Leader: Bored at work? Change job - not career

Are you bored at work? You should be - according to a piece of research out this week.

We've all been there - stuck with hours to kill before something happens and then it's finally time to go home.

But is that something IT is particularly responsible for? Or could you say it of any job?

A study by the government-owned Training and Development Agency for Schools says IT and telecoms jobs are the fifth-dullest careers a graduate can go into.

But is that really true?

If you work in the IT department (and we know that about half of you do) you may be surprised to hear this. Because if you're in a company that knows how to use IT properly, it's unlikely you'll ever get a moment to eat lunch.

It might be hard work and challenging but it's certainly never boring - anything but. If boredom has crept into your job it probably means you're with the wrong company - not that you've chosen the wrong career.

One questionable feature of the research is that it was only graduates who were surveyed.

Far be it for us to point it out but surely most jobs are a little on the dull side after the debauched lifestyle UK universities offer. Office life has a little way to go to beat hedonism.

By some coincidence, the report - remember it's written by a teacher training organisation - says teaching is the least boring job of all.

Now ask yourself IT crowd - would you rather sit and read stories to snotty-nosed children, or work in an industry that is just beginning to take off - one that is changing the world?

Imagine working six days per week, prepping lessons, having kids swear at you before the parents lay into you because they are then surprised to find their beloved child isn't learning anything.

Or you could take a job that requires someone who understands the bridge between business and technology - in fact IT is more than that. It's often about using tools to make life better.

The cliché that those who do do and those who can't teach is pretty stupid. Teachers are important - but they need to be of a certain temperament to survive the classrooms. They have tough skin.

Today's IT worker is no longer isolated in the server room. Anyone worth their salt needs to understand much more about what people need and how to communicate that.

Essentially few people could reach their goals without teachers. Whether those teachers are in the classroom, offices, down the pub or on the sports field - no one could live without them.

But their jobs are by no means "less boring" or less relevant than the jobs of anyone who works in IT.