like medieval titles to impress someone who can't be impressed with simple logic or a technical explanation. In rare cases, you may actually know something that made you earn those certifications and you use the knowledge to your benefit.

In the real world, people need to qualify with all kinds of credentials and experience to score a job in IT, but there are exceptions.

Even so, most IT people are technical skill workers rather than engineers or big thinkers. Some are brilliant at sys admining but they can't think on a strategic, global scope.

Dryly, IT people are people who work in IT or related. What qualifies someone as a specialist in their IT field is primarily knowledge and experience, with possibly certifications that might indicate you know your stuff.

But as having a PhD in math doesn't make you a good scientist, neither does having any of the fancy acronyms make you a good IT guy; but it can go the other way around. If you're an expert, you can make your certifications really work.

Pulling ranks in a discussion is lame. It's childish.

Speaking of Wilders, I think (my observation) is there are many extremely knowledgeable people here, some professionals other hobbyists, mostly with small-scale interest or experience, i.e. 1-10 machines or such. You definitely have non-IT people who could be great IT guys.

Now, what is an IT guy? Would you call me an IT guy? I am one on paper, but without getting into too much detail, I hack the kernel for bugs and optimize the thingie and develop fancy strategic solutions. I don't install machines or play with syslog. Is that IT?

I think that's about it. Food for thought, $3 per kilo.

Mrk

 

The IT crowd is the one who has not found yet something better to call itself. If you do something seriously in your life you say what you do and you don't hide behind the generic IT. In any case calling yourself an IT/it is not a huge compliment at least for those who use the english language.

 

TAG! You're IT.

 

I am not an IT because I did not finish my IT studies.
I am not an IT because I don't have a job in IT

though I want to be an IT.

 

purport/claim....moi!...never.

 

Just like to add here,

Just because a person has a job title of "IT" doesnt mean they have all the knowledge in the world either - hardly.

We've got IT people @ my company I work for,and they are hardly the most intelligent people in their field of work,let alone have the common sense for every day activities.

 

haha i know what u mean, the "IT" guys at my university cant solve a thing... even wen it comes to something they should apparently know lol