First month in first IT job - not so sure...

psaechao

Finally got my foot in the door doing help desk at an MSP, but I'm wondering if I'm even ready for this?

Ive been introduced to a lot of new proprietary technology. So far I'm doing things like password resets, account creations, etc - a lot of tier 1 stuff, which is very easy.

As for my knowledge, I've taken a class on Windows server and I practically have the knowledge found in A+. I'm starting to think this isn't enough...

Today I was having problems connecting a clients printer. Found out that I couldn't even ping it. Same subnet, same default gateway, everything. I remoted into another one of their users who could print off the same printer. Again, same subnet and all. That PC could print and ping the printer successfully, but couldn't ping the PC I was working on initially.

Anyway, I did all that I could with my limited knowledge. Walked up to the senior techs and told them my issue and one of them says sarcastically "it's time you start being a tech."

This was very offsetting for me. I know all the techs here have been at my point in their lives, but I'm starting to think if I'm even ready for this.

markulous

So you research an issue, try your best to troubleshoot it, and all you get is a sarcastic comment when you ask for help? Wow...

My best advice is keep your head down and try to gain as much experience as you can until you can find something else with a better learning environment.

When anyone takes on new responsibilities or unfamiliar tasks they feel the same way as you. There's no shame in feeling intimidated or having bad days where you get your butt kicked. It happens.

paul78

Wow - that sounds like a pretty hostile environment and lack of teamwork. It doesn't matter whether if you know how to solve the problem or not. That's just plain-old uncivilized.

You are right - everyone starts someplace. And the reality - no one is every really ready until they have to do it themselves. Hang in there!

NicWhite

Ignore him/her. In a few months most of what you're doing will become second nature. Just keep pushing to become better with everyday that passes.

Codyy

Let me guess, the senior tech has been in help desk for 15 years and is proud of it? Ignore it, learn all that you can inside and outside of work, then move on to bigger and better things the first chance you get.

Blackout

I don't know, I hope nobody takes offense to this. But Senior Tech in a help desk role is really not a position I would be talking down to people, then again I would never talk down to anyone. I always pull someone off to the side and give them a pep talk and show them how to resolve the issue, normally white boarding. its everyone's job to ensure the team is ready to go forward. I cannot standard arrogant people. I also cant stand people who throw others under the bus, maybe its the military in me, I just think its freaking dirty.

Mow

Hey, you just started and you already discovered who the jerk of the group is! All of the other senior techs probably can't stand him/her, so feel it out a bit and go to others when you need anything.

scaredoftests

You just started so give yourself a break. Take a breath. Bring a notebook to work, note the stuff you don't understand. Look things up and ignore the jerks (though be respectful and keep your distance).

Blackout

I will also add that when you start in IT you are drinking from the firehose. It does get easier in time to learn things quickly don't get discouraged.

NetworkNewb

Honestly I don't even think that senior tech was being that bad. I know you said you tried everything you think of, but that's when you go to our good friend "Google". I've worked with people above me who act like that and they can come off like a d*ck but most of the time they are usually dealing with other issues and fixing a printer issue for one user, no matter what is going on with it, is something you would need to learn how to do.

Not to mention when you have no idea on how to fix something, you need learn how to find the answer or solution quickly. Yeah, they could tell you the answer but finding the answer yourself is a skill every tech needs to learn. And fixing a printer for one user sounds like a pretty good opportunity for a senior tech to let you sweat and learn how to do that. Part of their job is to make sure you learn how to handle issues on your own.

And don't worry about "not being ready for it". If the job was easy you wouldn't be learning anything new! Every opportunity you don't know how to do something, just means you're learning a skill that day. And you will find that there ALOT of issues out there where you won't know the answer and you'll need to figure it out. The key is just stay calm and do as much as you can. Don't give up, I'm sure your doing just fine no matter how hard it seems at the beginning!

markulous

NetworkNewb wrote: »

Honestly I don't even think that senior tech was being that bad. I know you said you tried everything you think of, but that's when you go to our good friend "Google". I've worked with people above me who act like that and they can come off like a d*ck but most of the time they are usually dealing with other issues and fixing a printer issue for one user, no matter what is going on with it, is something you would need to learn how to do.

Not to mention when you have no idea on how to fix something, you need learn how to find the answer or solution quickly. Yeah, they could tell you the answer but finding the answer yourself is a skill every tech needs to learn. And fixing a printer for one user sounds like a pretty good opportunity for a senior tech to let you sweat and learn how to do that. Part of their job is to make sure you learn how to handle issues on your own.

And don't worry about "not being ready for it". If the job was easy you wouldn't be learning anything new! Every opportunity you don't know how to do something, just means you're learning a skill that day. And you will find that there ALOT of issues out there where you won't know the answer and you'll need to figure it out. The key is just stay calm and do as much as you can. Don't give up, I'm sure your doing just fine no matter how hard it seems at the beginning!

