Sometimes a day in the IT trenches brings the feeling of a job well done. We present eight such stories from the archives Life in the IT trenches is all too often a demanding and thankless job. Weekly we publish tales from you, the readers, and usually the rewards in those tales are the personal satisfaction of a job well done or the relief of escaping a dysfunctional workplace just in time.But once in awhile a story appears in which the IT staff member’s efforts were recognized by the powers that be — those efforts even changing the office culture into a more satisfying workplace.This Thanksgiving week we’ve scrolled through the Off the Record archives to uncover such gems. So for a few minutes ignore the stock market returns, enjoy a cup of coffee, and relive moments when the IT job seems worth it. [ Been there, seen that? For some user-based IT idiocy, check out InfoWorld’s “Stupid user tricks” and “More stupider user tricks” ]———————————Tales of Rookie Perseverance: How I started my IT careerChoosing between school and career can be tricky, unless you find a way to do both The making of an IT professional It’s your first week on the job, the server keeps crashing, and the boss is out of town. Good luck! Programming in Paris … without a work permitLanding a developer job in France sounded great, but getting there was easier than staying there ———————————Tales of Successfully Navigating Office Politics: How I became the IT boss by accident The last thing I wanted was a coup d’état. But desperate times call for desperate measures Watch your step — the boss may be out to get youWhen someone is setting you up to take the fall, relief is spelled ‘written documentation’ We’re too small for IT security policiesBeing rewarded in the end for being right——————————— Tales of Job Satisfaction: Why it’s worth taking risksSometimes being an IT guy means going the extra mile — even if it’s on your own time IT in the days before computersHow an office adopted computers, and handed out a job with ‘IT’ in the title Data Management