|
It sounds like you hate working, don't worry in a few more years you'll barely even feel it anymore
|
#
?
Mar 17, 2015 17:00
|
|
|
|
| # ? Apr 18, 2024 06:04 |
|
|
Bhodi posted:It sounds like you hate working, don't worry in a few more years you'll barely even feel it anymore Just going to empty quote this...
|
|
#
?
Mar 17, 2015 17:52
|
|
|
Bhodi posted:It sounds like you hate working, don't worry in a few more years you'll barely even feel it anymore Haha you horrible liar you. That's the bourbon talking!
|
|
#
?
Mar 17, 2015 18:02
|
|
|
Alder posted:If it were a problem as long as the client is able to answer my questions then I'm happy. Be prepared to rarely be happy then. Not trying to say "No, you can't do this", but you are going to have to set some real expectation. Any interaction in a support role with end users is going to be the equivalent of the watching the Series Finale of the Soparanos sitting in the Fields of Vague, while the Vague flowers blossom around you. Seriously, be prepared for this.  I got me an error OK, what application were you in The computer Yes, but what application were you using? Word, Excel...? It just popped up and was on the screen OK, what did it say. I don't remember that poo poo, I closed it before I called you. Just tell me how to fix it. Well, lets try doing what you were... I don't have time for this! I just want you to FIX. IT. What's so hard to understand? Or you dense or something? ...
|
|
#
?
Mar 17, 2015 18:08
|
|
|
Or more succinctly: our help desk manager asked someone in accounting to log out while he watched. She reached up and turned off the monitor. This is the type of user you will most likely deal with, and they will seldom be able to answer your questions, no matter how much you dumb them down. The best you can do is guide them into giving the information you need to resolve the issue.
|
|
#
?
Mar 17, 2015 18:26
|
|
|
If vagueness drives you nuts, you should stay far far away from IT.
|
|
#
?
Mar 17, 2015 18:29
|
|
|
I think it's been this thread that I've been bitching more and more about my job. A few months ago it was talk of an IT re-org, lately it's been the crazy 60 hour weeks. We've had directors hesitant to make moves based on recommendations from our IT staff as well as outside paid consultants. Well the big picture is slowly starting to materialize. As part of the IT re-org the original IT Director left (he put in his resignation mostly due to the re-org and crazy work hours), meaning there's no one clear decision makers. Meetings get held where everyone goes in circles saying someone needs to decide and no decisions ever get made because at this point we have 4 interim managers at equal level all arguing among themselves on what to do. I think I've finally had enough. The big picture is making itself clear. As part of an overall business move we're trying to go from crazy growth, we've doubled in size this year and probably will again, to profitability. To the powers that be that means they've decided that no matter how much the company grows the IT department will stay at our current numbers. That means that whatever we cant outsource we will get stuck doing. And oh by the way we dont have the budget to outsource. So that means that all of us are going to start getting stuck with more poo poo work. One example: for the two years I've been here we've been trying to get sales off of iPads and on to laptops. Not going to happen because we dont have the budget to buy them laptops so were stuck with iPads. Also "they need to be able to work on excel sheets with macros and go to sites that need flash why cant you IT nerds just make that work"? Now more recently it's been, "hey helpdesk and erp and networking you will do your normal jobs but also facilities work like moving desks and furniture and handling anything with a power cord". We are now responsible for all offsite AV needs. They seriously made one of my guys go offsite to setup cable and internet for an executives apartment today. What loving bullshit! I'm just fuming now today. Little piddly crap is setting me off. The company that used to handle our furniture and desk setups used the wrong colored power cables for another executives office so another guy had to go out to best buy and purchase black power cables right this drat second before he got back in lest the execs eyes were scarred by the white power cable. I can not get out of here soon enough. Everyone in IT is getting scheduled to have one on ones with the 4 interim managers over the next two weeks. I hope I can have another job lined up by then.
|
|
#
?
Mar 17, 2015 18:32
|
|
|
Don't worry I've been doing IT support for my family forever. I'm still helping my dear mother how to use the Login screen (she keeps signing out each time) on her Iphone 4S. The next plan is teaching her how to use Siri as a GPS. I tried teaching her how to use Gmail but I think it's a lost cause. Also, I thought most people do remote desktop to solve problems which is 100x better than just over the phone support.
|
|
#
?
Mar 17, 2015 18:57
|
|
|
Doing IT support at a company is completely different than helping your family.
|
|
#
?
Mar 17, 2015 18:59
|
|
|
It's the same in that you will wind up hating the users.
|
|
#
?
Mar 17, 2015 19:08
|
|
|
CLAM DOWN posted:Doing IT support at a company is completely different than helping your family. Right. It will be an improvement over family 
|
|
#
?
