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Ever get busy, not check the threads for a while, then get overwhelmed by being several thousand pages behind? Yeah that's me. I'm catching myself back up, and while doing that realized it's November. Did we want to do another goon thumbdrive thing this year?
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Nov 12, 2014 22:37
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Paladine_PSoT posted:Ever get busy, not check the threads for a while, then get overwhelmed by being several thousand pages behind? Yeah that's me. I'm catching myself back up, and while doing that realized it's November. Did we want to do another goon thumbdrive thing this year? Wow, haven't seen you around for a while. I'd be interested in buying a couple if someone is going to do this. I think I killed mine on accident during a Warrior Dash. I had my car key (which has the flash drive attached) in a plastic bag, but the bag punctured and both the key and flash drive were quite muddy.
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Nov 12, 2014 23:02
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TWBalls posted:Wow, haven't seen you around for a while. I'd be interested in buying a couple if someone is going to do this. I think I killed mine on accident during a Warrior Dash. I had my car key (which has the flash drive attached) in a plastic bag, but the bag punctured and both the key and flash drive were quite muddy. I started working with a really really complex system in June and just now realized I should come up for air.
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Nov 12, 2014 23:15
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It's taken months to get here, but for the first time our new Citrix environment served up the storefront through the netscaler, published our most used Citrix app, and ran our almost completely out of date SSO bridge to sign in automatically. It launched the app a hell of a lot faster than our prod Citrix environment, which resolves the number 1 complaint from our users. It's some light at the end of the tunnel, and when we go prod I'm suggesting a happy hour to celebrate.
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Nov 12, 2014 23:17
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Hiring a new employee is expensive and carries some risk so employers generally want to make sure they get the right people. It can also be tough to get the whole team together for long enough for an in depth technical interview so they generally want to make sure that anyone that makes it that far is a legitimate candidate, which means a few screenings. Consider that however much of your time you feel is being wasted they are wasting even more man hours to determine if you are a good fit for them. And you should be glad that they are thorough as neither side wants buyers/sellers remorse after being hired. Google studied their own internal hiring practices pretty extensively and found that the sweet spot was around 4 interviews, but that may not hold true for every position or company. But at least one recruiter screen, one personal screen with the hiring manager, one technical screen with a technical person, and a face to face with the whole group is pretty reasonable.
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Nov 13, 2014 00:58
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Paladine_PSoT posted:Ever get busy, not check the threads for a while, then get overwhelmed by being several thousand pages behind? Yeah that's me. I'm catching myself back up, and while doing that realized it's November. Did we want to do another goon thumbdrive thing this year? The ones from last year don't work on macs. If you do it again, you should find better ones? Having said that, mine still opens beer as well as the day I got it!
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Nov 13, 2014 01:01
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NippleFloss posted:Hiring a new employee is expensive and carries some risk so employers generally want to make sure they get the right people. It can also be tough to get the whole team together for long enough for an in depth technical interview so they generally want to make sure that anyone that makes it that far is a legitimate candidate, which means a few screenings. 4 interviews is a tad much and is a big of time investment to be asked of an applicant to make. The job would have to be incredible for me to agree to such a thing.
