This hits home to us all. Has everyone (anyone) noticed the new trend how the companies are hiring people to take care of their phone systems?

Just about every hiring ad I have seen (yes business has been slow for me) is for a network or technical support person who maintains the networks and maybe supports computers as the main job. Usually somewhere in the middle of the job duties description it reads something like "Support Nortel Meridian (or Avaya, etc) system- MACS and repairs".

Where are these people supposed to get this knowledge that we've spent years going to classes we paid for? Sure, if somebody documents the procedures - LD20> prt>2616> etc and all the steps, the average person can do things like add a phone. But when they need to do something like change trunk groups, add an area code, or anything beyond what is written down- forget it!

Things looked bad a few years back when GUI software was being made for users, so they supposedly wouldn't need a tech, but now it's even worse.

While this may be a sign of our bad economy, I believe this attitude is here here to stay. I would like to do something proactive to fight this- make people aware? But- would it make any difference?

Sorry for being long-winded (again) but this aggravates me.