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Is anyone's job I.T. Support/Technician?

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apple tango
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PostPosted: 20:26 - 31 Jan 2012    Post subject: Is anyone's job I.T. Support/Technician? Reply with quote

I've decided, at the old age of 29, that this is the kind of career I want.

What's the best way to get into it? Try get a 1st line support job first, then try get into 2nd and 3rd?

The problem is that I don't have any qualifications (well only a pass in a GNVQ in I.T.) and no work experience doing this stuff.

Would it be worthwhile doing an MCP or MCSA course?
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nowhere.elysium
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PostPosted: 20:35 - 31 Jan 2012    Post subject: Re: Is anyone's job I.T. Support/Technician? Reply with quote

apple tango wrote:
I've decided, at the old age of 29, that this is the kind of career I want.

It's less fun than you think.
Quote:

What's the best way to get into it? Try get a 1st line support job first, then try get into 2nd and 3rd?

Experience, mainly. That, or accepting a truly piss-poor wage.
Quote:

The problem is that I don't have any qualifications (well only a pass in a GNVQ in I.T.) and no work experience doing this stuff.

Neither do I, barring a CompTIA A+, but I've managed to get by. Also, your GNVQ isn't even worth the paper it's written on. Sorry, but that's the truth of it.
Quote:

Would it be worthwhile doing an MCP or MCSA course?

Microsoft, no. Cisco, maybe. General note; in the industry, MCSE is generally regarded as meaning "Must Consult Someone Experienced".

Easiest way of getting into it is develop your skills, and decide on a specialism. You'll still be called upon to cover things that are outside of that specialism, but there we go. Don't expect it to be easy, and bear in mind that it's deeply tedious at times, as well as being generally thankless.

I was employed as an OS X specialist, as a result of the fact that I know *nix fairly well. I'm now looking after a small network of Windows XP machines (*gag* - I'm not allowed to upgrade them to Win7 or a real OS, either) and a really horrible print server, which some fool decided was a 'good product'. It's abysmal, and largely undocumented.
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Stevie GooGs
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PostPosted: 20:37 - 31 Jan 2012    Post subject: Reply with quote

Are you sure this is what you want? I gave up on the whole ideal of listing to people moan and not listen what you ask to do (i know its not always like that but 1st line support can be some what annoying).
I did 3 years at college and a year in uni and could not get a job so done 6 months voluntary work until to gain experience, i was young at the time still staying with parents so money was not a major issue. When i left uni it seemed that everyone jumped on the IT band wagon so there were a lot of competition and everyone wanted experience, that was many moons ago so not sure how much its changed as im no longer in support.
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apple tango
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PostPosted: 20:45 - 31 Jan 2012    Post subject: Reply with quote

It's the only type of career I'd be vaguely interested in.

I appreciate that it's probably tedious a lot of the time, but if you'd done the low paid, mind numbing admin jobs that I've been doing for the last 9 years then I reckon it must be a bit of an improvement.
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nowhere.elysium
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PostPosted: 20:47 - 31 Jan 2012    Post subject: Reply with quote

apple tango wrote:
It's the only type of career I'd be vaguely interested in.

I appreciate that it's probably tedious a lot of the time, but if you'd done the mind numbing admin jobs that I've been doing for the last 9 years then I reckon it must be a bit of an improvement.


Hah. You try propping up a crippled XP network, and then talk to me about crushing tedium Laughing
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Stevie GooGs
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PostPosted: 20:51 - 31 Jan 2012    Post subject: Reply with quote

It all depends what type of support you end up doing but in my experience if you don't actually make a company money or help keep the company working (higher level) the pay is never going to be great.
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P.
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PostPosted: 21:20 - 31 Jan 2012    Post subject: Reply with quote

Finally got back into IT support after a 3 year gap.

It is already tiresome, I'm sick of arses ringing me up before reading a manual.

I have had to use the phrase have you tried turning it off and on again for it to no longer be funny.

I've jumped back in at 1st line, but its pretty technical rather than the usual 1st line stuff places have. I actual deal with decent hardware and have to use the cisco qualifications I worked for so win win Thumbs Up

It is the only career I can see myself in unless I become some wonderful millionaire, then I'll open a garage for bikes and employ people Laughing Means I don't have to do any work as such, let them fix the bikes and let me look at them Very Happy
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apple tango
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PostPosted: 21:26 - 31 Jan 2012    Post subject: Reply with quote

##Paddy## wrote:

It is the only career I can see myself in unless I become some wonderful millionaire.


That's exactly how I think about it.

For me, it's either dull as fuck admin jobs for the rest of my life because I don't have any other job experience, or try get into I.T. because at least I have a slight interest in it.
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iooi
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PostPosted: 21:47 - 31 Jan 2012    Post subject: Reply with quote

##Paddy## wrote:
I have had to use the phrase have you tried turning it off and on again for it to no longer be funny.


