If you know me then you know, like many others, Mario is one of my all-time favorite gaming characters! As a child I played Super Mario Brothers on the original Nintendo. Playing Mario taught me losing and starting over is okay – and that’s the approach I have taken, and continue to take, throughout my entire IT career. As I reflect on the influence Mario had on me, and I’m sure had on many of us, I can’t help but think that Mario would have been great in IT himself – and here’s why:
Mario Wears Many Hats
In my career as an IT generalist I wore many hats. I had my Exchange hat, my Active Directory hat, my database hat, my networking hat, and lots and lots of other hats. Even today as a Network Engineer, I still wear many hats. I’ve got my Design hat, my Automation hat, my Security hat, and my SDN hat just to name a few. Mario has a hat for flying and even a hat for sinking and walking along the bottom of a lake. He literally has a hat for every occasion – just like any experienced IT pro has at their disposal.
Mario is Good at Dealing with Various Personality Types
Whether it’s a Goomba, a Koopa Trooper, or even King Bowser himself – Mario knows how to deal with them. Based on that, I’m sure he’d have no problem dealing with the “needy new person,” that user that no matter how times you tell them how to fix their own issue they put in a help desk ticket, and my personal favorite, that guy with the stop watch! “Um 76I think there’s something wrong with my computer! Today, my super huge app opened in 28.62 seconds, but yesterday it opened in 26.94 seconds It’s obviously starting to slow down.” Yeah, Mario could easily deal with him too.
Mario Knows His Plumbing
Obviously, he’s a plumber! He knows plumbing and he knows how to use to his advantage. He could find the right pipe and take a shortcut, wrap to a different level, or get that hat he needs to complete his quest. As experienced IT pros, we know our systems inside and out! We know exactly where to go to grab info when we need it. We know our facilities well too! We know exactly where every IDF is, and most importantly, which hallway we need to take to avoid certain people when we just don’t have time right now to deal with them. We use the network to our advantage, just like Mario does.
Mario is Resourceful
He jumps on a Koopa Trooper and then throws the shell to take care of the oncoming wave of Goombas. In Super Mario Bros. 3, he got his first taste of flight with the racoon tail! Later on, he meets Yoshi, gets a flying cape, even a mushroom that turns him into a giant, and even one that shrinks him down so he can fit in some tight places. Think of all the tools at our disposal! Event viewers, Visio, SNMP, various other monitoring tools, Ansible, Python, REST APIs, and so much more. Your inner Mario will help you be more resourceful with the tools around you, and you’ll reap the benefits every time.
Mario Has a Great Support Team
Sometimes Super Mario Brothers is a 1 player game, but more often than not he has a team. Whether it’s his brother Luigi, or friends like Toad and Yoshi, and even the Princess, he is never really alone. He can’t do it all alone. And neither can we! We have the support of our team. We might have our focus areas but we couldn’t do what we do if it weren’t for our team members doing what they do.
BONUS – Mario Never Gives Up Easily
“I’m sorry Mario, your princess is in another castle.” But Mario doesn’t stop there, does he? Ever been troubleshooting a problem only to find that the root cause isn’t on the server or network device you’re currently looking in? Off to the next one to explore and find that pesky service causing the issue.
Lastly, and probably the most relatable thing, Mario is a lifelong learner. Over the years, Mario has had to sharpen his skills to learn to deal with new adversaries, and in new worlds. Without the ability to adapt and learn, Mario probably wouldn’t be here today. The same goes for IT professionals.
Successful IT pros understand the importance of keeping up with technology, and learning new skills through IT training to stay competitive in our fields and to help us along the way whether you’re racing in Koopa Bach or Rainbow Road.
For more information on IT training, visit our course catalog at https://catalog.skyline-ats.com/Catalog/index.php
