Starting first IT job

After 10 years off and on of trying to break into the IT industry. Spending the past few months creating new threads about every little step in the hiring process and getting great replies, without which I wouldn't be at this stage. I was offered a help desk position today from my first reply to a craigslist email. Responsibilities are being the main onsite installer, configuring, break/fix to begin with that transitions into administration of 20-30 workstations using server 2008, vmware, cisco. It's also the closest job I've interviewed for and even during traffic hours it shouldn't be more than a 15 minute commute. (1) Does this position seem like help desk or more like desktop support?

I am a bit nervous to start but I think I'll thrive in the position after learning the ropes and although it's probably not a career position, it feels like a great compliment to wgu. I'll have an IT manager that can answer my questions on the help desk responsibilities but not so much on the sys admin duties. They are trying to find a replacement sys admin in the next few months and the manager thinks I can be just that. So hope to learn a lot from the current sys admin who plans on moving on.

I'm really looking forward to removing all job related rss feeds, deleting email alerts and taking down my resume from job boards. I do have one job that's been 'in process' for 3 weeks and they said that it will be a few weeks at the end of the interview. (2) Should I email (or call?) HR and say that I have accepted a job offer? (3) Should I contact the recruiters that are out 'looking' for me or wait until they come up with a opportunity to tell them?

In previous non-IT positions I've mainly listened for the first week or two and not be a know-it-all. (4) Should I use the same strategy here or should I let them know when I am comfortable doing something already?

(5) Does anyone have any suggestions when just starting out in the field?

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Comments

cwshellhamer

Grats dude! glad to see someone finally gave you a shot. end user support with a little network duties too.

MeanDrunkR2D2

Congrats.. and I'll break down your questions as best I can.
1) seems more like a desktop type of role since you'll be a visible part of IT and not just be answering phones all day.
2) Wait until they call you. Never know if by any chance they may try to counter and offer you better pay than they would have otherwise. And if they do, weigh all the pro's and cons before you decline. If there is a good path for promotion it may be worthwhile, but being your first IT position I'm sure you will likely stick with the one you already accepted.
3) Just wait and tell them you aren't in the market at that time. They'll contact you anyways if a position comes up and you are "off" the market
4) Sit back, listen and learn. When they show you something that you already know, you can ask if you can step in and see if you can fix the issue the way they would do, or they may show you a better technique that you'd never learn in school/certifications and may be more specific to the new company. Never, in any situation try to make it seem like you are a know it all or don't need your help. Especially being your first IT job, there will be ALOT to learn and those training you will be mentors that you will look to when an issue really stumps you.
5) Be open and willing to change anything that you think you may know. What we learn in school and in certifications may not always be the best way in the real world. Also, take notes, even for easy tasks. That way you can create a reference point for things that you are taught and you may need to go back to. At my last position I had notes I took the first couple of weeks that I would occasionally reference for weird issues that didn't come up all that often and were a huge help to me months later when those problems would come up. Little things like that will take you from "newb" to the "go to" IT guy and be the one that others will come to when they are stuck.

techfiend

Thanks guys, I'm really excited to get going in this career!

1) I have a feeling it's more of a name your title position and I think I will go with Desktop Support Specialist on resume/linkedin when the time comes. I figure to be there at least 6 months to see where it goes before considering other openings.

2) OK I'll wait, it's also a pretty interesting position working with 3 sys admins and an IT manager in a business casual environment downtown but I don't see much of a promotion path. The benefits and pay might be a little better but the commute is at least an hour a day which negates some of that.

3) Will wait on recruiters too, I'm happy to hear new opportunities but hope to reduce the recruiter activity a bit. In the past month I've been pursued by at least 20 recruiters. Over half of them I stopped pursuit on first contact, which may have been a mistake, but I just wasn't feeling I was fit for the position, often high pressure call center.

4) During the interview I learned a 'shortcut' to adding network printers which was nice, no more of the silly add printer wizard. Eager to learn more like that.

