"Have you paid your dues, Jack?"

For a little over 4 years now, I have worked as a tech support rep for a non-profit organization here in St. Petersburg, FL. Coming out of college, my grades were OK (nothing spectacular, as I seemed to suffer from acute senioritis) but what I found out during many interviews was that to get a foot into the IT world one needs to have practical job experience. School work is nice to look at and it was nice that I had a degree, but it wouldn't get me a job. So, I figured that to get where I want to be in the industry I needed to "pay my dues" and work up the ladder. I was offered a job in the local Tampa Bay area, and to this day I am thankful to the man that hired me for believing in a young kid that was fresh out of college.

Honestly, I have been surprised that I have stayed at my job for as long as I have. If you've never done it or do not know people who have, technical support wears you down. And I feel like I've been ground down to the bone. The only reason I have stayed with it this long is two-fold. First, I work with a great group of people. We all get along, joke around with each other, and generally have a good comraderie. Secondly, it's simply been easier to stay with the familiar then venture into the unknown.

Now, my company has just about finished a "NOC", or Network Operations Center. A NOC is generally a command post, where techs like me monitor the various systems that the company is running so we can prevent or respond to any problems that might occur. When I first heard that they were building a NOC, I was excited because I thought it signalled that my company is trying to be more proactive in regards to preventing problems. I also looked towards this as an opportunity for advancement within the company becuase it seemed we would be working more closely with some of our upper-level engineers. But as the project has been finishing up, I have become less and less optimistic. The more I've watched, the more it seems that this whole setup is just a cosmetic change. It looks like we'll be doing our same job as always, just in a "nicer" area with some upgraded equipment (mainly new desks and monitors). We have a meeting today where the rumor is that we will be told how we are now supposed to conduct ourselves. Previously, we have been given a lot of leeway in how we act because we are generally out of the public's eye. This has helped because it allowed all of us techs to develop a great chemistry. Now I am worried that will all be changed. I honestly can't imagine coming to work and not joking around with some of the guys between calls, as that helps to take the edge and frustration out of the job.

As the time for this whole change draws nearer, I've thought more and more about the line Jack Burton gave to that 8-foot tall maniac. "Have you paid your dues, Jack? Yes sir, the check is in the mail."