First helpdesk (Tier 1) job. What to expect?

Hey guys, I've been working at a software company for the past few months as tech support. Last week I received a really good offer from a local IT company. Passed two interviews and I start next week. My question is: what kind of things should I expect being in a tier 1 helpdesk position? Also, they are starting me out at $16/hr (minimum 40/hr's per week), paying for my monthly cell phone bill, free health insurance, and a yearly clothing allowance. I am required to get 4 certifications by spring of 2013. The certs are Microsoft 70-680, 70-681, 70-685, and 70-686. I was already planning on taking the 680 this month before I was even offered the job. I have to get 1 cert every 3 months (which doesn't seem too hard). Is this a good starting compensation?

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Comments

Iristheangel

For tier 1? If this is your first IT job, I would say yes.

the_Grinch

You should probably expect a lot of the low hanging fruit. Password resets, drive mapping, user account setups, and other "end user" related issues (I can't print, I'm getting pop-ups, how do I do this in <pick your favorite Office program>). You'll probably learn a lot and the biggest thing you should focus on is dealing with the end user. That soft skill a lone is worth it's weight in gold. $16 to start with all the other benefits is pretty good, though find out if they have pay benefits as well. My old company offered "free" benefits and I very quickly found out why they were "free". When it comes to your health, it worth the $70 to $140 dollars a month. Congrats!

4_lom

Yeah, its tier 1. My job description says I will be responsible for providing first level support for service requests relating to all technology, to include: workstations, servers, printers, networks, and vendor specific hardware and software.

Iristheangel wrote: »

For tier 1? If this is your first IT job, I would say yes.

N2IT

Sounds like a good start. First tier is good to get to know the business and IT processes. You'll document a lot about the problems, most server and networking issues you'll be solely documenting. Password resets and client side issues you should have more freedom to fix.

Overall sounds like a nice gig. Good luck!

4_lom

Thanks!

higherho

Sounds like a good start. Just to let you know I started in a similar position (and heavy on VTC stuff). 6 months later got an entry level SA spot and now I'm sitting at the highest SA spot here. Just absorb as much as you can and make good relationships with your co workers / bosses. If you do well then you will move up quickly!

Psoasman

4_lom wrote: »

Hey guys, I've been working at a software company for the past few months as tech support. Last week I received a really good offer from a local IT company. Passed two interviews and I start next week. My question is: what kind of things should I expect being in a tier 1 helpdesk position? Also, they are starting me out at $16/hr (minimum 40/hr's per week), paying for my monthly cell phone bill, free health insurance, and a yearly clothing allowance. I am required to get 4 certifications by spring of 2013. The certs are Microsoft 70-680, 70-681, 70-685, and 70-686. I was already planning on taking the 680 this month before I was even offered the job. I have to get 1 cert every 3 months (which doesn't seem too hard). Is this a good starting compensation?

Congrats! I think 1 every 3 months is doable. The 681 and 686 have similar material and the 685 isn't too hard.

Roguetadhg

Wow. Are they compensating anything for the certifications? That's a lot of dough to be putting out there.

Paying your monthly cellphone bill is a nice plus too. I'd toss my tracfone away for an iPhone in a heart beat. I don't really understand the clothing allowance though.

YFZblu

Probably because there is a dress code - Interesting benefit. I like it.

4_lom

Yeah, there is a dress code. It's formal. Which I don't mind at all.

4_lom

They are giving me a $500 education allowance, which should pay for the tests. Granted I pass each one on the first try.

Roguetadhg wrote: »

Wow. Are they compensating anything for the certifications? That's a lot of dough to be putting out there.

Paying your monthly cellphone bill is a nice plus too. I'd toss my tracfone away for an iPhone in a heart beat. I don't really understand the clothing allowance though.

4_lom

Bump. Any other opinions on what I should expect?

4_lom

This is my 100th post!

rs2606

the_Grinch wrote: »

You should probably expect a lot of the low hanging fruit. Password resets, drive mapping, user account setups, and other "end user" related issues (I can't print, I'm getting pop-ups, how do I do this in <pick your favorite Office program>). You'll probably learn a lot and the biggest thing you should focus on is dealing with the end user. That soft skill a lone is worth it's weight in gold. $16 to start with all the other benefits is pretty good, though find out if they have pay benefits as well. My old company offered "free" benefits and I very quickly found out why they were "free". When it comes to your health, it worth the $70 to $140 dollars a month. Congrats!

Couldn't have worded it any better than this. I'm in a role like that now, and all I do is study certs when I'm not working on something.

RouteThisWay

Here is what to expect:

User: My password doesn't work anymore. (No one will ever tell you they forgot their password. Ever. It always just doesn't work)

User: I have a problem. Its the most important problem this company will face today and probably the next 40 years. So again, I ask.. will you please make Word align my document? Thanks

User: This _____ has a power cord. You are IT. Please install/fix/remove it.

User: The reason I couldn't do my job is because is must have been the computers fault it didn't work.

You will notice I didn't put your reply in. That is for you to decide. It is important how you handle the things you don't want to/don't think you should have to handle. It is important how you handle the small tasks as well. These are called softskills and are very important in developing.

I also want to focus a second on the last comment I made. No matter what happens, if someone makes a mistake- they are going to blame it on "the system" as often as they can. Get used to it quickly

Have a good attitude, learn a lot, you will go far. I am glad to see your company is having you attain these certifications in a time frame. It means they trust you enough right now to invest in you long term.

Good luck!

wweboy

Because they are paying your cell phone bill do they expect you to be on call 24 hours a day? Tier one is a lot of learning like a lot of people said honestly just keep your nose down and learn, learn, learn and opportunities will present themselves to further your career. With as much as they are giving you in perks and added benefits it sounds like they treat their employees well and Don't let Roy from IT become your role model!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zHwue1q_bJg

CodeBlox

Expect a lot of the blame game. "It MUST be on your end, not ours"...

4_lom

They said there was a possibility of being on-call later on. I'll also receive alerts on my phone.

wweboy wrote: »

Because they are paying your cell phone bill do they expect you to be on call 24 hours a day? Tier one is a lot of learning like a lot of people said honestly just keep your nose down and learn, learn, learn and opportunities will present themselves to further your career. With as much as they are giving you in perks and added benefits it sounds like they treat their employees well and Don't let Roy from IT become your role model!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zHwue1q_bJg

MAC_Addy

CodeBlox wrote: »

Expect a lot of the blame game. "It MUST be on your end, not ours"...

Yep... Also, Cisco guys blame the Windows guys for something not working, and the other way 'round. It's a constant battle. It's still interesting how work gets done around here.

alexander77

Basically what everybody said is right..I started at Tier 1 and moved to 2 shortly afterwards. My job gave me a blackberry as well but I was on call some weekends. Most of my tier 1 calls where "password is no longer working", "outlook crashing" or "laptop not booting up". They were strict on forwarding calls to Tier 2 within 15 minutes if the issue wasn't resolved.

bmy78

How's the job going so far? I'm looking to land something in the near future.

4_lom

It's going really good so far. I have not had to do any password resets but it's pretty basic stuff. mapping network drives and printers. troubleshooting outlook. add users to active directory. they even have me going out of office everyday. I haveto go and swap out a backup drive each day of the week at this small doctors office. plus they make us cookies