You Should Know

I build cloud IT infrastructure for a living and I’ve been at it for several years. There’s a lot to it, but I’ve gotten to a point where I’ve developed a reputation for being a person who knows how it works and can figure out how to build effectively in it. I won’t call it easy, but I’ve become comfortable and adept with it, and so to some it appears to be easy for me.

Just recently we had a person join our team with a background almost exclusively in OS administration. He’s doing alright for someone who is just starting out, but it’s obvious he’s intimidated and so he asks a lot of questions.

I told him this.

It’s perfectly okay to feel like you’re in over your head on all of this. There is a lot to learn. Besides server administration, you have to understand networking, permissions management, software development to a degree, database management and a ton more.

There’s a plethora of services at your disposal. Much like a giant toolbox, your job is to understand when to pull out the right tool, as well as how to use said tool effectively. This is going to take time, and you’re only going to truly learn it by doing it. Take time and ask questions, and you’ll get the hang of it. When I started, I was in the same boat.

I think that’s made him feel better about his inexperience, and I’ve seen him progressing at an admirable pace.

What I have learned to say is "I understand this is new and confusing; however, don't stress out, I was probably more confused than you are when I first learned this." It throws them off a bit, because they think you're the expert, and it clicks that you had to learn it too. If they probe deeper into why it was hard for me, I explain that I'm so used to how things are supposed to work, I have to step back and see how things can work.

Expertly said. Especially true for kids

It's easy for you to post in the correct community, but not for OP.

If you don't use those skills regularly you might lose them or fall behind on new trends. Chaining those skills together can lead to other future opportunities.

I think the idea is to take on those new responsibilities for awhile to learn the ins/outs then bounce to a new job after a year or two

One of the rules of thumb when teaching is to avoid saying something is "difficult" or "easy" most of the time. Usually there is not much benefit to the students in it, and other adjectives or descriptions would better capture the message without leading to discouragement.

I'm so jealous. It took me years to get addicted. How do you do it?

Never happened to me!

I don't agree with this. People have different abilities/talents that mean that certain things are in fact easier for some than for others. By thinking that everything is just hard work, people may work themselves to death trying to achieve proficiency in an area that they just aren't particularly suited for.

I'd say they have been doing it longer or are familiar with the underlying knowledgebase, so it seems to come easily to them.

Someone who has never used a modern computer before will think that someone who has been learning and adapting since Windows 3.1 would look like a genius. Even if all they know is how to do basic tasks and navigation.

I dunno about that. I was a total fuck up in school and got good grades.

I’ve seen it my whole life in various ways. Some people just have it easier than others with some things. Some people are “luckier” than others.

Eh idk, my sister worked a lot harder in maths than I did (I barely did anything) however she still struggled to get good at it. How much effort you put in doesn't correlation that well with how good you get.

Plus idk I don't like the implication that bc you are not succeeding you are not working hard enough.

I have pretty severe ADHD, and some days, washing dishes is very difficult for me.

Push it to the limits

Disagree. When someone says "this is easy", it is implied he thinks it will be easy in general, for everybody. Not 'easy if you've practiced a lot' or 'easy if you're extremely fit' or 'easy if you're smart'.

That's exactly the point...