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Nov 13, 2014 01:05
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Sickening posted:4 interviews is a tad much and is a big of time investment to be asked of an applicant to make. The job would have to be incredible for me to agree to such a thing. Phone screens don't generally take that much time and can usually be scheduled flexibly enough to work around work schedules. And I really don't find it that onerous. You're talking about a major life decision and a decision that will probably be with you for a couple of years, at least. That seems worthy of due consideration on both sides, which requires time. Interviews are notoriously unreliable anyway, but you really can't get a feel from someone from a quick screen and short in person interview. And when you consider that your hiring directly affects a number of people (HR, your direct manager, the department director, the team you will be working with, any people who may be working under you) that's a lot of people who have to at least get a chance to feel you out and make sure you're a good fit for them, and it's not feasible feasible to do that in one big interview. When I interviewed for NetApp I did a personal screen with the internal recruiter, a technical screen with an SE, and a skype interview with the manager of the position. But they also knew me as a customer for years and I'd worked closely with the account team, so the process was truncated. With Riverbed I went through four different screens, three of them technical, and also flew to KC for a face to face with the director (and did not get the job). For my current position at a VAR it was two pre-screen interviews, a mock customer engagement with the team, and then face to face meetings with each managing partner. I was interested in the jobs, so I found time to do the interviews, and they were interested in me so they found the time for their people to talk to me, and in some cases the money to fly me out or fly people in to meet face to face. That's a sign of respect, to me, not a sign of being jerked around. YOLOsubmarine fucked around with this message at 01:45 on Nov 13, 2014 |
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Nov 13, 2014 01:37
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Yeah 3-4 is pretty much what we do. It is a lot to ask of people on the team to participate, but we hire a lot better people because of it. If they are out of state we obviously handle differently, but local people shouldn't really be bothered with spending a single work days effort to get hired into a full-time position - including the travel time. It probably depends on the size of the organization, but we typically receive 100+ resumes for the positions we hire. Recruiter (phone) Hiring Manager (phone) Team/Technical Hiring Manager w/ Peer and/or Hiring Manager's Boss
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Nov 13, 2014 02:16
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Average in my experience is 3: Phone screen, sometimes w/ HR or member of team to get a basic feel for the candidate. Deep dive, usually in person. This is the big one, usually technical if that applies. Final, usually more for culture fit or with senior/C-level person for rubber stamp. YMMV
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Nov 13, 2014 02:17
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Dark Helmut posted:Average in my experience is 3: 3 shall be the number thou shalt count, and the number of the counting shall be three. Four shalt thou not count, neither count thou two, excepting that thou then proceed to three.
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Nov 13, 2014 02:48
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Did eight hours of live interviews over three rounds & 9 people for an investment firm in Boston that went mostly great. HR came right before the CTO, and I didn't prepare at all for it. She was a partner. That was for a desktop support job. I interviewed at some global executive scouting company and they made me take the global executive aptitude test with the timer on, then do about three hours of thematic aptitude testing where I made up stories to describe pictures etc. That was for a database support temp-to-hire. A school district offered me a job in the room so I took that one and it owns.
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Nov 13, 2014 03:15
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Roargasm posted:Did eight hours of live interviews over three rounds & 9 people for an investment firm in Boston that went mostly great. HR came right before the CTO, and I didn't prepare at all for it. She was a partner. Do you remember the movie "The Game" with Michael Douglas? Towards the end there's the reveal that the complex psychological testing at the beginning was so they could figure out all his passwords and stuff. I guess what I'm saying is that you should expect to be buried alive in Mexico any minute now.
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Nov 13, 2014 05:15
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Got an interview for my first IT job in almost 4 years, it's a support position with YMCA. Excited to maybe get my feet wet somewhere but nervous that because it's a non-profit it won't pay all that well. Even if I make a dollar more than what I do now I'm taking it and not looking back because at this point I'm not going anywhere with this loving HVAC sales job.
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Nov 13, 2014 05:17
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Erwin posted:The ones from last year don't work on macs. If you do it again, you should find better ones? I got last year's keychain and use it all the time on a variety of different Macs with no problems  Maybe you got a lemon.
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Nov 13, 2014 06:23
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Another entry-level type looking for a bit of guidance here. I just accepted a job at rather large ISP doing tier 1 tech support in a call center environment. I was aiming for more of a help desk or desktop support role, but I decided to accept this offer after a several-month-long job hunt with only one (unsuccessful) help desk interview to show for it. I also figured an ISP wouldn't be a bad place to start for someone who aspires to work in networking -- although, my assumption is that a transfer from phone tech support to network engineering is a bit much to hope for in the near future. My prior experience is limited to working in a retail PC repair shop and a short gig doing support for a web hosting company, so I'm hardly overqualified for the position. I recently obtained my A+, now studying for Network+, and I was accepted into WGU's online BS-IT program (currently back-and-forth on whether or not I should enroll). Assuming I'm not totally misguided in accepting this job offer, I would appreciate any advice on making the best of this opportunity and preparing for future career prospects. Is the BS worth pursuing or should I wait? Are there any certs I should study for with the aim of eventually breaking into network engineering? Dennis Kucinich fucked around with this message at 06:48 on Nov 13, 2014 |
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Nov 13, 2014 06:42
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Docjowles posted:I got last year's keychain and use it all the time on a variety of different Macs with no problems Is this the year we make "gently caress printers"?