I think even the most inept computer users do this before calling for support now.....

Still, we do all know you guys use this time as chance to get the manual out ready Laughing
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The Shaggy D.A.
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PostPosted: 21:49 - 31 Jan 2012    Post subject: Reply with quote

I've been an NHS service desk technician for the last year. The system's crap, the pay's crap, but the people I work with are great, the day goes quick and I knock off at the end of the day without taking any work home, which is a treat after the last 29 years in IT.

Not a project manager or salesman in sight Thumbs Up
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The Shaggy D.A.
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PostPosted: 21:57 - 31 Jan 2012    Post subject: Reply with quote

iooi wrote:
I think even the most inept computer users do this before calling for support now.....


No, no they don't.

I had a user wondering why the PC wouldn't come on and the monitor just had "entering power save mode" on the screen.

Power lead was in, monitor lead was in, got them to turn it on and off again, power light was on. Asked them for the asset number and they said there wasn't one. Asked them for the model number and they said there wasn't one. Was about to send a field tech out, but then asked them to describe the PC to me.

They were trying to log in to an empty laptop docking station.
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_Chris_
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PostPosted: 22:05 - 31 Jan 2012    Post subject: Reply with quote

Don't bother within training yet.

Get on a 1st line desk. We pay about £8 to temps, and only pennies more to perms.

Expect to take about 30 incoming calls a day, all you need is good customer service - learn the phrase 'log and flog', this makes up the vast majority of 1st line desks in major companies. If you work for a smaller one then it might be better/more technical.

Expect it to be boring and frustrating, and you'll be there for about 3 months before moving onwards and upwards (assuming you're good enough)

listen and learn everything that you can, this will separate you from the other 1st line drones.

Think about the most common issues that come up time and time again, then think about learning a scripting language that can automate the fixes. Start with batch (.bat / .com) files, which are just DOS commands executed one after another (on a very basic level), then move onto something like powershell, it's easy as hell and pretty powerful (we use it to create a virtualisation environment that was the biggest in the world last year)

Lean basic networking, how to ping/view remote network shares/map drives from the command line/list active network connections/runas/etc

Look up some old hacking tutorials from the late 90's early 00's, although they won't be much good from a security point of view, it will teach you how to efficiently hop around a network (that you already have access to).

It's not fun until you get to 3rd line and beyond, where you get to actually look to implement new solutions and rework the current platform.
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bazza
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PostPosted: 22:16 - 31 Jan 2012    Post subject: Reply with quote

"How can I help?"

"The printer's not working."

"OK, which printer is that?"

"The invoice one. I've got 400 invoices to print and nothing's coming out."

"Give me a minute to log on to your system and have a look."

"OK, my panel tells me the HP printer is offline. Can you check the display on the printer and tell me if there's a message or warning?"

"It's blank."

"Is the printer powered on?"

"Just a minute... OK, it is now."

"What does the display say now?"

"Ready."

"My panel is still showing it offline. Can you check the network cable is connected?"

"What does it look like?"

"OK, can you see the power cable?"

"Yes. It's black, right?"


"That's correct. So the network cable will be the other cable that's not the power cable."

"Can't see any other cable."

"OK, go to the silver box near the BT box and find the cable with the 'HP Invoice printer' label on it."

"Yes, got it."

"Right, now follow that cable till you reach the end then let me know."

"OK, I'm at the end."

"I need you to plug the end of the network cable into the network port on the printer."

"Er.."

"What's the problem - is it damaged?"

"I don't think so."

"So plug it into the invoice printer then."

"Should I unplug it from this Brother printer first?"

"What Brother printer?"

"The one the boss bought yesterday."

"Was there a problem with the HP printer?"

"No, but the boss said it looked tatty and went out and bought a new one from PC world, and now that one's not working and we need to get these invoices out."

"Alright, just unplug the network cable from the new printer and plug it back into the HP printer."

"It won't come out. I'll just... It's stu... oh."

"What do you mean 'Oh'?"

"The cable's come out but the end's still in the printer."

"I guess those invoices will have to wait until you've got a new network cable then. Call me back when you've got one."

<Click.>

These events actually happened, but not all in the same conversation.

Not all support calls are this exciting, but you can guarantee that 97.8% of users are at least this stupid.
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The Shaggy D.A.
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PostPosted: 22:27 - 31 Jan 2012    Post subject: Reply with quote

bazza wrote:
you can guarantee that 97.8% of users are at least this stupid.


Even those you thought would have some level of intelligence. I support a lot of doctors. They don't take kindly to my suggestion of using a pen to fill out prescriptions when I can't clear their paper jam over the network.
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Phoenix
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PostPosted: 23:01 - 31 Jan 2012    Post subject: Reply with quote

I've been thinking along very similar lines to you, also 28, only difference is that although my current job is mind numbing it pays well so i'm going to have to take a pay cut to do it, I just want a change though, I can always do something else.

