Instant Message Excerpt: On Being a Network Engineer, 8

I am part of a management team, 50+ people, which oversees 30,000+ routers and switches. These are not little routers like that Linksys or D-link you might have on your desk at home. The smallest router I deal with has ten times the capability of those... and the most powerful ones are nearly the size of a refrigerator.

We have quite a few customers; some can be repeatedly and stupidly problematic. Like, for instance, not keeping their virus definitions up to date.

John(14:45:10): it's amazing how often what they do to themselves suddenly becomes our problem
Russ(14:46:15): yes, if only we could do without those pesky customers
Russ(14:46:27): the network would run a lot smoother
Russ(14:46:34): and be waaaaay smaller

Customer-caused problems = job security. I hope.

^{[Once again I note for the record that I haven't and won't say who I work for.]}