New IT job. Where do I start?!

Hey everyone,

To keep it short; new IT job. What should I start thinking about?

My thoughts; cable labeling for organization. Create an inventory list of all monitors and towers/printers etc. Create a MAC address list/network topology map to easily find stuff when things go wrong (better to do this before hand and have it when I need it, right?)

]Design an SOP book so when I'm away anyone can pick it up, look for the problem they're having, and find the fix. (this would include anything from restarting the modem to how to set up our backup generator for power).
Thanks for the help!

As an introduction; I'm completely new to IT. I have no background but I know I want to make it a career. Not sure which field within IT I want to head, just kinda seeing where it will go. But I do think the networking side is pretty cool.

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Comments

bpenn

SOP book is a great idea in any environment. My boss developed a "Quality Service Plan" that is over 20 pages long with simple fixes for standard and niche technology. It is fantastic to get new people trained up and ready to roar.

What exactly do you do at your IT job, specifically? You a network admin? Manager?

greg9891

Yeah your on the right track. I am about month and a half on the job I am on and I have been working on an I.T asset list for almost the entire time so it will come in handy. also I am working on (sop/ how to list) as I have it labeled with instructions to perform different things based on the I.T. related issues that I have ran into so far. I have the problem listed and then documentation and pictures as how to fix the problem.

techfiend

Documentation is a great start. I'd first ask to see if they already have what you plan on documenting, unless you already know. I think documenting procedures lies more on the shoulders of the managers but some just may not be good at it. I think it's true 99% of IT pros think of documentation as a necessary evil, just like printers.

One thing you likely don't want to do early on, which I did, is suggest significant changes. If you think something should be changed, go to your manager and ask what they think about the current situation. If they think it's fine, step away from it but keep it in the back of your mind until you get some time in to outright suggest things. If they ask if you have an idea, share it and be glad you likely have a good manager that will help you accel.

mehmin

bpenn wrote: »

SOP book is a great idea in any environment. My boss developed a "Quality Service Plan" that is over 20 pages long with simple fixes for standard and niche technology. It is fantastic to get new people trained up and ready to roar.

What exactly do you do at your IT job, specifically? You a network admin? Manager?

...that is a good question. I pretty much do anything they will want me to do; nothing specific really (the way I look at it is this will be good for me down the road when I move on... I'll be exposed to a lot of different things and can put all that on my resume) the job advertisement was listed as entry level IT support. I don't have ANY IT background but expressed my ability to learn and sold my past experiences, levels of responsibilities, made sure to make them laugh a little in the interview and I ended up being chosen

They were ok with the fact that I didn't have any formal training or background; just as long as I google search how to do it and don't lose track of any tasks that come down. so far it's pretty slow... I have to set up user privileges to outlook folders and organize them. So today, that's what I'll be doing; using google search and youtube.

The business is small; about 15 people or so in the building. Our "server room" is about the size of a half-bath.... I think my boss said we're using Exchange server and small business something or other.

Thanks for the advice. I think I'll keep everyone updated as things move along.

mehmin

greg9891 wrote: »

Yeah your on the right track. I am about month and a half on the job I am on and I have been working on an I.T asset list for almost the entire time so it will come in handy. also I am working on (sop/ how to list) as I have it labeled with instructions to perform different things based on the I.T. related issues that I have ran into so far. I have the problem listed and then documentation and pictures as how to fix the problem.

that's a good idea, especially the pictures portion; make it stupid simple. I suggest keeping it on digits and also a hard copy in case you lose power and you can't get on the network; put it in a gigantic 3-ring binder with sheet protectors and let everyone know where it is.

good luck!

mehmin

techfiend wrote: »

Documentation is a great start. I'd first ask to see if they already have what you plan on documenting, unless you already know. I think documenting procedures lies more on the shoulders of the managers but some just may not be good at it. I think it's true 99% of IT pros think of documentation as a necessary evil, just like printers.

One thing you likely don't want to do early on, which I did, is suggest significant changes. If you think something should be changed, go to your manager and ask what they think about the current situation. If they think it's fine, step away from it but keep it in the back of your mind until you get some time in to outright suggest things. If they ask if you have an idea, share it and be glad you likely have a good manager that will help you accel.

....thanks for the advice. I have the feeling they have absolutely NOTHING documented. And my boss is pretty busy to take it on himself anyway. Which will be good for me because I'll get my hands dirty and familiar with everything I'm working with. Like I mentioned; I have no IT training or experience so I want to learn as much as I can and why everything works.

As for making big changes; I think you're right as well. The good thing working here is that everyone is pretty open minded and open to constructive criticism. Which I love. My boss said if I think he's doing something completely wrong (respectfully) let it be known.

mehmin

greg9891 wrote: »

Yeah your on the right track. I am about month and a half on the job I am on and I have been working on an I.T asset list for almost the entire time so it will come in handy. also I am working on (sop/ how to list) as I have it labeled with instructions to perform different things based on the I.T. related issues that I have ran into so far. I have the problem listed and then documentation and pictures as how to fix the problem.

would you mind sending me whatever you have so far in your sop book?

philz1982

Um, maybe its just me, but what is your new job? I may have missed it.

cyberguypr

Looks like a JOAT given the environment is tiny.

mehmin

philz1982 wrote: »

Um, maybe its just me, but what is your new job? I may have missed it.

job ad said IT support. I suppose I'll call myself an IT support specialist. Looks like I'll be doing pretty much everything. For example, my boss wants me to research and compare trouble-ticket software and implement it. He imagines us using it for our sales team for customer orders to better track them and visibility of who owns it (which almost sounds like PM task tracking in a way too) this way, we can just type in a ticket number which has all the back and forth threads btw customer and rep. How he's been doing it is via outlook folders. He has to go through each saved email to find the relevant information. So the important thing is the ticket number... any recommendations?

mehmin

cyberguypr wrote: »

Looks like a JOAT given the environment is tiny.

I would say this is accurate. The IT department is me and an SQL writer. Which is nice, because the way I see it, this is a good place to start my IT career. It would have been much more difficult had I gone to a large company with no tech education. It's slow here. Who gets an entry IT job with no background or training? So I'm pretty grateful and take it as free IT training.

Since I'll be doing a lot of everything, I can get a wide range of experience and put it on my resume... legitimately so. And I'll also get a feel of which area I'll enjoy the most. I'm thinking networking.

We also have some outside IT help though as well. So my goal is to reach out to them and get involved with their projects. I'm not sure if it will work too well though. They are a remote business and will most likely do what they have to do via their location. (Update DNS records for VPN and email/ Reconfigure Cisco firewall to operate with new IP addresses and continue VPN functionality/ Update trusted host IP addresses) These are just a few examples they will take on, but I'd love to shadow the person doing all this if I can.

Maybe I could ask if they'd be open to sending me to some formal training to get some certifications like A+, NET+

Segovia

Congrats on the new position! I just got my first IT job too and I'm kind of nervous about it. It's also a support role but I'm going to be on a team that supports 1800 people -_-

I just hope I do well. Good luck!

mehmin

Segovia wrote: »

Congrats on the new position! I just got my first IT job too and I'm kind of nervous about it. It's also a support role but I'm going to be on a team that supports 1800 people -_-

I just hope I do well. Good luck!

congrats to you as well. what kind of training have you gone through? is it like help-desk type support?

Segovia

I have a two year degree along with my two certs currently a student in WGU. I had an internship previously and that was it.

Yes it is like a help desk, the job title being "Desktop Support Analyst".

It's a very basic entry job but it is with a great organization and will look great on the resume. My eventual goal is Network Engineer/Security Engineer.