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it_consultant
Member Posts: 1,903
From time to time we (those of us higher in salary and responsibility) we are asked how we got the experience we have. I notice that a lot of corporate IT jobs are siloed with limited opportunities to branch out, but those opportunities do exist. Don't let the words "that isn't my job" ever leave your mouth around your coworkers.
Here is an example:
We have a lot of fiber laid along our road with home runs back to our central location. We have tons of abandoned fiber from when it was a SONET/SDH and FDDI network. As we install our new switches (from omnitron to regular optics) we decided to light a new strand rather than try to use the old one since the last time we tried to use the old one we damaged the ports in the fiber patch panel and our remote location was down for a day and a half.
I knew nothing about fiber optics until a few months ago. Now we are at the point where we are buying an OTDR machine and I can confidently explain the difference between OM1-IV multimode fiber, the differences between all the connectors, and the properties of single mode fiber (bend tolerance, reflectance, etc).
Fiber optics was never part of my original job description and I should probably be paid more since I inherited it, but you won't hear me complain about it. The opportunity to learn and grow [without paying for it myself] is extremely valuable to my professional career.
I strongly encourage everyone to be willing to step out of your comfort zone every once in a while. Even if it means that (in my case I lost a weekend due to a fiber patch panel that I now know how to work on much better) failing miserably at the outset.
Here is an example:
We have a lot of fiber laid along our road with home runs back to our central location. We have tons of abandoned fiber from when it was a SONET/SDH and FDDI network. As we install our new switches (from omnitron to regular optics) we decided to light a new strand rather than try to use the old one since the last time we tried to use the old one we damaged the ports in the fiber patch panel and our remote location was down for a day and a half.
I knew nothing about fiber optics until a few months ago. Now we are at the point where we are buying an OTDR machine and I can confidently explain the difference between OM1-IV multimode fiber, the differences between all the connectors, and the properties of single mode fiber (bend tolerance, reflectance, etc).
Fiber optics was never part of my original job description and I should probably be paid more since I inherited it, but you won't hear me complain about it. The opportunity to learn and grow [without paying for it myself] is extremely valuable to my professional career.
I strongly encourage everyone to be willing to step out of your comfort zone every once in a while. Even if it means that (in my case I lost a weekend due to a fiber patch panel that I now know how to work on much better) failing miserably at the outset.
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cyberguypr
Mod Posts: 6,928 Mod
So true. That is how you step up to the plate and get noticed. Pick up those mundane tasks no one wants and sooner or later they will get noticed. Early in my career my attention to detail got noticed by the right people because I spent countless hours cleaning up cabling in IDF and MDFs. It was all worth it. -
Optionssratakhin
Member Posts: 818
I don't care what's in my job description. If I see an opportunity to learn and grow, I'll take it.