What constitutes an IT Pro?
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(Putting this under "Self-Promotion" as I didn't want to put it under "IT Discussion" and possibly run afoul of the rules since it technically is a post we're promoting.)
Inspired by convos we had with all of you at MangoCon, the wonderful @SamieWalters--who was too busy to post it herself
-- wrote an article about what an IT Pro actually is in a world where seemingly everyone who works in the Information Technology arena is a "professional".So what exactly constitutes an IT Pro? Do you think there are certain baselines of knowledge that you could look at someone and say, "That's an IT Pro"? Does it require certifications, experience, or a combination of both?
Check out the article here: http://www.themillennialexecutive.com/business/what-is-an-it-pro-finding-meaning-in-it-job-titles/
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interesting.
I guess for a quick off the cuff comment - the term IT Pro just needs to be retired. non computer folks hear it and assume that someone who's an IT Pro can do almost anything with a computer. Personally I don't hear my comrades who do this type of work IT Pros - instead this is a moniker placed upon us by those who don't work in these fields.
I am trying to think of other broad terms that have almost no meaning for describing a career field, and the closest one I can think of now is lawyer. But if you're a lawyer, you know at minimum they have passed the BAR and gone to law school, but beyond that, you have no clue what they really do, other than it relates to the law some how.
The same goes for IT Pro. It's abused use implies that you do something with computers. One of @scottalanmiller favorite terms - bench tech - is definitely considered an IT Pro by the non IT technical masses.
So getting rid of the term seems to be the safest thing at this point.
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I think technically a professional is someone who is paid to perform a job. You're not really asking if someone is a pro, you're asking how much of a pro they are (if you're using pro as in a mastery of something). Job titles should be standardized to the point where if I say I'm a Level 2 Network Technician you more or less know what my responsibilities are. With that said there are always going to be a difference in skill levels. Example: There are thousands of scientists in the world yet not all of them are Stephen Hawking.
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Perfect, another generalized title - scientist. The Mythbuster's guys are scientists... but are they anything like Steven Hawking?
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@Dashrender said in What constitutes an IT Pro?:
Perfect, another generalized title - scientist. The Mythbuster's guys are scientists... but are they anything like Steven Hawking?
Exactly
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@wirestyle22 said in What constitutes an IT Pro?:
I think technically a professional is someone who is paid to perform a job.
I've heard this before to, but I don't agree with it. I can be paid to installing siding, but not be a professional at it. To me a professional has experience/knowledge about what they are a pro at. Just because I get hired on today to install siding doesn't make me a professional at siding.
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When I hear IT Pro, I think level one desktop tech. Desktop techs like to tell everyone they work in IT and they are a professional.
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I mean, look at ML. I'm technically a "pro" but that doesn't put me in line with either of your bases of knowledge @Dashrender @IRJ . Makes zero sense.
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@IRJ said in What constitutes an IT Pro?:
When I hear IT Pro, I think level one desktop tech. Desktop techs like to tell everyone they work in IT and they are a professional.
Really? You hear level one techs calling themselves professional? I wonder if that's mostly young people who are trying to seem better than they are?
Hearing them call themselves an IT Pro, sure - but that to me doesn't imply they are calling themselves professionals, even though the wretched term includes the word professional.
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If you need to call yourself an IT Pro, then you are not an IT Pro.
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Outside of my above post I've never even thought about this. I actually feel awkward when my users call me an IT pro or guru because I'm not
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@Son-of-Jor-El said in What constitutes an IT Pro?:
If you need to call yourself an IT Pro, then you are not an IT Pro.
LOL - I'm just the "IT guy."
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One definition I did not include in my article was a definition provided via an off-Spiceworks conversation with a friend over at, well, SW.
According to him, this is what an IT Pro is: "Generally, an IT pro is someone with certifications and training as a system administrator, DevOps, network administrator, or other comparable training and works within the IT department for their organization"
How do you feel about his definition?
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Notice how it doesn't include development in there - I'm pretty sure @scottalanmiller has stated that developers are not IT, though I can't recall his actual definition. But I think it centered around building of systems and administration. But I could be completely wrong too.
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@SamieWalters With brain dumps in the world I don't see certifications as a reliable metric to determine competency.
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Firstly, let's not confuse "professional" with "expert". People may blur their usage, but they don't mean the same thing. Professional basically means you get paid to deal with it exclusively. How does that not fit in "IT pro"?
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@art_of_shred said in What constitutes an IT Pro?:
Firstly, let's not confuse "professional" with "expert". People may blur their usage, but they don't mean the same thing. Professional basically means you get paid to deal with it exclusively. How does that not fit in "IT pro"?
100% agree.
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@wirestyle22 said in What constitutes an IT Pro?:
@SamieWalters With brain dumps in the world I don't see certifications as a reliable metric to determine competency.
Actually this fully depends on the cert.
As I understand it, the Linux certs have a hands on portion - here is a broken something -fix it. That makes that certification worth something to me.
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@Dashrender said in What constitutes an IT Pro?:
@wirestyle22 said in What constitutes an IT Pro?:
@SamieWalters With brain dumps in the world I don't see certifications as a reliable metric to determine competency.
Actually this fully depends on the cert.
As I understand it, the Linux certs have a hands on portion - here is a broken something -fix it. That makes that certification worth something to me.
I agree if there is a lab portion of it for sure
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From Webster's
https://i.imgur.com/4YI7MjO.png
