Re:Ageism and IT (Score 2)

I am 19, and have been working P/T to F/T in small business and collegiate IT departments for three years. Yes, I have worked 45 hour weeks for more than 12 weeks straight, have worked from 9:30AM to 4:30AM the next day installing new network equipment and switching it over. I have heard several times in interviews that people "don't expect" to get a young person with people skills, and that is a flaw with most teenage workers. I agree that communication is essential, and I have done phone based tech support for end-users from my house in NY without looking at a computer for employees in Amsterdam, Dallas, Boston, etc. It seems to me that it depends on both English skills and memory. Some people cannot remember how to open their email even if they write it down, while others can dictate how to configure DHCP on Trusted Solaris 8 without looking at a screen.
In other words, I believe there is a general perception that young workers lack good communications skills, but it is not necessarily the case.