If you read Digg, you know how it works.  Articles get moved up to the front page based on how many users Digg the article.  One of my favorite pages to visit each day, in fact several times a day, is the Digg Top in 24 hours.  You can find some really crazy things there, but it is also obvious what kind of readers frequent the site.

Digg users are fairly tech savvy.  Most of them favor Linux or Mac articles.  Most are Ron Paul supporters (no political comments on this post, please) and FireFox users.  I sometimes wonder if the readership is skewed to the twenty-something or younger crowd based on the number of articles on sex that are dugg each day.

Digg readers hate the RIAA, FoxNews, Internet Explorer, stupid people who do stupid things – especially with technology, long posts, low-bandwidth servers, and posts that rehash old news. Their favorite stories include the iPhone, music piraters, lists of geek words, really bizarre photos on Flickr, top 10 lists and did I mention Ron Paul?

What are Tech Republic readers like?  From what I have seen you are very tech savvy, almost all of you work in some IT support capacity and many of you are managers.  You also like Top 10 lists, Server 2003 and XP hacks, project management, IT-related HR issues and training / certification tips.  You hate Norton, Vista and stupid users.

As a new blogger to Tech Republic, and based almost solely on the very articulate responses to some of my articles so far, my impression is that TR readers are very professional, educated and have a lot of experience with computers.  There are probably a whole lot of degreed, certified and highly paid individuals on Tech Republic.  In other words, the readership here knows a lot about computers and is better at supporting them than your average geek.

That’s why I accepted the invitation to write this blog on Tech Republic – to associate with more IT Professionals in a popular environment.  I could never get this kind of readership on my personal tech blog on Blogger.  It gives me an opportunity to get feedback on technology I’m thinking of implementing or help with a tech problem with which I’m struggling.  I don’t know how you feel about your work but I love my job and my career.  Here’s why:

1. I like using and supporting new technology – Even in a small company like where I work I get to evaluate, test, implement and support some of the latest technology.  Just by the nature of the work I do there are going to be workstation and server replacements, software updates, and searches for technology to solve business problems.  Sometimes we even get to work on the bleeding edge of new technology hardware and software products.
2. The pay is pretty good if you know your stuff – Demand and compensation for IT professionals has consistently been at or near the top of the most every list I have checked for most of my career.  Chart 7 on the Occupational Outlook Handbook from the U.S. Department of Labor Statistics still shows Network Systems Engineers at the top for growth.  The Payscale Salary Survey shows that Network Engineers with 20 years of experience make over $75,000 a year.
3. Working in IT support is fairly prestigious – When guys meet or are introduced in a social setting one of the first questions that is invariably asked is, “What do you do for a living?”  I have always enjoyed saying that I work with computers.  Unfortunately the next part of the conversation is usually something like, “You know, I’ve been wanting to setup security on my home wireless.  How do I do that?”  Come on.  I don’t ask dentists for advice on a root canal.

I’d like to know.  Why did you become an IT professional?  Put your story in the comments.  I’d like to read it.  By the way, I would also like to see how well the ‘worthwhile’ button works.  If you find this article worthwhile, go ahead – click the ‘worthwhile’ button.  Let’s see how high it can go.  Join the discussion.  Is being an IT professional a good career?