written by owen on 2007-Nov-25.

Mesha this is for you. I will try to keep this simple and to the point because some of us like to argue and some of us don't. I will start out by listing the qualifications that either by themselves or combined will result is a person who can call themselves a techie or an IT person. This article is written because I've realized that now in Jamaica since it seems that people have started to call themselves "IT persons" without fully clearing the bits or understanding what it actually means. By IT I mean "Information Technology" or Computer Science or whatever related field you choose. So here now I start with a list.

You are and IT person IF;

You like lists.

You like to play games for long hours, develop habits easily and have at some point in your life completed a mario brothers game. Though not necessarily beat the game but have tried on multiple occasions. This is however not limited to video games but anything involving a winner and a loser such as card games and games of luck or skill. You should be able to play many games at least 3 - not just one that somebody taught you. And be up for playing ANYTHING that looks like a game that you can win. Games can include mind games, board games, random text messaging. Solitaire is not a game.

IT people like to solve problems and hate doing the same thing twice. If an activity doesn't solve some kinda problem that will save somebody "work", time or money then more than likely you are a "packer". If you've done it before and are still doing it without improvement then you can't see the rabbit.

If you are disgusted by the behaviour of IT people and think that they are lazy, selfish and inconsiderate then you are most definitely not an IT person.

Having an IT degree or qualification or working with computers or teaching does not automatically give you the right to call yourself and IT person. You merely "associate" with IT people but you haven't crossed that line where you start avoiding people and not returning calls.

Working at an IT company doesn't not make you and IT person.
If you ever reach to a state where your too busy to brainstorm a solution to a problem or have a concept in your head that is called "work" such as can be compared to farming, manual labour or mining coal - then more than likely you are in it for the money are not an IT person but rather a slave to the money. Go and follow your dreams. No matter how far down the wrong road you've travelled - its never too late to turn back.

IT people do not like to use powerpoint or write lengthy essays. If you like to write multipage essays then chances are you are not an IT person.

Most IT people that I know like what they do, it might not seem that way but its true. On the other hand if you would rather be flying around the world, teaching kindergarden, or staring in a rock band then chances are you are not an IT person.

If your monitor is set to 800x600 then I really don't know what world your living in.

If you are confused or fail to see why I would list these things are behavioral patterns of IT people then chances are you cannot relate and are NOT AN IT PERSON.

This list that I have compiled more than likely is not complete and millions of ways could be found to argue around it. Whether depending on whether you are a woman or a man or your from the country or whatever - it doesn't really matter because most people either are who they say they are or are pretending to be a doctor. To each his own.

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