What I do

I am a computer support technician. I stumbled into the IT field by accident, really. I had my introduction to college at 37. I missed my chance at the traditional age, because I was crawling from the wreckage of my childhood. It was when I went into therapy that I gave college a try, back in 96. I was a Psychology major, because I wanted to reach out to all those damaged minds, like my own. I took a student job in the computer lab to help pay the bills. It turned out that there were no IT professionals on this urban campus. The sysadmin was actually a part time communications instructor who liked computers, and his staff were whatever student workers would do the least harm. So, if you showed some inclination, and some desire, you would get some serious responsibility pretty fast. I found myself a new career.

Right now, I'm doing contract work for a major corporation that provided IT services to various clients. It's feast or famine. The first week of March, I had the biggest paycheck of my life, plus a very nice expense check for the mileage that I ran up. On the other hand, last week's pay was for a grand total of one hour.

I need something with some stability and predictability. I've been doing this gig for a year, and it's given me some cool things to add to my resume. The advice routinely given to those with Asperger's would warn against this type of job -- unpredictability in hours, working with different people, going onto a job blind not knowing what to expect. Certainly, my comfort level is not as high as it might be, but I think this job has been a growing experience for me in the year I have been doing this. A few years back, the unstructured, unpredictable nature of this job would have scared the hell out of me, and now it's just part of my job . I certainly could not have handled this type of job back in 1999. But, in 2008, it's a different story.

But, I'm looking around for something with more reliable and predictable hours. And guaranteed full time every week. And people who know me when I walk into the office. What's the theme from "Cheers" about the place where everybody knows your name?