5) I'll have to spruce up my note taking skills, usually rely on mental notes but I can understand things may not be remembered on a daily basis in a position like this.

6) While I'm waiting to proceed with what comes next, should be an email, on next contact should I ask what I can work on to prepare for the position?

MeanDrunkR2D2

To address point 6. I'd just wait until you start before asking what you need to learn prior to starting. That's what your first few weeks will be and you will have alot to learn and retain in that time period. All you should worry about at this point is to fill out all paperwork they ask for and of course, if you have any questions by it, make sure you ask at that time to avoid any delays or confusion by filling out the wrong information that was requested. At this point, relax, smile and be happy that you have a new job starting soon. Unwind and unload your brain just a little bit, because those first few days will really push a ton of knowledge into your head in a short amount of time that it may feel overwhelming. And that is normal, no matter how experienced you are.

Good luck and enjoy the ride!

techfiend

Went out and celebrated a bit tonight. Ending the job hunt is a big relief. Time to move onto other things until the job starts.

anoeljr

Congrats techfiend! Glad you were able to find something. I've been following your threads and it's heartwarming to hear this. Good luck!

NetworkingStudent

Congrats on the new job!!
For notes I was hand writing them for awhile, but then I moved to evernote and now I use Onenote.
See if you can use onenote or evernote for note taking.

techfiend

Thanks, I start tomorrow replacing workstations, which is my duty for the first week or two, however long it takes to replace 30 workstations. I've been a very fast but controlled worker in previous positions because it demanded it and these duties will probably take a lot less time then expected, which might be good or bad. On the good it might get me learning server, vmware, cisco earlier and it may impress the manager. On the bad, it might just lead to a lot of downtime. (7) Should I go into this position trying to finish things really quickly and controlled or try to relax and take it slow?

Phone app is a great idea! I think I'll try that! It would look kind of strange in today's world carrying a notepad everywhere.

MeanDrunkR2D2

techfiend wrote: »

Thanks, I start tomorrow replacing workstations, which is my duty for the first week or two, however long it takes to replace 30 workstations. I've been a very fast but controlled worker in previous positions because it demanded it and these duties will probably take a lot less time then expected, which might be good or bad. On the good it might get me learning server, vmware, cisco earlier and it may impress the manager. On the bad, it might just lead to a lot of downtime. (7) Should I go into this position trying to finish things really quickly and controlled or try to relax and take it slow?

Phone app is a great idea! I think I'll try that! It would look kind of strange in today's world carrying a notepad everywhere.

Personally, go as fast as you can while being thorough. When doing the desktop replacements it is very handy to create a form/checksheet and mark down each step as you complete it. That way you are paying attention to the details and making sure that nothing gets missed by accident which happens easily when you are doing alot in a short bit of time. They'll notice the attention to detail and like your initiative by doing that. It's a process that I've done for swaps/new users/rebuilds to make sure that I have everything checked before I go to the next step. I've created forms to do each one of those tasks and will take that form with me should I change jobs and work elsewhere. Of course, now I won't be worrying about that.

techfiend

Great idea and one I would have tried keeping in my mind. I will make sure to do this and hopefully the swaps are mostly identical, they have 3 different departments which might be one centralized program (the IT manager is a software/web developer) or need different programs installed but that should be pretty to differentiate with the location within the office.

cwshellhamer

When you start, figure out a way to maximize your time. If you get it done early and move onto something else, great. If there's not an immediate task to complete afterwards, don't do it at break neck speeds and mess something up in your first week.

lsud00d

Congrats man!! I know you've been steadfast in your job search and it seemed like we got your resume spruced up pretty good

Congrats again!

techfiend

Thanks, I think I was working on it for about 40 hours a week for the past month or so, it seemed like 6+ months. 2 weeks ago I was feeling burned out and thanksgiving came at the right time. Ironically this was the last position I applied for and nearly closed the tab after I saw no link or phone number on the craigslist ad (I'm now 1 for 100's for callbacks in this situation). But it's so close and the job listing was interesting even though the job listed below average pay, turned out to be average, and the top duty listed, supporting a proprietary android app, isn't even really part of the job.