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Nov 13, 2014 07:03
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Paladine_PSoT posted:Is this the year we make "gently caress printers"? What about just "gently caress you" and we can give them out to people who need to receive such a message.
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Nov 13, 2014 08:16
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Swink posted:What about just "gently caress you" and we can give them out to people who need to receive such a message. Waste of a good thumbdrive, for sure. Last year's was a thumbdrive in an aluminum bottle opener that had the grenade logo on one side and an arrow pointing at the boozy end reading "in case of emergency, please do the needful".
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Nov 13, 2014 08:58
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The only problem that's making me reconsider buying one this year, is that the retention/locking method the stick seemed to have broke off after a month or two of normal, light-handed use. This meant that you'd have to hold the protruding connector down to actually get it in. 
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Nov 13, 2014 09:59
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Still have mine from last year, still works perfectly, keep it on my key ring. Still have an unused spare that is in perfect condition too, so I don't really need one this year.
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Nov 13, 2014 10:59
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Speaking of printers, I know everybody's super excited about supporting HP's 3d printer for the enterprise!
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Nov 13, 2014 14:57
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Paladine_PSoT posted:Waste of a good thumbdrive, for sure. That is amazing. 
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Nov 13, 2014 15:09
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Paladine_PSoT posted:Is this the year we make "gently caress printers"? Do this except instead of USB thumbdrives they're thermite grenades!
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Nov 13, 2014 15:23
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Inspector_666 posted:Do this except instead of USB thumbdrives they're thermite grenades! http://www.amazon.com/HDE-Novelty-Weapon-Shaped-Grenade/dp/B00852KCRG
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Nov 13, 2014 15:42
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Dennis Kucinich posted:My prior experience is limited to working in a retail PC repair shop and a short gig doing support for a web hosting company, so I'm hardly overqualified for the position. I recently obtained my A+, now studying for Network+, and I was accepted into WGU's online BS-IT program (currently back-and-forth on whether or not I should enroll). Assuming I'm not totally misguided in accepting this job offer, I would appreciate any advice on making the best of this opportunity and preparing for future career prospects. Is the BS worth pursuing or should I wait? Are there any certs I should study for with the aim of eventually breaking into network engineering? The advice I've been hearing over the years is work hard and never say no. Keep up with doing those certs, and maybe look to the CCNA and MCSE later on. You can totally get by without a degree, although it will help you make it through the first wave of many HR people having a BS. I don't have any helpdesk experience so I don't know how much flexibility you'd have for doing other tasks outside of your job description but it wouldn't hurt to throw yourself out there and stand out.
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Nov 13, 2014 16:01
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How well do public schools (K-12) pay? Is it largely dependent on the location and district, or do they tend to compensate IT staff pretty well? I've got an interview for a "Primary Technology Support Technician" position tomorrow. The extremely wordy job names I keep seeing never stop being funny to me. E: I started at WGU in the BS IT Security program about a month ago and if you're dedicated/learn things quickly you can blast through the courses and earn valuable certifications along the way. I'm about to take my Net+ with a voucher provided by WGU. They provide vouchers for CCENT, CCNA, and CCNA Security too in addition to several CIW and CompTIA cert exams. crunk dork fucked around with this message at 16:16 on Nov 13, 2014 |
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Nov 13, 2014 16:05
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I don't have direct experience there, but I imagine it wouldn't be as much as a private sector job. I work at a public University and the pay is under-par for the position, but the perks and benefits make it worth it. That said, like you mentioned, I'm sure it's largely based on location and hierarchy in the system.