Mar 17, 2015 19:08
|
|
|
Just going to leave this here http://theoatmeal.com/comics/computers
|
|
#
?
Mar 17, 2015 19:30
|
|
|
IT Trainer put in his two weeks today. He was a good one, and will be missed
|
|
#
?
Mar 17, 2015 19:36
|
|
|
Is there a non-poo poo shopping search engine besides Google? I remember when Google used to have "Froogle" and it would actually find like every vendor on the internet, but nowadays when I need IT stuff, it leaves out all the stores that don't pay for placement.
|
|
#
?
Mar 17, 2015 19:41
|
|
|
Alder posted:Right. It will be an improvement over family I await the inevitable meltdown  BaseballPCHiker posted:And oh by the way we dont have the budget to outsource. So that means that all of us are going to start getting stuck with more poo poo work. One example: for the two years I've been here we've been trying to get sales off of iPads and on to laptops. Not going to happen because we dont have the budget to buy them laptops so were stuck with iPads. Also "they need to be able to work on excel sheets with macros and go to sites that need flash why cant you IT nerds just make that work"? I mean sure you could argue the use of Office 365 or even remote services, but have you ever used excel with only a touch screen? I just always say they should've had laptops from the beginning.
|
|
#
?
Mar 17, 2015 19:49
|
|
|
Super Slash posted:I await the inevitable meltdown WTF, Chromebooks are like $200. Get them that and use the Pro version of Google Docs or Office 365.
|
|
#
?
Mar 17, 2015 22:24
|
|
|
KillHour posted:WTF, Chromebooks are like $200. Get them that and use the Pro version of Google Docs or Office 365. That would work except for the fact that for some reason the prior bigwigs signed a 3 year contract with another cloud storage provider so that we are stuck using that, and the fact that our stupid sales app was created by some idiot outside marketing agency and only works in iOS devices.
|
|
#
?
Mar 17, 2015 22:43
|
|
|
BaseballPCHiker posted:That would work except for the fact that for some reason the prior bigwigs signed a 3 year contract with another cloud storage provider so that we are stuck using that, and the fact that our stupid sales app was created by some idiot outside marketing agency and only works in iOS devices. That sucks, because Chromebooks are pretty much made for idiot sales reps that will lose their laptop / get a virus / not back anything up ever. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WgiaQp4UBHI KillHour fucked around with this message at 23:02 on Mar 17, 2015 |
|
#
?
Mar 17, 2015 22:59
|
|
|
Alder posted:Right. It will be an improvement over family
|
|
#
?
Mar 17, 2015 23:21
|
|
|
I'd use literally anything else, but nope they all have iPads; both before my time and a combination of a contractual incentive.
|
|
#
?
Mar 17, 2015 23:23
|
|
|
For the guy that wants to break into IT just watch this video. For the rest of us we know it's triggering. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hgeaya7Yg4A Still one of the best advertisements I've seen
|
|
#
?
Mar 17, 2015 23:28
|
|
|
I can't even watch this anymore without seeing flashes of my life.
|
|
#
?
Mar 17, 2015 23:30
|
|
|
SaltLick posted:For the guy that wants to break into IT just watch this video. For the rest of us we know it's triggering. This should be the OP Nothing more Nothing less
|
|
#
?
Mar 17, 2015 23:32
|
|
|
Man, a lot of people in this thread are pitching a lot of microaggressive discouragement at someone who doesn't fit their preconceived personality profile, which is an even more bizarre expectation for someone who's probably 20 tops. Here's a tone change: IT is a really diverse field with a ton of distinct and unique professions within it. Each of these specializations will give you the ability to use different skills to solve different kinds of problems. Are you a meticulous, anal-retentive organizer who compulsively estimates things and likes to make sure that people hold to their commitments? You've got a bright future in project management. Are you dedicated to customer service and helping the industry shake the image of Nick Burns, Your Company's Computer Guy? You can run a terrific IT customer service organization, or maybe make a killing in pre-sales engineering. Are you fascinated by the relationships between cyberattack patterns? You might really enjoy working as a security analyst. If keeping the wheels of an organization moving is somehow your bread and butter, there's a lot of money in HRIS and ERP consulting. All of these are serious professions, and senior-level people have as much training and experience as doctors, lawyers, or any other profession requiring a ton of formal schooling. Someday you'll have to trade your enthusiasm for knowledge and you'll need to buckle down, hit the books, and master a specialty top to bottom, but the most important thing for you right now is to explore the field and have fun doing it. Stick your hands into everything to try it out and see how you like it, even if you have no idea what you're doing. Use your college's career resources to find some internships. If you find the thing you really want to do, that learning will come naturally. I cannot stress this enough: do not let other people gently caress up your enthusiasm for the thing, even if you have absolutely no clue yet what you're getting into. The rewarding parts of any career are almost never the ones you expect. Vulture Culture fucked around with this message at 00:48 on Mar 18, 2015 |
|
#
?
