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Iain Laskey thinks it's about time people started to value IT skills in the wider world
As anyone with more than a passing knowledge of how to switch on a PC will attest, the phone is forever ringing with various friends and family members asking for help with their latest computer mishap. Now, don't get me wrong, this goes with the territory and in most cases I'm happy to help. However, it did get me thinking about one crucial difference between this and other 'favour' skills.
If you asked a friend to come round and spend a couple of hours under the bath fixing a leaky pipe or installing a new mains socket or perhaps even fixing your car, chances are, when everything is working, you'd feel obliged to offer some sort of recompense for their time. Whether it's twenty quid, a bottle of wine or something else, it's the norm to at least try to offer something. However, for some reason, with computers, it's just assumed you'll do it for free and maybe even because you just love tinkering. It's not uncommon to spend 4 hours or more on a job only to get a cursory 'cheers mate' at the end.
Why are computer skills so undervalued then? Could it be because unlike some of the other examples above, it's a relatively new skill to have so has yet to register on people's radar as something that ought to be rewarded in some way? Is it because it's seen as being 'easy' i.e. you're indoors, warm and probably not jammed in to a tight corner and therefore no real hardship? Could it be that apart from a bit of brainpower, it's not physically hard work - would you get someone to do your tax return for you for free though?
To be honest, I have no real answer to offer but I think it's worth raising purely to get those who ask the favours to be a little more appreciative of all those free fixes they get. I'm actually quite lucky that most of the time with family I get a damn fine meal out of it or useful skills that I call on sometimes but I know all too many friends who don't get anything so for all those IT guru's out there giving generously of their time and skills, please give a little thought to their sacrifice and pretend they're fixing your plumbing, what would you do then?