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Nov 13, 2014 16:08
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Drunk Orc posted:How well do public schools (K-12) pay? Is it largely dependent on the location and district, or do they tend to compensate IT staff pretty well? I've got an interview for a "Primary Technology Support Technician" position tomorrow. The extremely wordy job names I keep seeing never stop being funny to me. In my (high cost of living) state, techs make $40K, Sys/Network admins $50-80K, tech directors $90-100K. Great insurance, awesome PTO plan, but with a mandatory 11% 403(b) contribution.
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Nov 13, 2014 16:14
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In this case I want the revolver.
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Nov 13, 2014 16:17
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I'm in the north suburbs of Indianapolis so cost of living is comparatively low, but the school district I'm interviewing for is in a pretty wealthy area. Even if it's not great pay I would probably take it, anything beats meat department work around holiday time! 😅 Thanks for the insight guys.
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Nov 13, 2014 16:21
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Drunk Orc posted:I'm in the north suburbs of Indianapolis so cost of living is comparatively low, but the school district I'm interviewing for is in a pretty wealthy area. Even if it's not great pay I would probably take it, anything beats meat department work around holiday time! 😅 Thanks for the insight guys. 
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Nov 13, 2014 16:26
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Drunk Orc posted:How well do public schools (K-12) pay? Is it largely dependent on the location and district, or do they tend to compensate IT staff pretty well? I've got an interview for a "Primary Technology Support Technician" position tomorrow. The extremely wordy job names I keep seeing never stop being funny to me. I worked for a high school for a few short miserable months. Pay was average with good benefits and the people were nice. I had to get out though because they had NO money for IT. I went in as a Network Admin and ended up swapping out keyboards in old Dell laptops that were out of warranty but still in day to day use. I got to learn all about Novell NetWare 4.0 and other such exciting new technologies.
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Nov 13, 2014 16:43
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Yeah in my limited experience public school pay is all over the place. I grew up going to one of the better high schools in a state that spends a lot on education. My mom still works in that school system and the IT Director is compensated extremely well. Then I moved to a state that's among the lowest in education spending. While job hunting I looked into a posting for basically that same job in a nearby school district. IT Director for the entire district paid less than $20k/year  Not 120. 20. The loving janitor probably made more.
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Nov 13, 2014 17:49
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The schools in Hamilton County are supposedly some of the best in the country, I feel like every school says that though. They can afford to give all the kids iPads though so the district can't be too broke!
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Nov 13, 2014 17:54
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Haha, this reminds me. My roommate works for a biomedical lab company that does testing for studies involving human subjects. All of the samples they get are from animals, but there's still certain HIPAA requirements. They recently fired their one IT guy and decided that they don't need a replacement. They run everything on premise, have no redundancy set up, and no remote backup to a cloud-based service. They also have no plans to hire a MSP or other consultant to do it on a part-time basis because one of the team leads "is pretty good with computers." Anyone want to start a pool on when the business goes under due to losing everything or gets fined heavily due to breaching data retention policies?
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Nov 13, 2014 18:00
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Paladine_PSoT posted:Is this the year we make "gently caress printers"? Only if it can come preloaded with some Stuxnet type virus that bricks any printer you plug it into. I will take 500, please. 
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Nov 13, 2014 18:09
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Drunk Orc posted:How well do public schools (K-12) pay? Is it largely dependent on the location and district, or do they tend to compensate IT staff pretty well? I've got an interview for a "Primary Technology Support Technician" position tomorrow. The extremely wordy job names I keep seeing never stop being funny to me. My dad used to do this the pay was somewhat low - $36-44k in the Midwest but 4 weeks PTO, excellent health insurance, etc but all the technology used was extremely old. Windows XP, Novell Netware, etc Question for the thread, if you had a backup server not HA would you leave it on or off?
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Nov 13, 2014 18:17
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Drunk Orc posted:The schools in Hamilton County are supposedly some of the best in the country, I feel like every school says that though. They can afford to give all the kids iPads though so the district can't be too broke! Zionsville?
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Nov 13, 2014 18:26
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On. There's no guarantee that thing isn't going to break as soon as you boot it up when you need it.
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Nov 13, 2014 18:27
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