A new round of layoffs hit last week, 8 people, one of them +5 years in the company, and because I'm the one with the keys I spent the morning removing people from every system they touched. There I am sitting in the vault rotating shared credentials and pulling access for names I recognize, people I got coffee with, and doing it one entry at a time in passwork and slack like it's any other wednesday. One week you're helping someone set up their laptop and troubleshooting stuff, the next you're the person erasing their footprint from the company because a decision levels above you got made. And nobody thinks about you either way, when it works, you're invisible, and when it breaks, you're the problem.

Is this a common feeling? I've internalized this feeling for so long it almost feels weird to finally let it out. I HATE doing layoffs, especially when it's not an incompetent person, just higher-ups choices, it almost feels like I hold a certain level of accountability in them.

been sitting on this for a while and i think i finally have to say it. a big chunk of what i do isn't project management, it's compensating for problems the company has decided not to solve. two teams that don't talk to each other? my job is to be the messenger between them forever, instead of anyone fixing why they don't talk. no clear prioritization from leadership? i spend my week manually refereeing which fire is biggest. a process that breaks every single time we hit the same step? i'm the one who manages around it, quarter after quarter, instead of it ever getting fixed.

and here's the part that actually bothers me. the better i am at this, the more invisible the underlying problem becomes. i smooth it over so well that from above it looks like everything's fine. so nobody ever feels the pain that would force a real fix. i've basically become the reason the dysfunction is survivable, which means i'm also the reason it never gets addressed. i'm not solving the problem, i'm making it comfortable to live with.

it's a weird spot. do the job well and you quietly enable the thing that makes the job necessary. do it badly and everything you were absorbing suddenly becomes visible and it's why can't the PM keep things on track. either way the root cause just sits there.

and i think this is why the role is so hard to defend when budgets get tight. our biggest wins are invisible by design. the crisis that didn't happen, the conflict that got quietly defused, the fire that never spread. you can't put problems you never saw because i handled them on a slide. so we're constantly proving our value by pointing at chaos we prevented, which by definition nobody experienced.

i don't have a clean answer. sometimes i think the move is to stop being such a good buffer, let some of the dysfunction actually surface so the people who could fix it finally feel it. but that's a scary game to play with your own reputation.

do you see your role this way too, as the workaround for stuff that should be fixed structurally?

Currently experience two coworkers trying to say my unit is a mess and that our unit needs help. Long story short I work I public sector and it’s taking us 6 years to finally get a SOW for a new network. Procurement rules change every 6 months or so, so every 6 months I’m learning how to do it all over again. The 6 year wait ended when I took the manager position and was direct with higher ups we are being neglected now at this point without our new network. They finally got everything together after I basically told them we felt neglected.

My executive director understands our circumstances and I regularly tell managers that procurement is the issue. It’s widely known they take forever and hold a lot of red tape.

Getting new software takes multiple meetings and multiple levels of approval just to have the software approved for usage. Then there is procurement to acquire said software and pay for it. Same goes for networks

Long story short these coworkers are constantly trying to put a bad image on us. Meanwhile it’s not us but the red tape of being in public sector. I regularly update managers that it’s the red tape. But these two people are not in manager meetings, and I don’t know if they are aware they make our jobs harder.

Same two people also do not qualify or have experience in working in IT so they could never hold my position or any position under me.

How do I play office politics to be civil with them without being direct like “Hey I don’t understand why you’re sabotaging my unit what have we done to you to do this? How can we make this right?” Cause apparently I can’t be direct like that…

Does anyone have a solid onboarding template they are willing to share?

I’m looking for something that could be used to provide useful links and information to new hires but also can be used for access needs on projects. The goal is to replicate the template across multiple projects and address getting team members up to speed using a document that is clear and organized.

I know I can create one but if someone already has one they’re fond of and willing to share, that would save some time.

Sorry in advance if this seems like a basic question, but I'm trying to wrap my head around the best way to structure a service catalogue.

A lot of the guidance online suggests to write it from the user perspective, to provide them with clear guidance on what services the business offers. However from an IT perspective, I also care about the infrastructure underlying all the services, and how these are provided.

So do people have a separate catalogue for these? Is it all in one, and can users see both, and just separated using categories?

Fellow Managers,
I am trying to understand the point of resellers. We have to go through a lot of back and forth and sometimes days of no response to just get a quote for product. This doesn’t seem to be the best way to go about it. Hoping for some insight or tips or getting through orders with fewer grey hairs.

I cannot for the life of me seem to explain to leadership why we need a full time Salesforce admin.

