One of the fun parts of working in IT is being able to research and find an answer. I really enjoy digging in and figuring things out.
It is always stressful looking for an answer. You take the helpful with the unhelpful. For example, one time I worked at a company where there was a major problem with how the company functions at a basic level. I was relatively new at the company at the time and my boss told me to take lunch because it wasn’t clear how to fix it. While I was eating lunch the solution came to me and I finished lunch and fixed it.
One of my coworkers was concerned about me and told my boss that I looked anxious during lunch and thought that I wasn’t being treated well. He explained that I had been working on a big issue and that was concerned about it. Many times I have been concerned about an issue that was impacting users and I don’t like to eat/relax until the issue is solved.
Most of the time when an IT issue happens it is widespread and very negative to the company. It never helps anyone when an issue occurs. You have to be calm and logical but there are also real costs when people are down. I never like that scenario, and I always argue for backup and workarounds for whatever might happen.
This example is not to glorify me. Rather it shows that when IT people are concerned about their job, we stress greatly when something unexpected happens. I have worked with IT people who don’t care when there is an issue. They see it as a sign that shows their worth. When they fix the issue then they can say it was someone else’s fault, and that they are heroes. It might be someone else’s fault, but it is the IT person’s responsibility to keep things working.