If I hadn't been offered this one I probably would have taken this week off, even though I saw a few interesting contract jobs before I disabled everything. Very glad I can end the job search and get some experience and get back to studying. All in all it was a great experience and I learned a lot about the hiring process and will hopefully retain it for my next position, hopefully it isn't too soon. I went from zero to above average on the hiring process all with the help of this community, I was asking about every little thing and realized I was mostly doing everything wrong.

Starting WGU in January will probably work out much better than the original November start date. No need to take off a week for holidays and have more time to study while working with the things I'll be studying.

Off to try to get some sleep, I've been waking up about 4 hours too late the past 6 months.

Bokeh

Well, ITS ABOUT TIME! lol. Glad to hear the patience paid off!!! Go in there like a sponge, absorb everything! OneNote on your phone or tablet is a great way to keep notes. If they have a Wiki or KnowledgeBase, read it, learn it, see if there are things that can be done to improve it. Go in there and kick some butt!

techfiend

First day in, after the orientation the day went fast and smoothly, I almost finished installing a workstation and should finish it tomorrow and setup my own while fixing up my office, it's currently the computer junkyard. Unfortunately the guy that handles most of the system/network support only works a few hours a week and wasn't there today. He's like an oncall MSP guy for the company and he's created a giant working mess, nothing is documented, cables running everywhere and nowhere, no real security except for a sonicwall and I thought to myself many times why are they doing it this way. The whole network works surprisingly well but they've had some malware issues and haven't put things in place to prevent them. Just with my little knowledge, I can confidently say that one little breach in the network will expose the whole network and they have vnc potentially sitting wide open. Except for his work everything seems well organized and people are nice and it's a decent environment. The guy I'm working under has good basic knowledge about IT but his main focus is development. I have a feeling I'll be learning a lot of things on my own if I want to replace the current sys/net admin. Good learning experience either way though and sure beats a call center in my opinion. One bummer I found out was they use TrendNet routers and switches instead of Cisco which they mentioned during the interview, maybe I could bring it up as a security issue, if there is one.

Today they implemented a few things that they haven't before and they seem to really want to improve the situation. There were a few ideas they wanted to look into and I thought maybe some of the IT pros on here have some advice.

1) Currently they are using a hosted exchange account and it perm deletes deleted email and they have a feeling they'll run out of space in a few years. They want to keep all email, even deleted for security reasons and are thinking about cost effective ways to do this. Only thing I thought of was local Exchange server which they should have the budget for or tape backup which I don't think they do. They have 3 redundant servers but I didn't see a UPS. Any suggestions?

2) They currently use individual local admin accounts with the same password, although they have a DC, everyone connects to it with this same local admin account. They have a file server where almost everything is kept, although it's not much. They don't encourage installing other programs but they don't prevent it either and this is I think where the malware issues exist. They were asking about roaming profiles because some of the people use different machines occasionally. I didn't suggest having separate AD accounts and let active directory handle it all because I didn't realize all workstations logged in with the same admin account. Is roaming profiles something to consider or would separate AD accounts handle it?

3) I've made mental note of security issues or possible improvements but I didn't really bring any of it up on the first day. The only one I did was VNC server is possibly exposed and they use the same password for it on all workstations, its the same as the local admin account/domain password. Most of their software is older, the most recent I remember seeing was 2010 and that was their Vipre AV suite which the IT manager said does nothing, although VB has the latest version ranked pretty high. I realize some think 'if it isn't broke' when it comes to software and I have done the same on some programs simply because I didn't like the new version but some of this software must have some security holes patched in the past 5 years. I don't really want to be tasked handling all these issues at my entry-level pay and I don't have the knowledge to do it all but one little thing could take out this company for days/weeks and there's a lot of people depending on it, it's a courier. If offered more money I think this would be a fun but long project that teaches me a lot. Has anyone ran into a situation like this and how would someone just starting out handle this? Offer a suggestion every few days?