I’m a systems architect responsible for data, reporting, maintenance on our systems, meeting with business to understand needs, automations, integrations, vendor management, etc.

We have around 100 users in SF with integrations to other operational systems and some commercial products. It’s more than just a CRM and is a critical operational tool for a department bringing in $70m+ a year. We got them off excel and email over 2-3 years and they’ve grown a lot. Without SF they literally cannot function.

There is non stop demand from the business for more and more you name it and all management wants to do is cut more resources.

I’ve tried to explain our backlog of requests we can’t even begin to entertain due to no resources, I also filter these from business to try and have some sort of ROI (not all requests will have this but most show some improvement either in time saved, speed of delivery, etc).

There is also the “system maintenance tax” of just having to do random things to keep it functioning and secure, or random issues users have that don’t really fit into a bucket and are unpredictable.

FWIW I’m actively working on new certs and on finding a new role and will be avoiding red flags I should have ignored but I’m wondering if there is something I need to be doing better with my explanations or is it just a lost cause? The turn over here is very high and I feel like I keep having these same convos over and over. Our Glassdoor rating with hundreds of reviews is like a 2.5. Job insecurity sucks.

I am looking at a specific vendor that offers a service we need. I like their product and their price is acceptable. I have checked with a few of their clients and they seem happy. The issue is the vendor cannot provide any standard due diligence documentation. I'm pretty much hitting a road block asking for any information. Have you run into this? How have you handled it?

15 years of experience. Almost 50. But I'm too good for entry level nut have managerial experience. I dont know what I'm gonna do.

Honestly I just have no direction in life without IT and I'm going insane right now.

For those who have lost their groove in IT Leadership/Tech, especially in a world where AI is everywhere and the daily struggle is getting harder to manage...how have you managed to find your groove back?

What would a genuinely useful course on new regulations (such as DORA, NIS2, the CRA, the AI Act, or SOC 2) look like for you?

Which questions should it answer, and what kind of interaction would make the session as valuable and practical as possible?

Does anyone have a reliable source that buys infrastructure equipment that has been replaced? I am looking to recoup some of the cost of replacement, but having a hard time finding companies that purchase the equipment. I have also reached out to donate equipment locally, but most don't want the equipment because it requires an annual license. the equipment is a mix of stuff: firewalls, APs, switches, and a old NAS and RAX50.

Theres been a lot of discussion around AI in IT operations esp with people handling repetitive service desk request like password and access request and other common employee issues. If those were handled reliably by AI (no human intervention) how would you spend this saved time?
Would you take more tickers because theres increase in bandwidth? or would you spend that time working on things that get pushed aside like documentation, security improvement, infra management etc. Im not interested in how AI is the future. would like to know how managers are thinking about capacity planning.
for those who introduced AI into internal IT support did it actually help with the bandwidth or it just shifted expectation.

Always check the AWS Health Dashboard first: https://health.aws.amazon.com/health/status

I woke up to a 2:00 AM billing anomaly email showing an Amazon EBS charge of $56.95 BILLION.

My immediate reaction? "Well... I guess it's time to update my résumé."

I sprinted back to my home office, logged into our AWS account, went straight into Cost Anomaly Detection, and started wondering how I was going to explain this one to our CFO.

Then I checked the AWS Health Dashboard.

Sure enough—it was a known Cost Explorer/Billing issue caused by incorrect estimated pricing calculations. No actual billing impact.

Turns out AWS wasn't billing me $56.95B...

They were just stress-testing IT managers everywhere. 😅

Hi everyone,

I'm starting to look for my next opportunity and thought I'd post here in case anyone knows of a team that's hiring.

I have 26+ years in IT and have worked as a Systems Administrator, Infrastructure Engineer, IT Manager, Director of Technology, and CTO. Most of my background is in Microsoft infrastructure, Microsoft 365, Azure, virtualization, networking, cybersecurity, and incident response.

I'm looking for a remote role as an IT Manager, Infrastructure Manager, Director of IT, or similar leadership position. I enjoy leading teams but still like being hands-on when needed, especially during major incidents or complex technical projects.

I'm also open to on-call rotations, after-hours work, and incident response.

If you know of any openings, I'd appreciate a DM or a link to the posting.

Thanks!

Been a technology leader for many years, think VP or above, and my background is in traditional companies and helping them scale. I have done similar work across multiple industries. With a focus on medium size companies.

Still employed right now however company has pivoted and I expect to scale down within the next year. Possible that my position will be cut at the tail end of the pivot, but it will include a generous exit package.

I am considering moving to a company that is in the cannabis industry as they are growing rapidly and need a leader to get control of technology. I am pretty sure I can help them navigate the transition. Pay is similar and benefits are a minor reduction.

