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[beerbelly]

So I just got hired by the Toronto Rehabilitation Institute as a student computer support specialist. I am responsible for troubleshooting and hardware/software installations for clinicians and nurses. Classes just started today for me so it will be a bit tough. It's my first IT job.

Can you share a little of your experience, the goods and bads of having these types of jobs?

 

[iapetus]

http://www.userfriendly.org/

 

[Particle Physicist]

http://www.userfriendly.org/

um.. was that babel fished?

 

[mrmyth]

Might as well start your first 'I hate spyware and stupid users' thread now and get it overwith.


Oh, and I work for a hospital. Doctors and nurses are even worse than typical users. At least typical users have enough common sense to act oblivious to the shit they've done, instead of somehow making it my fault that 'TEH INTERNET' is broken.

 

[Raxel]

.

 

[fart]

your goal is to fix the people, not the machines - those are easy

my brother learned this a long time ago, and that is why he is one of the remarkably few people that i know of who is pretty happy in IT

 

[={<SMOKE>}=]

i'm an i/t intern for an entertainment company (amusement park, stadium, and arena). it's actually pretty cool, although it can be stressful for us. because all of our pos units are networked for financial/inventory purposes, as soon as one goes down we have to be there immediately. some days the calls just pile up... it would help if our foods pos units weren't 10 year old ibm pc's running windows 95, but that's a whole other discussion.

overall, it's a really cool job and given the nature of the company i work for, i get to be a part of some pretty cool stuff.

for instance, i worked a concert last night the featured two of the premiere heavy-rocker bands from the 80's.... funny stuff.

it sounds to me like your job will be a little less stressful than mine and you'll mostly be fixing spyware, doing software installs, setting up new hardware, etc... if that's the case it should be a very laid-back gig. congratulations!

 

[ronito]

Just remember to learn as much as you can that you can take somewhere else and move out of it. Also speak up should you see broken processes, the only boat the rocks is the only one that gets anywhere. I did customer support for about 6 months when I started in IT. I have to agree, more than likely you'll be spending more time fixing the process/people than fixing the machine.

 

[alejob]

I've been working for my school for about 2 months. So far no one has called with stupid problems. I've been installing hardware, software, uninstalling all the junk software that come with new PCs, ghosting computers, changing printer cartridges, pulling cable(patch pannel, jacks, etc), configuring switches, adware/spyware... Also we are running Novell Netware and I've been doing a little bit of that even though I have no experience on it. I'm working on my MCSA right now. So far I love it, its really fun. We got a new wireless access point and were are working on getting it setup, probably with WAP and RADIUS Server security. I'm not completely sure how that works yet. I got WAP on my wireless home network but its a totally different beast.

As long as you're not mostly/only answering peoples questions and you get to do other tech related stuff I'd say it should be fun.

 

[DJ_Tet]

i'm an i/t intern for an entertainment company (amusement park, stadium, and arena). it's actually pretty cool, although it can be stressful for us. because all of our pos units are networked for financial/inventory purposes, as soon as one goes down we have to be there immediately. some days the calls just pile up... it would help if our foods pos units weren't 10 year old ibm pc's running windows 95, but that's a whole other discussion.

overall, it's a really cool job and given the nature of the company i work for, i get to be a part of some pretty cool stuff.

for instance, i worked a concert last night the featured two of the premiere heavy-rocker bands from the 80's.... funny stuff.

it sounds to me like your job will be a little less stressful than mine and you'll mostly be fixing spyware, doing software installs, setting up new hardware, etc... if that's the case it should be a very laid-back gig. congratulations!

Def Leppard?

 

[={<SMOKE>}=]

Def Leppard?

these guys rock harder than def leppard....

 

[mj1108]

I'm in IT (PC Tech) for the local school district, which comprises of 16 schools. I started about 9 months ago and have loved every minute of it. There's nearly 4,000 PC's and hundreds of laptops that I help take care of. I also help handle the POS software and hardware for the food services portion of the district (I'm the main guy for that). I even get to bust kids who try to look up porn. hahaha...

You will end up making a "Why do users have to fucking install every toolbar and piece of shit spyware on their computer?" thread on here sooner or later. I even had one teacher call me saying that there was a message popped up that she had spyware on her system. She thought her system was loaded with spyware when in fact it was just one of those pop-up ads that just look real. :lol You WILL realize how stupid users are and you WILL laugh at them behind their backs.

Another huge help is your co-workers. Lucky for me, we all get along great and like each other. Hopefully yours are like mine...

 

[Deleted member 1235]

immediately start trying to worm your way into the 3rd level support side of things and get industry relevant qualifications. Like MCSE or equivalent for non microsoft, that's if you are doing the career thing. the client stuff, it's not that hard, you'll figure it all out, find someone decent who knows what they are doing and ask them a lot of questions.

 

[DJ_Tet]

these guys rock harder than def leppard....

So you gonna tell me who you saw or should I just keep listing 80's "hard rock" bands?

 

[={<SMOKE>}=]

judas priest and queensryche (sp?) :lol

 

[Kung Fu Jedi]

I am a Systems Administrator for a one school at a private mid-western university. For the most part I love my job, although I'm quitting soon to relocate. The one thing that really bothers me is that some of the users are just so helpless. I don't mind working with them, and try to remain patient as I train them on something new, or show them how to accomplish something. However, I have some people that just can never get it, and I have a hard time keeping those paitence when I have shown the same person the same thing three or four times. Eventually you would think they would learn it. Just goes to show you that just because you have a PhD, you aren't necessarily smart. :lol

 

[blahness]

dont fear the registry... learn it and you will go far

 

[krypt0nian]

http://www.userfriendly.org/

Not seeing the funny.

 

[blahness]

I am a Systems Administrator for a one school at a private mid-western university. For the most part I love my job, although I'm quitting soon to relocate. The one thing that really bothers me is that some of the users are just so helpless. I don't mind working with them, and try to remain patient as I train them on something new, or show them how to accomplish something. However, I have some people that just can never get it, and I have a hard time keeping those paitence when I have shown the same person the same thing three or four times. Eventually you would think they would learn it. Just goes to show you that just because you have a PhD, you aren't necessarily smart. :lol

but then it feels so good when you get another call from that person who has been wracking their brain for 30 min battling with windows closing windows on them or doing weird stuff... only to point out to them that the book they have open is laying on the esc key

 

[MmmBeef]

but then it feels so good when you get another call from that person who has been wracking their brain for 30 min battling with windows closing windows on them or doing weird stuff... only to point out to them that the book they have open is laying on the esc key

Oh God, I love those.

Anyway, to echo what has been already said, it's all about the people and processes. You'll have your share of hopeless folk who just refuse to change their habits and it's those people who start the entire "Oh without MmmBeef here, we couldn't get anything done!" idea rolling and then you're set for life!

 

[mrklaw]

learn people's levels as soon as possible, and adjust your technique accordingly.

Don't assume everyone is IT literate, or that they are a moron. The reality will differ person by person. The quicker you can find their level and address them at it, the smoother it will be for you.