pinkydapimp

techfiend wrote: »

First day in, after the orientation the day went fast and smoothly, I almost finished installing a workstation and should finish it tomorrow and setup my own while fixing up my office, it's currently the computer junkyard. Unfortunately the guy that handles most of the system/network support only works a few hours a week and wasn't there today. He's like an oncall MSP guy for the company and he's created a giant working mess, nothing is documented, cables running everywhere and nowhere, no real security except for a sonicwall and I thought to myself many times why are they doing it this way. The whole network works surprisingly well but they've had some malware issues and haven't put things in place to prevent them. Just with my little knowledge, I can confidently say that one little breach in the network will expose the whole network and they have vnc potentially sitting wide open. Except for his work everything seems well organized and people are nice and it's a decent environment. The guy I'm working under has good basic knowledge about IT but his main focus is development. I have a feeling I'll be learning a lot of things on my own if I want to replace the current sys/net admin. Good learning experience either way though and sure beats a call center in my opinion. One bummer I found out was they use TrendNet routers and switches instead of Cisco which they mentioned during the interview, maybe I could bring it up as a security issue, if there is one.

Today they implemented a few things that they haven't before and they seem to really want to improve the situation. There were a few ideas they wanted to look into and I thought maybe some of the IT pros on here have some advice.

1) Currently they are using a hosted exchange account and it perm deletes deleted email and they have a feeling they'll run out of space in a few years. They want to keep all email, even deleted for security reasons and are thinking about cost effective ways to do this. Only thing I thought of was local Exchange server which they should have the budget for or tape backup which I don't think they do. They have 3 redundant servers but I didn't see a UPS. Any suggestions?

2) They currently use individual local admin accounts with the same password, although they have a DC, everyone connects to it with this same local admin account. They have a file server where almost everything is kept, although it's not much. They don't encourage installing other programs but they don't prevent it either and this is I think where the malware issues exist. They were asking about roaming profiles because some of the people use different machines occasionally. I didn't suggest having separate AD accounts and let active directory handle it all because I didn't realize all workstations logged in with the same admin account. Is roaming profiles something to consider or would separate AD accounts handle it?

3) I've made mental note of security issues or possible improvements but I didn't really bring any of it up on the first day. The only one I did was VNC server is possibly exposed and they use the same password for it on all workstations, its the same as the local admin account/domain password. Most of their software is older, the most recent I remember seeing was 2010 and that was their Vipre AV suite which the IT manager said does nothing, although VB has the latest version ranked pretty high. I realize some think 'if it isn't broke' when it comes to software and I have done the same on some programs simply because I didn't like the new version but some of this software must have some security holes patched in the past 5 years. I don't really want to be tasked handling all these issues at my entry-level pay and I don't have the knowledge to do it all but one little thing could take out this company for days/weeks and there's a lot of people depending on it, it's a courier. If offered more money I think this would be a fun but long project that teaches me a lot. Has anyone ran into a situation like this and how would someone just starting out handle this? Offer a suggestion every few days?

Slow down. You are the new guy. Just do your work and learn as much as you can about how things work both tech wise and politically. Dont be that guy that comes in and tries to make all these changes and potentially throws someone under the bus in the process. Just soak everything up, ask alot of questions and in a month or so depending on how things shake out you can throw out a few suggestions. But if you are going to make a suggestion or change, make sure you have a solution on how to make that change.

Good luck!!

techfiend

I can understand someone hired as support coming in and consulting would not look good at all. The reason I thought about it is I've seen many resumes in this community that write about successes by offering suggestions in support roles and I think that can give a good impression to current and future employers. Should I only suggest when they are looking for suggestions or wait a few months to suggest?

Any suggestions on the first 2 questions?

