Is this appropriate to do during an internship?

pamccabe

I recently landed an IT internship with an NFL team. It's an amazing experience to say the least. However, it is for desktop support, and I am currently a student in the Networking field. We have a network administrator here who seems like a very nice guy. Is it appropriate to ask him questions related to networking? In my day to day tasks, I don't run into him so it would be me going out of my way to talk to him. I am not sure if that is appropriate behavior though. Any input?

Sponx

Professional networking is fine to do, but you have to have the relationship to do it. I would make sure that you know all the ins and outs of your current position that you're "interning" for before you proceed to ask someone else questions outside of your field/expertise with the position you currently hold. If you're a desktop support intern, you should find a way (if possible) to become a network admin intern.

Regardless though, if you have the relationship to do so then I don't see why going to talk to him, and gain some knowledge, would be a bad thing. Just don't neglect your current job/duties.

Cisco Inferno

Yea introduce yourself but don't overwhelm him. You can start by asking for career advice, his background, and your goals.

pamccabe

Sponx wrote: »

Professional networking is fine to do, but you have to have the relationship to do it. I would make sure that you know all the ins and outs of your current position that you're "interning" for before you proceed to ask someone else questions outside of your field/expertise with the position you currently hold. If you're a desktop support intern, you should find a way (if possible) to become a network admin intern.

Regardless though, if you have the relationship to do so then I don't see why going to talk to him, and gain some knowledge, would be a bad thing. Just don't neglect your current job/duties.

Thank you for your input. Yes, I've been keeping my head down and doing my tasks as best I can. I do enjoy desktop support so it's fun. Heck, any IT work is better than the alternative. lol Recently, we had our computer lab environment remodeled. A switch was placed in the room and a vlan created. It was hard not to ask questions or watch the network admin at work! I'll wait till the time is right. I don't want to jeopardize this. They hired a bunch of students with different backgrounds, not sure why.

Sponx

Good choice!

jibbajabba

Network admins aren't Gods - just blokes with different skillsets

You ask questions and next thing you know you are fixing his and his family's PCs