My Company Just Hired A Complete Novice to Head Our Info Tech Dept.

I work in an IT-like dept. We're Database Analysts and Administrators. Earlier this year, our director left, and they've hired a new dept head. The guy they hired came from another dept in the company, and has Z-E-R-O IT experience and knowledge. The field that I am in is very new and growing dynamically. People with experience are having a hard time adjusting to the changes. Someone with no background at all is going to be completely lost.

Additionally, the guy is a real-hard ass. He's never managed an entire department before. However, he does manage a group of people through intimidation and fear. Most of the people that he manages are temps, who he can easily fire with one phone call to their agency.

Our dept is very different. There are thousands of ways that you can make a huge mistake if you're not very careful, and you definitely cannot fire people at will. Also, our dept head has to make some very critical decisions about hiring, using outside vendors, and buying new software and hardware, and this guy has NO EXPERIENCE doing any of that.

Looks like I'm going to have to find a new job.

Lay low. He may have been put in that position so they can get rid of him. :)

They love him because he works 24/7. They're also completely ignorant of what it takes to run my department and what it is that we do.

I got a boss who had been in IT all his life. He was a total prick...and to top it off he didn't really know that much about IT despite having a Masters in it.

He fired me but I ended up getting the last laugh. I am an IT director now...getting fired was the best thing that happened to me.

This guy has none.

In some IT director positions having those skills isn't necessary...we were lucky all that was required of the jerk was to sit in his office and surf the web all day.

Every now and then he would come out and yell at someone in front of everybody.

I'm in a fast-growing, dynamic sector. Things are changing every day. New technologies are being developed every day. Huge decisions have to be made on critical issues. A complete novice will be wiped out.

Also, remember that this guy is a micro-manager.

I agree with you though...it sounds like the higher ups screwed up.

He doesn't know enough about about networking, so if anything goes wrong, the shit will roll down on him and not you.

He knows nothing about anything. Networking, databases, programming, NOTHING AT ALL. The vendors will eat him for breakfast.

seems we do quite a bit of that around here! :P

Hey! let's get together for lunch sometime!