Problem I encounter though is exactly what you see in this thread, everyone who's in IT is no help whatsoever (other than Chris, he was fairly useful). They just say don't bother doing this or that, qualifications are pretty much useless and the job is terrible and that your best way into the industry is to blag it.

Nobody will take you on in these roles unless you have experience in lots of areas (MS operating systems, servers, databases, cisco or whatever), they don't necessarily ask for actual qualifications in them though a lot do. Those wanting MCSEs or MCITP also want experience but generally the qualification is only "useful". The way I see it is you're probably best applying for min wage 1st line support jobs that require nothing but personally gained PC experience and a clue. Put that on your CV while maybe learning about servers and the other areas that IT jobs ask for and then try applying for those, ie a slow crawl up.
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_Chris_
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PostPosted: 23:09 - 31 Jan 2012    Post subject: Reply with quote

Phoenix wrote:
what you see in this thread, everyone who's in IT is no help whatsoever. They just say don't bother doing this or that, qualifications are pretty much useless and the job is terrible and that your best way into the industry is to blag it.


Suck my balls.

I do 'IT' for a living, do you think that just because someone has a 'qualification' but no experience that I'd hire them and put them in a fantastic role? No, we just don't do that. I 'might' hire them, if we 'need' to meet a quota for qualified staff in a specific sector (rare), but they wouldn't get top pay.

However someone who's proved themselves on the Service Desk, AND not only has the ability to understand technical issues, but also can apply their knowledge to new scenarios - this is RARE, is the type of person that can make their way up into a decent IT role.

I'm sure you'd rather hear that if you get a £1,500 MCSE then you'll be able to walk into a job managing Servers for £700+ a day, but that isn't the real world. That's just the bollocks that the sales rep of the local computer course wants to sell you.

Get on the service desk, get experience WHILE learning in your own time (programming/scripting/networks/voip/whatever)
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bazza
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PostPosted: 00:05 - 01 Feb 2012    Post subject: Reply with quote

OK, perhaps I was being a bit harsh; the users aren't necessarily stupid. They work at their business, get new IT stuff chucked at them and are expected to cope without any training - too expensive, you see.

The poor sod with the printer issues has to get his invoices out - he's been at work since 02:00 and he finishes at 12:00, his boss has disrupted his work environment for no good reason and he's expected to sort it out and get his work done before he goes home. The company doesn't have any IT staff and the boss won't pay an external company to manage their IT for them - too expensive, you see - but he somehow still manages to have a new Merc or Jag every year.

Anyway I digress. In my opinion, one of the most useful things you can do is learn how to set up, maintain and edit a wiki - Mediawiki preferably.

It's also one of the hardest things to get a company to buy into - even though it's free - but if you can convince them to try it, and get as many other staff as possible contributing and stick with it, in a couple of months you'll start seeing the benefits of having a fully searchable, peer-reviewed, online (intranet) repository of customer info, support issues and solutions, code snippets, scripts, screenshots, bug fixes, URLs, workarounds, hints and tips and anything else relevant to the support staff.

I don't know how many of the other IT guys here use one, but if you're not, you're making everyone's job harder than it need be.
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Charlie
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PostPosted: 00:12 - 01 Feb 2012    Post subject: Reply with quote

The Shaggy D.A. wrote:
bazza wrote:
you can guarantee that 97.8% of users are at least this stupid.


Even those you thought would have some level of intelligence. I support a lot of doctors.


Try watching your university electronic engineering lectures not figuring out how to use a projector or why a programme has crashed. It is painful. The computing lectures are normally alright, but there are one or two and you wonder what they've been doing for their academic life.

You'd think these people would have half a clue, they do several lectures a week and use powerpoint, word, and projectors through out their career. Yet still either get students shouting out how to do it, or call IT because students would rather slack off for 10 minutes and not help. Rolling Eyes
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nowhere.elysium
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PostPosted: 00:17 - 01 Feb 2012    Post subject: Reply with quote

Phoenix wrote:
Problem I encounter though is exactly what you see in this thread, everyone who's in IT is no help whatsoever (other than Chris, he was fairly useful). They just say don't bother doing this or that, qualifications are pretty much useless and the job is terrible and that your best way into the industry is to blag it.


Feel free to prove us wrong, then. Seriously - that's not bluster, and I'm not trying to say it's impossible, but it's a massively over-glamourised industry, and people walk into it with totally unrealistic expectations. I work in a job hat I am happy with overall, but it's a far cry from what people expect of it. I'm lucky enough to have a lot of freedom (aside form the ability to call the shots on OS installation) - I'm allowed to code my way through problems, as well as calling in external support that I can coordinate and command. Nonetheless, I've been doing this for ten years now, and it has been an uphill war. Not an uphill struggle, an uphill war.
You can get as many qualifications as you like; you're not going to walk into anything that even remotely corresponds with what the training advisors have sold to you.

