My boss sent me an e-mail this afternoon that began this way:
“Liz, I don’t know whether to sigh or swear.”
Now, she wasn’t talking about anything *I’ve* done (thank goodness), but rather a situation that has been a big ol’ nasty thorn in my ass for nearly two years now. I won’t divulge details (one, because it frustrates the living daylights out of me; two, because that’s *so* not productive in this venue; and three, I don’t think any of you actually care, anyway). It’s just an illustration of two tenets I hold as fundamental truth in my industry, namely:
1. Most people working in the Web industry are incompetent and/or idiots.
2 (related). I will *ALWAYS* be able to find work in the Web industry.
Last week, I did blog a little about how finnicky I am about my Web design preferences and all that. I don’t want you to mistake my frustration today as misplaced aggression towards those who don’t share my preferences. Nay! I’m just really REALLY tired of fixing elementary screw-ups from Web people who get jobs on the basis of their stated expertise in all things Web design. I mean, wouldn’t you (regardless of your area of expertise) think to check the links of elements that appear on EVERY ONE of your Web site’s pages? Apparently, some “Web professionals” think that’s superfluous.
ARGH. I’d rather do something myself than fix someone else’s mistakes. Case in point: Last week, I spent two whole days (16 hours, for those keeping track) fixing a Web site someone else had done incorrectly. This morning, I spent 20 minutes creating (from scratch) a Web site for a department without a Web person. The former was certainly more sizeable than the latter, but I still managed to spend a quarter (or less) total time per page on today’s from-scratch project than I did from last week’s mistake-fixing adventure.
In summary, I’m just REALLY tired of dealing with incompetency. Ignorance is acceptable; someone learning something new is inspirational. But people who pretend to know something but, when tested, turn out to be incompetent? I just don’t have the time (nor the patience) for that.