Do I have the right idea of Data Center work?

fmitawaps

I did desktop support for 4 years in a variety of contract assignments. I've got that down. I've been wanting to move on to the next level and bigger paychecks for some time. I have my first Cisco cert, and will be a CCNA in a month or two.

I've always liked the idea of working in data centers. Not just for the technology and doing the networking, router / switch configurations, building and cabling the racks, etc, but for being away from clueless end users.

Some end users are okay, but when a person has been at a company for 5+ years and cannot Copy and Paste, or have no idea about their printer, or can't do even the most simplest basic things on their computer.... oh man. Wanna get away!

My thinking is that no one is in a data center without at least a moderate level of advanced computer knowledge. And the people there specialize. I've never been a system admin and don't want to be, I want to stay on the networking side of things. Let someone else handle all the programs on the servers, I want no part of it.

I want to do my thing. Build the servers, maybe install the OS on them, assemble the racks and all the gear in them, run the cabling neatly, configure the switches to add them to the network, handle any maintenance tasks that come along, etc.

Is this a realistic idea of what I can expect in a data center, generally speaking? I know some will have ticketing systems and I'm okay with that. Some will just have a manager telling me what needs done.

And there are several decent size (over 5000 square feet of raised floor) data centers in my area, and few are responding when I apply, every couple months. I've had a few interviews but have not gotten in yet. Frustrating.

Tell us your data center stories. What you did, how it went, what were the problems, etc.

networker050184

Depends what you are wanting to do. The people that actually work in the data center are usually just techs doing physical work not people doing networking or systems. I've probably been in the actual data center once in the last few years. It's a different career path really.

Dakinggamer87

It really depends... I do a lot of work in the data center doing various amounts of project management, server builds and installations, racking and mounting network switches and other equipment. I have been doing it for almost 3 years and it's pretty cool. I have gained a lot of experience in high level solutions and architecture projects. I also do a lot of work doing cloud builds, provisioning, storage and networking tasks as well. I have helped build several enterprise data centers with cabling and the overall physical infrastructure.

If you have any questions I will do my best to assist and help.