Day in the Life of Information Technology Professionals

Blog Post

September 17, 2021

The IT field has many incredible opportunities and excellent demand. While the specific jobs within this field can vary drastically, it’s helpful to know the rundown of what an IT manager does.

Here’s a sneak peek at the day in the life of an IT professional and some answers to the top IT career questions.

6:00 am to 8:00 am

49% of IT employees wake up between 6 and 7 in the morning. With the relatively early wake-up time, you can bet that many IT professionals also drink a cup of coffee (or a few cups). By 7:30 am, those who work on-site are heading to the office. However, those who work remotely can enjoy some extra time in the morning.

8:00 am to 9:00 am

Many IT professionals arrive at work by around 8:00 am and begin working by 9:00 am. The first thing to tackle is immediate needs. What questions, concerns, confusions do employees (or customers) have open right now? Of course, the time this takes varies based on which needs arose!

Some examples may include:

Investigating troubled devices.
Running antivirus software or cleaning up viruses on devices.
Replacing cables.
Restoring files

10:00 am to 12:00 pm

Meetings are next up most of the time. 51% of IT professionals have an average of one to two meetings per day. Meetings may include updates on long-term projects, key updates, major company concerns, and more.

12:00 pm to 1:00 pm

After getting some of the critical tasks handled and some meetings out of the way, it’s time for lunch. Lunch is a great time for IT teams to build rapport with each other and the rest of the company.

1:00 pm to 3:00 pm

Assuming that most of the critical issues were addressed in the morning, it’s time to work on non-critical requests. Of course, other critical issues may arise throughout the day. IT managers must decide how to adjust their workflow to handle the most important tasks while still getting everything done.

3:00 pm to 5:00 pm

Later in the afternoon is when many teams get to their ongoing projects. IT managers will check in with the dedicated team members on their progress near the end of the day. They can learn about the project progress, updates, challenges, and more.

5:00 pm to 6:00 pm

Most IT professionals, 74%, complete their work between 4:30 and 6:00 pm. Timing will vary based on the specific projects and issues you have for the day. Once the day is done, it’s time to head home (or unplug from your at-home desk) and relax!

What Does an IT Professional Do?

IT teams handle the configuration, setup, and maintenance of technology hardware, software, and connections. They have a wide range of daily responsibilities including:

Run and check system backups
Hardware diagnosis and recovery
Disaster recovery
Cybersecurity
Manage company data
Improve technology systems
Troubleshoot daily technology issues (employees cannot log in, employee device issues, customer technology issues as well for some IT teams.

Is the IT Field a Good Career Option?

When looking into potential careers, people often ask if IT is a good option. In reality, IT can be a great option but it’s not the right fit for everyone. The IT industry is fast-growing, full of opportunities. More and more IT jobs focus more on experience and aptitude than a college degree, so it is possible to enter the field without one.

What are the highlights of working in IT?

Some of the top benefits of working in IT include:

Fast-paced, ever-evolving career.
Many remote opportunities.
Great for problem solvers and those who love challenges.
Potential ability to travel to different locations and work with a myriad of companies/ systems.
Multiple career paths.
High salaries ($78,779 is the average salary of an IT technician in the U.S.).

What are the low points of working in IT?

Despite the benefits of working in IT, the field also has some considerations including:

Potentially long hours.
An ever-changing field means that you must always keep learning. You need to stay current with the necessary IT certifications
Dealing with angry/upset employees or customers.
Deadline-driven work, which can create a strong sense of pressure.
End-users may not be honest about the problems they experience.
The constant influx of new issues. Can be difficult to keep the key IT processes in mind when dealing with new problems daily.

What Do IT Professionals Wish They Knew Coming Into the Field?

Even the most successful IT professionals tend to look back at the early stages of their career with a bit of a head shake. Some of the top things IT professionals wish they knew before entering the field include:

You must keep learning.
Soft skills matter.
There are many career options within the field, take time to explore them.
Building a network of IT professionals helps.
You will make mistakes. Learn from them.

Whether you are looking to enter the IT workforce or realizing that your IT team needs support, Teksetra is here to help. We provide comprehensive IT support and services to help businesses with network management, security, help desk support, staffing, and outsourcing. Contact our experts today to learn more about career opportunities or how our team can help you!