Mar 18, 2015 00:46
|
|
|
adorai posted:Helping your family is nothing like working in IT, period. If you are good with computers at home and help your grandma put photos on her digital photo frame, that's great, but not really something that will translate into your career. Is support not IT work anymore? Is support not an entry-level field for an IT career?
|
|
#
?
Mar 18, 2015 00:49
|
|
|
flosofl posted:Be prepared to rarely be happy then. On the other hand, if you are at any decent workplace, you can just tell them that if they aren't going to be polite, you won't be able to help them. Because at any decent workplace, your manager is going to stand up for you in that situation. And depending where you are, the calls might be recorded, so if they start yelling at you and then deny it, you can get the recording. On the other hand, I've learned from this thread that there are a lot of not decent workplaces, and lots of managers that won't stand up for you.
|
|
#
?
Mar 18, 2015 01:18
|
|
|
Misogynist posted:All of these are serious professions, and senior-level people have as much training and experience as doctors, lawyers, or any other profession requiring a ton of formal schooling. Someday you'll have to trade your enthusiasm for knowledge and you'll need to buckle down, hit the books, and master a specialty top to bottom, but the most important thing for you right now is to explore the field and have fun doing it. Stick your hands into everything to try it out and see how you like it, even if you have no idea what you're doing. Use your college's career resources to find some internships. If you find the thing you really want to do, that learning will come naturally. If you like writing tiny programs over and over because oh my god it's like I'm solving wee little puzzles and this is the FASTEST way to solve the tiny puzzle and that's the simplest way and hey let's compare the speeds of the two.. We're broken in the same way. Learn SQL and stare at data all day. And all night.
|
|
#
?
Mar 18, 2015 04:50
|
|
|
meanieface posted:If you like writing tiny programs over and over because oh my god it's like I'm solving wee little puzzles and this is the FASTEST way to solve the tiny puzzle and that's the simplest way and hey let's compare the speeds of the two.. We're broken in the same way. Learn SQL and stare at data all day. And all night. There's an incredible amount of formal math behind optimizing queries, if you're hungry for more. Or do data architecture. Or optimize disk performance. The entire point of what you're replying to is that no specialty is as shallow as people paint it. I can describe systems administration or development in the most banal terms possible, or as incredibly vibrant, diverse multidisciplinary roles. Both are true.
|
|
#
?
Mar 18, 2015 06:06
|
|
|
SaltLick posted:For the guy that wants to break into IT just watch this video. For the rest of us we know it's triggering. I missed this earlier. Do people seriously answer their phones on their time off? I don't even keep my work phone on me over the weekend. I can believe the rest of it, though. I work for an MSP, and some of our techs are stupid enough to fall for a lot of that stuff. Which is part of why I'm leaving, I'm overqualified at this point.
|
|
#
?
Mar 18, 2015 06:14
|
|
|
evol262 posted:There's an incredible amount of formal math behind optimizing queries I do not miss my 4th year database math course at all 
|
|
#
?
Mar 18, 2015 06:18
|
|
|
22 Eargesplitten posted:On the other hand, I've learned from this thread that there are a lot of not decent workplaces, and lots of managers that won't stand up for you. Yes, but this has almost nothing to do with IT specifically. The people who are jerks to the IT people are jerks to everyone else because they're just jerks, and you're going to find those people in most office environments regardless. So that's not really a strike against IT. Misogynist posted:I cannot stress this enough: do not let other people gently caress up your enthusiasm for the thing, even if you have absolutely no clue yet what you're getting into. The rewarding parts of any career are almost never the ones you expect. Seriously, IT is a great field and it's not going anywhere any time soon. I got into the software development side of things (insert pointless terminology argument about IT vs Development here), and I enjoy the heck out of it, but there is a lot to choose from. Just be willing to learn and explore and you'll find something that you can really get into. 22 Eargesplitten posted:I missed this earlier. Do people seriously answer their phones on their time off? I don't even keep my work phone on me over the weekend. I can believe the rest of it, though. I work for an MSP, and some of our techs are stupid enough to fall for a lot of that stuff. Which is part of why I'm leaving, I'm overqualified at this point. Aren't you the guy who does 12-day weeks?
|
|
#
?
Mar 18, 2015 06:19
|
|
|
Only because I haven't found another job yet. I'll find out on Friday about one that I interviewed for. When I said weekend, I meant weekends that I have off. Past 5 when I'm not on call or on the weekend anytime when I'm not on call, I don't even pick up my phone. edit: Oh yeah, if I don't get this job, I have a 19-day week coming up next month. Because I needed a day off to move, so instead of having us swap a day each, my boss put my coworker on call for two weeks straight, and then me on call for two weeks straight after that. I really hope I get this one, because the next best lead I have is a recruiter who contacted me two or three weeks ago, I haven't heard anything since, and his agency has a reputation for taking months. 22 Eargesplitten fucked around with this message at 07:38 on Mar 18, 2015 |
|
#
?
