Do not listen to non-IT people

I just had a flashback (not acid) about something a relative of mine said when I was talking about getting into IT. She said make sure they are Novell certified. I don't know if she meant to get Novell certified or to make sure they were a Novell partner, it does not really matter. The point is that this was in the late nineties, and Windows NT was where everything was really going, or had gone to, especially with NT 4.0.

Looking back, my relative had no clue about IT, she heard about Novell and although she tried to give me good advice, since she wasn't in the business, she had no clue. Well, not necessarily be choice, but I did start learning NT instead of Novell Netware, and that is a very good thing. I say this to advise people to take caution when non-IT people give you IT advice whether they are friends, family, guidance counselors, teachers, etc...they really have no clue. They probably read some statistic somewhere and then they repeat that statistic to you. Obviously anyone who reads these forums is looking for advice from IT people, but since this forum probably won't be your only source of information, please watch out for "users" giving advice.

Find more posts tagged with

Comments

RouteThisWay

Not to sound like a jerk but uh.. doesn't this logic apply to anyone seeking advice about anything?

I am not going to ask someone who is not a mechanic about what is wrong with my car.
I am not going to ask someone who is not a physician about the rash developing on my scrotum.
I am not going to ask someone who is not a lawyer about the court documents I was just served.

You get the idea.

If someone who wants to get into IT is taking advice from someone who isn't in IT- I would question the logic behind it.

DigitalZeroOne

RouteThisWay wrote: »

Not to sound like a jerk but uh.. doesn't this logic apply to anyone seeking advice about anything?

I am not going to ask someone who is not a mechanic about what is wrong with my car.
I am not going to ask someone who is not a physician about the rash developing on my scrotum.
I am not going to ask someone who is not a lawyer about the court documents I was just served.

You get the idea.

If someone who wants to get into IT is taking advice from someone who isn't in IT- I would question the logic behind it.

Yes the logic applies in other areas, but since this is a tech forum, I only mentioned IT. To expand a little, I'm sure people get advice from non-IT people all the time. Like I mentioned before, think of guidance counselors. If someone is completely new to IT they may take and follow advice from anyone offering it. Actually, a good example would be a lot of for-profit schools, look at how IT is your ticket to the good life (according to their commercials), what do they really know?

erpadmin

DigitalZeroOne wrote: »

Yes the logic applies in other areas, but since this is a tech forum, I only mentioned IT. To expand a little, I'm sure people get advice from non-IT people all the time. Like I mentioned before, think of guidance counselors. If someone is completely new to IT they may take and follow advice from anyone offering it. Actually, a good example would be a lot of for-profit schools, look at how IT is your ticket to the good life (according to their commercials), what do they really know?

Ummm.....

When I read the title to this thread, I thought it was going to be another one of those threads where the end-user claims to know how to fix what's wrong with his PC/IT-issue. Generally, when I encounter thoses folks, I just ignore him after I hear what the issue is (I'm not interested in hearing their opinion of what the solution is...especially since 9 out of 10 times they're wrong anyway...)

Yes, this is a tech forum, but I'm gonna have to side with RouteThisWay on this...my sister was one of those folks who would try to advise me on my career. Much like your relative, she was pretty much talking out of the wrong orifice and I would start tuning her out similarly to that know-it-all user...(except, I suppose, not quite the same way...lmao.)

Common sense is going to dictate whatever you do...IT or otherwise. Life, experience and logic doesn't cease to work because you went out and got your BS/MS/Ph.D and certs in IT.

Devilsbane

This goes way beyond computers. People like other people to think that they are all knowing and will spout off random junk about anything. How often do you see somebody diagnosing another person without ever going to medical school, or discussing legal matters with people who have no law experience other than watching Law and Order.

This is why it is important to cite your sources!

tpatt100

I remember years ago a coworker telling people "don't buy Apple stock they are 2 percent of the market and will not be around much longer".

Cthu1hu

Thread reminds me of this:

Ram Rage - Imgur

Firecell

RouteThisWay wrote: »

I am not going to ask someone who is not a physician about the rash developing on my scrotum.

Bro...

You have a rash on your scrotum? Get it checked out...

Psoasman

This happens all the time to me, especially at work. There are a few people who want always want to "talk tech" and give me advice about how I should "fix" something. I usually ignore them.

SteveLord

This kind of thing never happens on the internet.......ever.

Devilry

SteveLord wrote: »

This kind of thing never happens on the internet.......ever.

True story

CodeBlox

RouteThisWay wrote: »

Not to sound like a jerk but uh.. doesn't this logic apply to anyone seeking advice about anything?

I am not going to ask someone who is not a mechanic about what is wrong with my car.

Mechanics are criminals. We all know that