The problem here is that the tech isn't labbing. If that was the case, then yes by all means let the tech keep trying to troubleshoot. He's probably already taken up an hour of that user's time and they're going to be getting impatient. It's unrealistic to have the tech spend multiple hours on this user's PC banging his head against the wall. If you let that happen, the director of IT is going to start getting nasty emails from users saying, "This tech was on my PC for 5 hours and still couldn't fix my issue! Now I'm way behind on my work!!"

If this is a reoccurring issue where the tech isn't learning anything then it needs to be addressed outside of this issue. Again, the user's time is more important than teaching him a lesson.

mrhaun03

Did he eventually end up helping? Is he one of those guys that joke but always seem very serious?

I ask because in all the places I've worked, we always gave each other a hard time. It was all in good fun though. But there was one guy that was with us for 2 years and he would ask the same questions that he asked on day one. We told him numerous times to take notes, but he never learned. So, with that guy, none of us were eager to help.

TheProf

Ignore the guy, and never let anyone get you down.

In IT, one thing you'll notice, is that sometimes, you'll be faced with an issue that will prove to be more challenging than expected, that's where you actually start to learn how the product works, etc.

Give yourself also some time to think it over, you don't always have to fix the issue right away, although user not being able to print could require you to fix the problem quickly. What helped me when I was starting out was to list all the steps I took to try and fix the problem. Sometimes writing down what you've done will help with figuring out what to do next (if you're a visual person).

Either way, don't let it upset you. I've had people like that talking to me when I started out, and now they're not even in the same category. Just do your best and keep pushing.

NetworkNewb

markulous wrote: »

If this is a reoccurring issue where the tech isn't learning anything then it needs to be addressed outside of this issue. Again, the user's time is more important than teaching him a lesson.

It was a printer issue with one user. There are only so many things that the problem could be.

Having a tech that is constantly having to ask senior techs is going to waste a lot of the senior techs time where he could be working on more serious issues. I think it was a good problem for a lower level tech to work through himself. If a tech can't fix problems like this himself, that would be an issue that needs to be addressed.

markulous

NetworkNewb wrote: »

It was a printer issue with one user. There are only so many things that the problem could be.

Having a tech that is constantly having to ask senior techs is going to waste a lot of the senior techs time where he could be working on more serious issues. I think it was a good problem for a lower level tech to work through himself. If a tech can't fix problems like this himself, that would be an issue that needs to be addressed.

It doesn't matter if it's simple or not, my point is why punish the user here? It shouldn't take over an hour to troubleshoot this. And since the tech clearly has no clear path to resolution, someone else needs to step in and fix the issue. They're there to support the users.

gespenstern

Try to pay less attention to people's opinions unless they are supported by solid arguments and facts and/or originate from people you admire for their truthfulness, honesty and skillset.

Mow

This could have been a mentoring opportunity, reinforcing troubleshooting techniques, the process of elimination, etc. It also helps when you're junior in an area to know that you can exhaust your knowledge and senior folks will have your back. If you feel the pressure from your customer and realize you have no one to throw you a line, you can sink pretty quickly, whereas a simple encouraging hint can sometimes bolster a junior enough to think in a more logical way and build them up, rather than knocking them down with a snide comment.

While I agree that a tech constantly asking seniors for help can be annoying, OP didn't admit to asking that person for help all of the time.

Also, if you look at the problem description, it's not necessarily a problem with one person printing, it's possibly something else, as ICMP was failing for one user to the printer and succeeding for another. OP probably was flailing, new to the job, nervous and questioning his/her abilities. Nothing like some senior d-bag to reaffirm that OP's abilities are in question with a smarmy remark instead of taking the chance to teach a little bit.

NetworkNewb

if takes more then an hour to fix a printer issue he should have the person print to another printer and working on it during the person's lunch, or meeting or whenever the person has free time. I guess Im surprised he no path to resolution... They are there to support to the user, and if someone can't learn to handle simple issues on their own, they are probably in the wrong profession.

I think its crazy how you'd think this is a huge issue and not as a learning/skill opportunity. Learning how to do things on his own will help the department many times over more in the long run with providing better support for their users instead having to waste multiple people's time on a simple issues.

I think we will just agree to disagree on this one. Too much hand holding in this world imo. If it wasn't a printer issue effecting one user I would probably be more inclined to agree with your argument.

markulous

Maybe we aren't understanding each other either. It's definitely a learning opportunity but he's already put in enough time that the senior tech should have stepped in one way or another because of time and then implemented more training as necessary. If that's what you're saying then maybe we're arguing the same point. If not, then we can agree to disagree as you said.