Mar 18, 2015 07:29
|
|
|
22 Eargesplitten posted:I missed this earlier. Do people seriously answer their phones on their time off? I don't even keep my work phone on me over the weekend. I can believe the rest of it, though. I work for an MSP, and some of our techs are stupid enough to fall for a lot of that stuff. Which is part of why I'm leaving, I'm overqualified at this point. Your question is kind of Ayn Randian "duh, just from them bootstraps get a job where you do don't have to do X". Sometimes that's not an option.
|
|
#
?
Mar 18, 2015 08:22
|
|
|
22 Eargesplitten posted:Only because I haven't found another job yet. I'll find out on Friday about one that I interviewed for. When I said weekend, I meant weekends that I have off. Past 5 when I'm not on call or on the weekend anytime when I'm not on call, I don't even pick up my phone. okay maybe i missed something but the gently caress is a 19 day week?
|
|
#
?
Mar 18, 2015 08:23
|
|
|
I start Monday the 6th, and don't get a day off until Saturday the 25th. Yes, it's insane. I think I'm going to try to set something up with my manager so that instead of each of us having to do two weeks straight on-call, we can just swap a day or something so that neither of us has to work 19 days straight. After this post, I guess I get how some people are in lovely situations where they have to answer their phone around the clock, it's just that even at my lovely job, if you're on vacation, you're on vacation. But I guess it's not as straightforward as "If you have this good working condition, you'll also have all of these."
|
|
#
?
Mar 18, 2015 08:39
|
|
|
22 Eargesplitten posted:Only because I haven't found another job yet. I'll find out on Friday about one that I interviewed for. When I said weekend, I meant weekends that I have off. Past 5 when I'm not on call or on the weekend anytime when I'm not on call, I don't even pick up my phone. You're splitting a pretty fine hair here. "Do people seriously answer their phones on their time off?" Well, do people seriously go 19 days without a day off? Management will push their employees as hard as they are allowed to get away with, and both situations are symptoms of the same problem.
|
|
#
?
Mar 18, 2015 08:58
|
|
|
22 Eargesplitten posted:I missed this earlier. Do people seriously answer their phones on their time off? I don't even keep my work phone on me over the weekend. I can believe the rest of it, though. I work for an MSP, and some of our techs are stupid enough to fall for a lot of that stuff. Which is part of why I'm leaving, I'm overqualified at this point. I am currently drunk after bar hopping for st paddys responding to texts from my boss about the medical department being down and trying to fix it. gently caress me
|
|
#
?
Mar 18, 2015 10:16
|
|
|
Well, word just came down that in August our contract is coming to an end and our responsibilities moving to Peterson AFB and Langley AFB. During this entire time the leadership has been stating that it was an unrealistic expectation that the AF could easily be rid of us because of how the email infrastructure is set up for the AF. Guess the military disagrees. It will, however, be interesting to see how the military manages to cobble up a complete Exchange staff and bring them up to speed in the month or two they'll have between us shutting down and the new locations coming online. I kept telling my shift lead and co-workers that the military operates in mysterious ways, and to not think that if they have our program in their sights for the chopping block, that niggling little things like keeping the Exchange environment online and emails flowing would keep them from bringing down the ax. I kept saying that if we made it past August that I would be pleasantly surprised. Well, no surprise now. Updated the resume and started applying for jobs down in Florida. Hopefully I can finally realize my goal of leaving Ohio for the warm southeast.
|
|
#
?
Mar 18, 2015 12:25
|
|
|
Daylen Drazzi posted:. It will, however, be interesting to see how the military manages to cobble up a complete Exchange staff and bring them up to speed in the month or two they'll have between us shutting down and the new locations coming online. Nature finds a way That sucks dude, best of luck at least you have ample warning
|
|
#
?
Mar 18, 2015 13:19
|
|
|
|
| # ? Apr 18, 2024 06:04 |
|
|
SIR FAT JONY IVES posted:Your question is kind of Ayn Randian "duh, just from them bootstraps get a job where you do don't have to do X". Sometimes that's not an option. You're correct, but SH/SC and the IT world in general is replete with Goons in wells. If you live in a major metropolitan area, chances are there's an escape route for you. This is especially true for someone who is single with no kids, because that means they can pick up and move almost instantly. With that being said, the grass is always greener. It'll probably take working at some lovely jobs before you know what warning signs to spot during an interview.
|
|
#
?
Mar 18, 2015 13:42
|
|
