In the vast landscape of IT, there’s a unique class of IT pros that have taken on the added challenge of being the sole tech at their org. In essence, they wear every IT hat. Whether you’re a seasoned solo IT pro (looking at you, @PassRusher), someone who rocked a solo team long ago, or you’ve just embarked on your solo IT journey, we want to hear from you!
Have you ever been a one-person IT department?
Share your ‘lone wolf’ tech stories - what were the biggest challenges, learning experiences, and unexpected perks of being the sole IT guru on staff?
9 Spice ups
Still am. Going on 25+ years as solo operator. Firstly for my self as a small business owner, secondly as our org’s only IT guy. Wouldn’t have it any other way. Control my destiny and such.
3 Spice ups
MSouthworth
(Great and Powerful Admin)
3
Have you ever been a one-person IT department?
Yes, was sole IT person for 16 years until the company was purchased 3 years ago. Now one of a 4-member team but the only one with SysAdmin experience.
Share your ‘lone wolf’ tech stories - what were the biggest
Challenges
The very first day I was informed that company email would not get delivered. In-house exchange and we were blacklisted. Had to setup and configure IP, reverse settings and domain settings that were missing in DNS, domain name provider DNS and internet provider DNS (this was before SPF, DKIM and DMARC). Then spend about a month, maybe longer, working with different email services to get us off their blacklist.
Learning
Came from a block and lockdown everything environment and now had to deal with bring your own equipment users.
Experiences
Built a good set of experiences with soft skills, VPN, VLAN and subnetting.
unexpected perks of being the sole IT guru on staff?
As the sole IT person my internet was paid by the company, I work from home. My work computer was paid for and I got to configure the build. Mobile phone was purchased by the company and the service. Was given a SUV with insurance and maintenance paid for so I could travel to the different locations to do work or deliver equipment.
7 Spice ups
Have you ever been a one-person IT department? - Yes, until the DB admin was hired.
what were the biggest challenges - definitely my boss. Her title was IT Director but she didn’t know squat about IT (except the admin passwords)
learning experiences - how to configure staff WiFi from scratch
I would do it again if I had the chance (as long as my boss isn’t a blocker)
2 Spice ups
James404d
(James404d)
5
Have you ever been a one-person IT department?
Yep, most of my 26 year career was solo. Not currently anymore, which has its own set of perks and downsides.
what were the biggest challenges
The constant learning everything on the fly. Servers, networking, apps, desktops, everything always updates and needs replacing. Needing to know everything about everything gets old after a while. Also, not having someone with technical knowledge on-site to go to when you need to bounce an idea off someone.
unexpected perks of being the sole IT guru on staff
Vendor Selection was my favorite perk. Vendor rubs me the wrong way, I had the power to switch to another.
2 Spice ups
*If you could see my eyebrows right now!
Super interesting to read about the experience of being an IT team of ONE! Like many things, surely has it’s perks and challenges. Thanks for sharing some really neat examples and I look forward to hearing from others!
2 Spice ups
Did this for many years for a company with locations in multiple states. I once got a call on a cruise ship to help diagnose a piece of equipment. The main challenge you have as a party of one is there is no second set of eyes on anything. It’s all you. If it doesn’t work and you don’t know why, you have to figure it out, there is no other option. Take it back to the win 9x days, you did not have the online knowledge and tech group access like you have today.
The nice thing about that though is you learned troubleshooting skills. You learned to poke at things from every possible angle because you couldn’t just google it.
3 Spice ups
davecork
(davecork)
8
Yeah, I’ve spent a good chunk of my time solo, and as you’d expect, it’s a mixed bag.
The Good Side: You have a much larger say in the IT infrastructure. You know the infrastructure inside and out. You get the opportunity to learn a LOT of stuff. In the right environment, great appreciation and job security.
The Bad Side: Building the IT infrastructure on a shoestring budget, then keeping it running with duct tape and bailing wire. You are never truly off duty. You need to know all the things, all the time. In the wrong environment, you’re never appreciated and there’s always the veiled threat of outsourcing your job to a Managed Service Provider.
Overall, I tend to gravitate toward smaller companies. I dislike the bureaucracy of large enterprises, and I appreciate the opportunity to broaden my IT skillset.
4 Spice ups
Last 7 days, I:
- cleared roof drains
- re mounted forklift side shift carriage
- repaired overhead door
- troubleshot owner’s home internet
- automated positive pay file generation with PowerShell (proud of this one, accesses SQL db,
and then logs processed checks in MySQL db.)
- Assisted with annual sprinkler system test
- Modified some nice modular VBA to process .csv appropriately depending on whether bid or invoice.
- Sprayed inside and outside for ants
These are in addition to the regular week in and week out tasks associated with being an IT dept of one.
4 Spice ups
davecork
(davecork)
10
I totally relate to your pain. As a one-person operation, I performed the following tasks as required…
-Plunged the toilets in the office
-Took lead in building repairs after a water pipe burst over the weekend, flooding the building
-Made daily office visits during a derecho to check office status and security
-Performed as point of contact when security alarms went off overnight
-Took out the trash
-Snow removal from sidewalks
-Traveled to owner’s summer home to fix home internet
-Coordinated monthly pest control visits
-Fixed ice machine when it broke
-Replaced ice machine when the old one died for good
-Headed full building remodel project
-Coordinated HVAC work when an office princess got too hot/cold
2 Spice ups
I was a Video Editor and IT Department at the same time. I usually would have to complete my video work after dinner (I lived about 1/2 mile from the office, was good/bad) and learned a lot using SW and Google!
