To know this, Emerson Network Power, an infrastructure solutions provider, surveyed nearly 800 IT professionals in Asia, Europe, Latin America and the United States. The result is "The Most Always-On IT Jobs," a report on the most demanding IT jobs, released recently.

The survey sought to determine the degree to which IT professionals have to be always available, always working at peak capacity and always accurate.

According to the report, the survey respondents confirmed the hunch that IT professionals must be as Always-On as the data centre.

When asked to describe an always-on situation, typical comments included "I have to be on, the same way the system is required to run 24 hours every day," and "There are strict timelines to finish projects while still working to put out fires."

"IT is a hugely demanding profession," said Blake Carlson, vice president of the IT Business Segment, Avocent Products & Services, Emerson Network Power. "They need to be smart, flexible and quick - a lot like the technology they work to support. And, they must be able to handle multiple tasks at once and figure out how to get things done with limited or inadequate resources. In my experience, IT professionals are a breed apart."