Life of an IT Manager

It's never a dull moment as an IT Manager. The job is a cross between a doctor, firefighter, psychologist, politician and gambler all rolled into one.

After many years in various capacities within IT, I am growing comfortable in recognizing and responding to the various issues that are a part of the job. I have to say that the early years were highly stressful and everything I did I felt I had to create a new process, template, or response; it required deep insight and heavy thinking. It's like when you make your opening in a game of chess, and the opposing player makes a very strange response (called a non-book opening). It takes some deep thinking to know how to respond correctly; if your opponent made an accepted book opening, your response is fairly documented and written about in many books on the subject (you just have to remember what it was!).

Anyway back to the thought: the early years and some of the mid years required thinking through the current situation, the risks, contingencies, strategies, and responses. I'm not saying it doesn't require thinking now a days, but certainly I have a "tool belt" of experiences to draw upon. And many templates, documents, and articles I've saved over the years.

So my job is enjoyable at this stage of my career. I get paid well, have a decent amount of autonomy and authority, can choose many of the people I work with (my team), and feel I have something to contribute. All very meaningful for me.

In the future, I may comment more on some of the career experiences I've learned.