I have noticed that a lot of very well-paid, sometimes
well-qualified, networking folks spend some of their time on "rack &
stack" tasks, which I feel is a very unwise use of time and talent.
It's not a waste, it's therapeutic, breaks the monotony of a desk
job, you get a bit of exercise. Doing something mindless can help
clear your thoughts, engineering yoga.
Imagine if the CFO of a bank spent a big chunk of his time filling up ATMs.
That'd be a good idea, it's too easy to become remote from reality.
obviously you need the right balance - s/big//
brandon
+1
I picked up ram from a supplier today. Could have used a courier, but getting out of the office is vital.
A CTO who's lost touch because they haven't been to a remote site in half a decade is a business risk, more so than the CTO being away from their desk.
If there is business risk from having the CTO out of touch for a week or even a month then there's a bigger problem.
D
I have noticed that a lot of very well-paid, sometimes
well-qualified, networking folks spend some of their time on "rack &
stack" tasks, which I feel is a very unwise use of time and talent.
It's not a waste, it's therapeutic, breaks the monotony of a desk
job, you get a bit of exercise. Doing something mindless can help
clear your thoughts, engineering yoga.
+1 I find this myself, it's useful to do this, as it is to sit in with the operations team and other groups (even finance) to understand what other groups need/require. I've often found that someone is working around a problem they didn't know you could solve (easily), or is doing a large amount of manual labor when there is an API, etc.
Perspective is good. I also do other work that certainly isn't a complete use of my talents that benefits others (e.g.: chaperone a field-trip at school). These are not without merits, but I do know I have my faults in perhaps reading (and responding) to NANOG too much when I should be engaged in more worthwhile tasks.
Imagine if the CFO of a bank spent a big chunk of his time filling up ATMs.
That'd be a good idea, it's too easy to become remote from reality.
obviously you need the right balance - s/big//
- Jared
I think it was Miagi in Karate Kid that stressed balance. The CTO who
is NEVER out of his cage is dangerous, likewise the one that is never
available is also. It is keeping in touch with what is happening at all
levels that makes him valuable. If there is one thing that American
Management misses, it is that. The GROWING companies almost always have
management that is active, visible and accessible - top to bottom. The
ones that are dying are not. The same goes for union leaders who are
really pseudo-management. The senior technicians are no different than
management, they need broad focus but they must also be able to take the
magnifying glass and look at the current situation. A network engineer
who cannot do both is not living up to his job description.
Ralph Brandt
Communications Engineer
HP Enterprise Services
Telephone +1 717.506.0802
FAX +1 717.506.4358
Email Ralph.Brandt@pateam.com
5095 Ritter Rd
Mechanicsburg PA 17055
It's not a waste, it's therapeutic, breaks the monotony of a desk
job, you get a bit of exercise. Doing something mindless can help
clear your thoughts, engineering yoga.
Definite +1 here. I got my start in this profession 15-ish years ago at a mid-sized regional ISP. The company was small enough, in terms of its work
force, that that I interviewed with the CEO for what was largely an IT position. As a result, many people in the organization wore lots of different hats. It wasn't to the point of having accountants pull cable or IT guys doing the books, but I did spend a lot of time doing rack-and-stack work. I didn't (and still don't) mind rack-and-stack, pulling cable, etc. As others have said, it's a good, therapeutic diversion from staring at a screen and attending meetings 
Another good reason for getting out into the field. When you're the person who defines technical deployment standards for an organization, it gives you an opportunity to verify that work is being done to those standards.
That'd be a good idea, it's too easy to become remote from reality.
obviously you need the right balance - s/big//
I'm sure if the ISP I got my start with 15-ish years ago was much bigger, I
would not have interviewed with the CEO, but at that time, it was the right
fit for that organization.
jms
Hrm.
It's not a waste, it's therapeutic, breaks the monotony of a desk
job, you get a bit of exercise. Doing something mindless can help
clear your thoughts, engineering yoga.
This.
One of the reasons I love my job so much is that I don't need to be
stuck at a keyboard all the time.
I usually "volunteer" to help rack and stack new hardware that I
haven't had a chance to touch yet. "For humans, touch can connect you
to an object in a very personal way, make it seem more real."
: )
would have been good to know to whom you were replying, not in To: or in
pre-quote text.
I have noticed that a lot of very well-paid, sometimes
well-qualified, networking folks spend some of their time on "rack &
stack" tasks, which I feel is a very unwise use of time and talent.
It's not a waste, it's therapeutic, breaks the monotony of a desk
job, you get a bit of exercise. Doing something mindless can help
clear your thoughts, engineering yoga.
Imagine if the CFO of a bank spent a big chunk of his time filling up
ATMs.
That'd be a good idea, it's too easy to become remote from reality.
obviously you need the right balance - s/big//
i configure routers, admin servers, and occasionally rack and stack in
my own research racks [0]. aside from giving me a base in reality
instead of all research papers and power point (a major benefit), it's
like housework or doing the dishes, shut up and do your part.
it's also damned useful to maintain layer zero skills. once upon a
time, when i was playing at vp eng, a london routing hub was supposed to
be turned up. the equipment sat in co-lo receiving for weeks, and no
respose from the london techs (i am sure they had ccnas, whetever the
hell that is). so i grabbed my toolkit and got on a plane and walked
into redbus and started turning it all up. the local techs appeared
pretty damed quickly and started doing their jobs. of course, a few
weeks later they were told to get jobs elsewhere.
maintain your skills, you may need them again some day.
randy