Break the Nerd Stereotype

Why should IT technicians inside an organization become “User Advocates?”  The answers given by Mike Meyers, president of Total Seminars LLC, were typed in capital letters on one slide: “MONEY, POWER, NERDFAME.”

Meyers’ point to the more than 20 IT educators attending his energetic E2C session at Breakaway, called “Becoming a User Advocate,” was that they should motivate their high-school and community college students to break the “classic nerd” stereotypes of being introverted and reclusive.  Why? Because in a job market where nearly half a billion IT positions remain unfilled as employers can’t find qualified help, they can stand out from the crowd and launch a successful, fruitful, satisfying career at a young age.

“We’re talking about Break/Fix with a twist,” said Meyers. “A User Advocate learns the organization where he works. He knows how the tech works and how the business works.”  Early in his career as an IT technician, Meyers worked for the Texas Department of Transportation.  He became an “expert in truck maintenance” so that he could help the organization organize and file information such as oil change records more efficiently and accurately in spreadsheets.

The “great danger” for IT techs Meyers called “flatlining,” which is when an IT support resource stops learning new technologies.  With the pace of change in today’s business world, “certifications have never been so important” he stressed.

One tip for budding User Advocates Meyers offered: Develop a support “Spy Ring”.  Every organization is filled with “nerdy wannabies” who will pass on IT knowledge to peers – if a User Advocate is willing to teach them, he said.

Meyers is one of the leading authors of text books focusing on CompTIA certifications such as A+ and Network+.