this post was submitted on 02 Sep 2025
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Programming
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I keep getting calls from recruiters that see my previous experience and think I'd be a great fit for x role. Then we talk. They want someone who can run helpdesk, IT engineering, AND be an "above average" programmer in whatever language they decide on.
This has happened to me at least a half dozen times in the past year.
The last guy I talked to told me he has been trying to get the company he's representing to understand that anyone with the qualifications they're asking for is going to just be a software engineer, not an IT Systems Engineer or Admin. And he's dead right. But he said they won't budge and they want their goddamned underpaid unicorn.
Just imagine working in that position. They'll give you some massive, unrefined programming problem on day one and tell you to work on that when no users or hardware need help.
Three months later, they start asking why the massive, unrefined programming problem isn't solved yet, when you had practically no time to work on it, because they probably should've hired a person each for helpdesk and IT.
That's basically what my job currently is except I'm not a programmer, so I always get shit on, which is why I've been trying to find another one. The last thing I want to do is jump into another idiotic startup with unrealistic expectations.