Productivity tips

5 Epic Gifts That IT Workers Will Love

IT work is mostly a thankless job.

It involves constantly having to set up new workstations, responding to all types of questions and dealing with bugs someone else is responsible for. And then, from a security angle, never does anyone celebrate the hundreds of days that go by without an incident.

But when there is one, well, then someone’s head is generally thrust onto the chopping block.

So, whether it is holiday season or System Administrator Appreciation Day or you just want to recognize the good work they do every day, sometimes it's nice to get someone in IT a gift. Then the question quickly becomes – what to buy them?

Well, we are here to help. Here are five gifts anyone in IT would love:

1.    Literally anything from ThinkGeek

ThinkGeek is perhaps the greatest retail site ever created for the IT audience. They have some killer Star Trek swimwear, a Death Star waffle maker, a Han Solo in Carbonite shower curtain, the one ring to rule them all – the list goes on and on.  

Plus, if you don’t know what to get the IT worker specifically, you can always get them a gift card to ThinkGeek and they'll be delighted.

2.    The Phantom Keystroke

IT workers love practical jokes, and nothing is better than the phantom keystroke. Essentially, you can plug this flash drive into the USB port of an unsuspecting person’s computer and it’ll start typing random stuff, moving the mouse randomly and occasionally turning on the caps lock until it drives the person insane.

Basically, it is the ultimate computer gag for workers who appreciate exactly that.

3.    A subscription to LootCrate

The gift that keeps on giving. If you buy a person a subscription to LootCrate, the person will get a mystery crate each month, filled of things an IT worker would love.

For example, in previous crates there were Star Wars bobbleheads, superhero shirts and a Halo briefcase. But what makes it so epic is that each month is a surprise, with the person wondering what the mystery crate beholds.

4.    An iTunes Gift Card (Mostly for Pokemon Go)

Pokemon Go has swept the nation and it'll probably stay that way for at least two more weeks. And many people are enticed to spend money on it – but that can be a difficult expense to justify.

That’s where the iTunes gift card comes in. With it, when tempted, the person can just use that and not feel guilty about spending money on Pokemon Go.

What happens when Pokemon Go fades or the person doesn't play it? No problem. The overjoyed IT worker can still buy music, movies and Game of Thrones episodes.

5.    Something that will make them better at what they love

IT people are in tech (probably) because they like tech. And, for people that like tech, there’s nothing more interesting than constantly mastering the latest and greatest technologies.

Naturally, we here at Lynda.com would suggest a Lynda.com account, although there are certainly other options. But there’s nothing better to get someone who loves technology than the ability for them to easily stay abreast of the latest technologies.

Here’s a free gift anyone in IT would love – one of our most popular courses among IT workers, Windows 10 Administration, unlocked. Click here to watch it for free!

 

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