My job is pretty stressful most of the time. Ok – all of the time. I work as a liaison between Information Technology people and the business people who use systems. The position is called a Business Analyst. Not only am I a ‘BA’, but I am a BA to the 3rd power, also known as a Business Analyst III. This means I’m supposed to know my job extremely well and be able to handle the stress that comes along with it. Yeah right.
I work in systems troubleshooting problems that people often create themselves. Unfortunately, they don’t realize they did it until I point that out to them. I often wonder if they are feigning ignorance until I force them to fess up. This has been going on for years now, and I still find it pleasurable to point out their mistakes. Maybe it makes me feel better about my own, but that’s a bog for another day.
I also get to test systems and try to break them after our IT folks have made changes we asked them to. That’s the fun part of my job – it’s like being a weather person, I get paid for doing things wrong. I get to interact with a gazillion people a day and I try to make friends where ever I go, but it doesn’t always work that way (I’m sure a lot of people groan when they see my name pop up on their phone. ‘Oh crap, what does SHE want?’).
I had to call the Helpdesk the other day to have my password reset in our test environment.
Chad: Hi, this is Chad – how can I help you?
Renee: Hi Chad, I need to have my password reset.
Chad: Ok, hold on just one moment…(long pause)….. Can you give me your user ID?
Renee: (ID changed to protect the innocent)
Chad: Dead silence
Renee: (Starts to giggle audibly, cause she knows what will be said next)
Chad: Is your name Renee?
Renee: Holy crap! How did you know that?
Chad: (laughing) I’m psychic
Renee: Ok then, what’s my phone number?
Chad: (Number changed to protect the innocent)
Renee: Holy crap, you ARE psychic!
Renee: This is the Helpdesk, right?
Chad: It sure is
Renee: Are you a psychiatrist too?
Chad: No, I’m a psychic. I never did get my degree in psychiatry.
Renee & Chad: (laughing like crazy)
Renee: Well, I’m glad I made this call. Can I have a cheeseburger and large fry sent up for lunch?
Chad: You’ll have to call facilities for that.
Poor Chad, he had no idea what he was getting himself into at this point. When I get really stressed out, I just don’t know when to stop. Usually I start laughing to the point where I snort and cry and I wheeze a little too. I didn’t do that to Chad, but he kick-started my humor for the day, thank goodness. I like to mess with people to see how they react. If they play back, it’s a win-win situation. I’m surprised my department hasn’t shoved me into a padded enclosed cubicle, but I suppose one of those would be costly.
The seriousness of my job is working with Project Managers and VPs and AVPs and Directors and all kinds of important people with important acronyms to make sure that what they want and need can be done, but mostly can be done without it costing them a ton of money. Our company is hell-bent right now to save money, so everyone has a great idea to save money, but can’t necessarily understand that the cost to fix outweighs the cost savings. It’s hard sometimes, but I’ve gained enough respect here that if I say it’s not a good idea, they listen to me for a few months. They usually try again later.
I love my job and I love the people I work with. Ask me again in a few months and I might change my mind, but for right now I like it and they pay me every two weeks! Wooo! That's enough about my corporate world - I will admit that I buy my lottery tickets faithfully twice a week. Not becuase I would love to dump my job, but because I would love to........ dump my job I guess.
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