Experience is key, as is the ability to think your way through problems in an innovative manner. You also have to deal with the fact that the public is staggeringly stupid and obstinate. Everything that goes wrong is your fault, and no amount of well-intentioned advice is going to change that perception. Everyone hates the IT guy, because he knows arcane things, and isn't like the rest of you.

Bazza's advice is sound. However, you will find that for every ten good ideas you have, only one will be taken on for review, and for every ten of those, only one will be implemented, and that will be done wrong.

I sound exceptionally bitter about all this, and in fairness, I am. Get into IT by all means. Don't expect to be happy with it a lot of the time. I'm incredibly chuffed with the skillset I've acquired/developed over the years, but my job can be hateful. I wouldn't trade what I've learned for the world, but I would give damn near anything to be able to exercise the power that I've developed. I want to make things better for people. I really, really do. However, because there are certain expectations of what 'IT' is, and what it does, I can't.

Go read Steven Levy's book 'Hackers' - it's got nothing to do with the film of the same name (thank God), and then go read some Dilbert strips. Both of those are totally accurate depictions of what it's like; as a proper computer guy, you are gifted with some awesome potential. However, as a corporate computer guy, you are crippled by the stagnation of managerial mindsets.

I don't believe in over-complicating things for people; I'm happy to take on the really difficult stuff for myself, and present people with a simple, workable, potted solution. It's what I try to do, every day. However, if it doesn't have an accursed Microsoft/Apple/Whatever badge, people won't buy into it. It's as simple as that.
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timboellis
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PostPosted: 00:20 - 01 Feb 2012    Post subject: Reply with quote

I started as 1st line desktop and worked up from there, easiest way i would say would be to go for a ISP job and work up from there

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CaNsA
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PostPosted: 00:42 - 01 Feb 2012    Post subject: Reply with quote

Phoenix wrote:
Problem I encounter though is exactly what you see in this thread, everyone who's in IT is no help whatsoever. They just say don't bother doing this or that, qualifications are pretty much useless and the job is terrible and that your best way into the industry is to blag it.


So the real problem is you are not hearing what you want to hear from those who work in the industry.
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Stevie GooGs
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PostPosted: 00:44 - 01 Feb 2012    Post subject: Reply with quote

CaNsA wrote:

So the real problem is you are not hearing what you want to hear from those who work in the industry.


Exactly why would we lie? what would we gain from saying our own jobs are shit?
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CaNsA
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PostPosted: 00:45 - 01 Feb 2012    Post subject: Reply with quote

Stevie GooGs wrote:
CaNsA wrote:

So the real problem is you are not hearing what you want to hear from those who work in the industry.


Exactly why would we lie? what would we gain from saying our own jobs are shit?


Unless it's a secret that we want to keep for ourselves.
You know that secret where we rape hookers and do coke all day long.
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colin1
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PostPosted: 01:56 - 01 Feb 2012    Post subject: Reply with quote

Stevie GooGs wrote:
CaNsA wrote:

So the real problem is you are not hearing what you want to hear from those who work in the industry.


Exactly why would we lie? what would we gain from saying our own jobs are shit?


You dont like your jobs, but that's irrelevant to him, he wants to know how to get into your job.

You think if he only knew how shit the job is, he would be less keen, but you don't know how shit his job is.

I've worked in a couple of IT companies on low level sales support, feeling very jealous of the IT support guys, who got to learn stuff, progress and become useful, even though on occasions I could advise them just be googling something. Whereas low level sales jobs, you are sold the dream that you can become a hot shot sales man who will earn more than an IT guy, but in reality sales guys are disposable.

I think I'm more techie than salesy, but I've just never got round to learning stuff, so I too wouldnt mind getting into IT.

Low level support calls are probably a lot more interesting than customer service calls, or cold calling.

As mentioned, chris has given some decent info, and I'd agree with Alex that others just tend to air their grievances with the job rather than give any useful info.

But I guess that's maybe because there isnt much info to give to get into a low level 1st line support role.

The things I'm picking up that someone else has said, is that at low level its a lot about patience with users who have little knowledge, so customer service skills are more important.

I reckon I could do that, but I guess a lot of employers want to know you will be able to progress and so want to know you have shown an ability to learn things in the past that are relevant, ie some form of computing qualifications.
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Stevie GooGs
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PostPosted: 02:48 - 01 Feb 2012    Post subject: Reply with quote

Sorry i should have said how shit my old job was, im just trying to make him aware of what it gets like, like every job over time you get sick of it, however a large factor can be the company you work for and the role you play without the company.

Ie taking calls from customers is much different to taking calls from in house staff, a large difference between how you are treated.
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