White Wizard

Any expert in any field was once a beginner that knew nothing. If other people give you a hard time, try another tech or keep on digging at the problem. Did you call the print vendor for assistance possibly? I only advise this as they can help you troubleshoot it without resorting to asking co-workers although this particular issue seems to be network related which is outside their scope.

You will have A LOT of new stuff thrown your way at an MSP. If you dont know the answer its not a big deal, so long a you make an attempt to resolve it.

You should give us more info on this print issue so we can make suggestions.

greg9891

Hey I agree with White Wizard and Markulous if it took that long all they need to do was help the user they come first. then they could have talk to psaechao latter to teach him what was suppose to be done or give suggestions. its not like he been there 6 months or a year. enrtry level means entry level for a reason. its means it will take time for someone to learn.

Psaecho just give it some time you will catch onto it. people act like they never had a first day or a first month on a job before they were just born experts. so you just have to ignore them. Find a tech thats will to teach you and mentor you on or off the job and stick by him.

YesOffense

Sounds like a crude way for the sr tech to say do your research, ask questions, and learn to be more efficient and self sufficient. I know you feel bad, probably still have some nervousness, but it may be time to step up a bit more. If he really is just an unhelpful ass, find other sources for help. For an issue like that, 10 mins in and you were stumped it's time to ask for help. Don't worry about how asking questions makes you look, but at the same time do your due diligence first.

Take this as your opportunity to become better than he is, a better sr tech and mentor. Sulking away and feeling defeated never accomplished anything.

ThePrimetimer

I'm gonna chime in here and say that the Sr. Tech's response was just plain rude!

You're one month into your first IT job. It is expected that you are not gonna know a lot about IT. However, it sounds like to did do what you can and weren't lazy about it. I'm in a second tier role and I ALWAYS give time to our helpdesk staff. I know where they are cause I was once there myselft. It can be hard, but I learned by asking questions.

I believe once you get to be in the higher support tiers, you should help the fellows below you to make them better. I'm not saying just fixing the problem, but showing them how they might approach an issue as this. Ignore him and keep pushing forward.

Let us know how this ended.

aderon

psaechao wrote: »

This was very offsetting for me. I know all the techs here have been at my point in their lives, but I'm starting to think if I'm even ready for this.

To be honest, I've found that this is a pretty common characteristic for a lot of people in IT whenever there is a knowledge gap. Having had others treat them the same way, they value their self worth on the knowledge that they now have over you because that's how it was done to them. My advice would be to just ignore it and focus on improving yourself to the best of your ability.

You're right in that every person has been where you're at some point. No one is innately born with IT knowledge. Just remember this when you're in a more senior position and coworkers are now coming to you asking for help. Lead by example.

By the way, I'm sure someone will bring this up; I'm not excusing away people who immediately go to a more senior resource without even investigating. More to say, that if someone can show they've made a concerted effort and they are still stuck, then I see nothing wrong with that. My 2 cents. Feel free to ignore me :P

OctalDump

I can't be the only one here wondering what the fix was. Sounds like a network connectivity issue, maybe firewall?

If pings aren't working, try telnet. Refresh the network adaptor. Check if there is firewall or other settings on local computer. Can the computer reach other devices on the same subnet, external to the subnet.

Or as one guy I know said, "Check the IT knowledge base on the company intranet".

What was the problem psaechao?

ImThe0ne

OctalDump wrote: »

I can't be the only one here wondering what the fix was. Sounds like a network connectivity issue, maybe firewall?

If pings aren't working, try telnet. Refresh the network adaptor. Check if there is firewall or other settings on local computer. Can the computer reach other devices on the same subnet, external to the subnet.

Or as one guy I know said, "Check the IT knowledge base on the company intranet".

What was the problem psaechao?

Lol I wanted to know what the issue turned on being also.

bpenn

He did say he compared the printer's configuration to another one and the networking settings were the same. Perhaps the issue is DNS? Can you ping both the hostname and IP address of the printer? Are there even link lights on the printer? Does the ping time out or is it completely unrecognizable? If other people are connected to the same printer it almost seems like it is layer 1 thing.

OctalDump

bpenn wrote: »

If other people are connected to the same printer it almost seems like it is layer 1 thing.

It sounds like psaechao remoted into both computers, which is why I was thinking it might be further up the stack. It would be awesome if it turned out to be a network issue that "Senior Tech" was actually responsible for.

Christian.

One thing you will learn soon is that printers were created by the devil to irritate people. I'm sure that if humankind ever creates AI and they get somehow into a printer, it will be the end.

ImThe0ne

Christian. wrote: »

One thing you will learn soon is that printers were created by the devil to irritate people. I'm sure that if humankind ever creates AI and they get somehow into a printer, it will be the end.

This^
I have yet to meet a tech that loves printers. Everybody hates them, anybody that says they love them are also from the devil!

techfiend

Mobile devices are close behind printers for me. It's great to have your own but when you regularly work on other devices it quickly gets old.