Personally have minimal experience with the cannabis industry and don't know what I don't know.

My concerns are below:

1. For anyone who has worked at these companies, how was the culture?
2. I know this would preclude me from any government contracts and that isn't something I plan to pursue. For anyone who has worked in this industry, did you have issues transitioning out of that industry to a traditional company again?
3. These companies seem to be more loose with their organizational structure and move quickly. What was your experience coming from a traditional industry.

Let me know what your experiences have been and appreciate any feedback.

Edit: Thank you all for the feedback. It gave it me a good perspective of what others have gone through.

Appreciate everyone.

My boss came in without sleeping too much last night. And he was really inappropriate, more than usual. Felt like harrasment and an uncontrollable state all day.

Do you have these days? Or do you actually compose yourselves?

I am thinking about just letting it go, but it was really bordering harrasment.

I took a new managerial/leadership role about 2 months ago. And so far there’s major aspects that do not align with my career goals. These were not disclosed or known in the job description or the interview. In short, I know already this isn’t the right role for me.

I want to course correct, but I’m concerned on the optics of leaving too soon. I also feel the longer I do this role (years) the worse off I’ll be to course correct.

So, If you know the role isn’t what you thought it would be, and know it’s not a good long term move, what is the minimum amount of time you wait before looking for a better role? Let’s say you could secure something in a matter of a few months, is a ~5 month job listing a severe black eye? Previous roles were all 3-7 years in tenure.

Hi guys, seeking some advice. I’ve been an IT manager in my current role for 5 years - I always had a small in house team to handle day to day manual and some grunt work. We also have an MSP that handle first & second line support.

Over time the business has changed and I’ve lost my in house team - I now find myself unable to tackle the projects I want to because I keep getting caught up in the day to day operations and many don’t respect my weekends or time off - I usually get “sorry I know you are off but…”

The MSP are slow at responding therefore I have become the one stop for everything across the business of about 500 people and 7 sites.

I was going to speak with my manager and ask for a pay increase to reflect the significant increase in my workload and discuss boundaries around when I should be contacted outside of work. Do you think that’s a reasonable request?

edit

I’ve been told that a replacement for the staff who left will not be happening. I’m also in a position where a pay increase would be very helpful.

The MSP we use has refused to commit to KPIs and the business will not pursue it.

Is there like a directory? How do i find a good MSP?

As the title stated, my situation is a bit weird and i wanted to seek some advice on what you’d do. I became manager due to my lead role being eliminated. When my title changed, I didn’t get a pay increase of any sort. There wasn’t a formal process for me but rather “hey, you’re a manager now”.

Till this day, I truly still don’t feel like a manager. My responsibilities haven’t changed besides doing reviews for my team, approve time cards, and leading a team meeting.

Is it too much if I went to my manager and ask for an actual job description? I’ve talked to colleagues that’s switched roles and they all told me the req opened, spoke to a recruiter, and then they talked about pay and such.

When I spoke to my manager about pay, he said he’ll see what he can do. I’m feeling a bit lost in this shuffle. I don’t really go to HR but I feel like I need to be heard.

Any advice is welcome. Please don’t be a hater. I’m just here seeking advice from more experienced folks. Thanks!

Hi all

Recently taken over an internal IT team, been with the company many years (>10). I have a good knowledge of the IT systems, challenges and everything around it, but am struggling to get my brain in order around what we should be doing, how to do some of these things and how to elevate IT within the business.

Is there any sort of "mentoring" service in Australia that would give me a sounding board for discussion, help me organise and arrange my thoughts and surface and focus on the "big rocks".

Also professional mentoring around how best to handle/approach challenges with people/process/executives? Won't say no to professionsal development as well.

Thanks

Has anyone ever gone through a single to multi year formal process of maxing every aspect of technology for a company?

I’m leading the campaign now and I have a good plan, so I thought. Kickoff meeting was derailed to hell and now I’m stuck wondering where to begin.

I’ve completely transformed the ‘internal IT’ in the past year and turned the IT employees completely around to being productive. I am now tasked with basically doing the same thing with respect to any and all tech that other departments utilize technology.

I want to crush this as it’s clearly a test for a higher position (my hope) but I’m already being redirected to other people on external committees and things people have heard about but know nothing about.

Came across this in the r/sysadmin subreddit, on the second image we can see that people are also are getting paid to post in this subreddit:

Seeing a lot of posts where someone posts a 'story' and expresses curiosity as to how other people have solved this problem, and some other commenter' will post their solution...