Tremie24

techfiend wrote: »

First day in, after the orientation the day went fast and smoothly, I almost finished installing a workstation and should finish it tomorrow and setup my own while fixing up my office, it's currently the computer junkyard. Unfortunately the guy that handles most of the system/network support only works a few hours a week and wasn't there today. He's like an oncall MSP guy for the company and he's created a giant working mess, nothing is documented, cables running everywhere and nowhere, no real security except for a sonicwall and I thought to myself many times why are they doing it this way. The whole network works surprisingly well but they've had some malware issues and haven't put things in place to prevent them. Just with my little knowledge, I can confidently say that one little breach in the network will expose the whole network and they have vnc potentially sitting wide open. Except for his work everything seems well organized and people are nice and it's a decent environment. The guy I'm working under has good basic knowledge about IT but his main focus is development. I have a feeling I'll be learning a lot of things on my own if I want to replace the current sys/net admin. Good learning experience either way though and sure beats a call center in my opinion. One bummer I found out was they use TrendNet routers and switches instead of Cisco which they mentioned during the interview, maybe I could bring it up as a security issue, if there is one.

Today they implemented a few things that they haven't before and they seem to really want to improve the situation. There were a few ideas they wanted to look into and I thought maybe some of the IT pros on here have some advice.

1) Currently they are using a hosted exchange account and it perm deletes deleted email and they have a feeling they'll run out of space in a few years. They want to keep all email, even deleted for security reasons and are thinking about cost effective ways to do this. Only thing I thought of was local Exchange server which they should have the budget for or tape backup which I don't think they do. They have 3 redundant servers but I didn't see a UPS. Any suggestions?

2) They currently use individual local admin accounts with the same password, although they have a DC, everyone connects to it with this same local admin account. They have a file server where almost everything is kept, although it's not much. They don't encourage installing other programs but they don't prevent it either and this is I think where the malware issues exist. They were asking about roaming profiles because some of the people use different machines occasionally. I didn't suggest having separate AD accounts and let active directory handle it all because I didn't realize all workstations logged in with the same admin account. Is roaming profiles something to consider or would separate AD accounts handle it?

3) I've made mental note of security issues or possible improvements but I didn't really bring any of it up on the first day. The only one I did was VNC server is possibly exposed and they use the same password for it on all workstations, its the same as the local admin account/domain password. Most of their software is older, the most recent I remember seeing was 2010 and that was their Vipre AV suite which the IT manager said does nothing, although VB has the latest version ranked pretty high. I realize some think 'if it isn't broke' when it comes to software and I have done the same on some programs simply because I didn't like the new version but some of this software must have some security holes patched in the past 5 years. I don't really want to be tasked handling all these issues at my entry-level pay and I don't have the knowledge to do it all but one little thing could take out this company for days/weeks and there's a lot of people depending on it, it's a courier. If offered more money I think this would be a fun but long project that teaches me a lot. Has anyone ran into a situation like this and how would someone just starting out handle this? Offer a suggestion every few days?

Not everything is going to set up to perfection like you read in a book. A lot of it might be due to cost, they probably can't afford a lot the good stuff. Where I work now, some of our server/switch rooms are literally in closets, poor ventilation and huge security issue. Someone could come in tear it apart if they wanted. BUT there's really nothing IT can do to change because of cost and space.

They might not have money for licensing to upgrade to newer software. When I first started at my job we had users still using computers that were windows xp. IT cost are expensive, just a switch can cost 10 thousand dollars.

A good place to start when they are showing you the ropes of their network is to ask why they have this way, just out curiosity.

As far as roaming profiles and stuff, I don't know a whole lot about AD, but roaming profiles is just a lot easier to use. Where I work now I think pretty much everybody has roaming profiles. I know when I'm out in the field working, and I might need to jump on the nearest computer to do something, or I have something on my network drive and the only way I can get to if I log on to a computer with my profile.

techfiend

Same here with a rack sitting in a closet and the door is always open with an always on workstation. First day on the job I came to the conclusion that I care much more about security then I thought. They had 3 xp computers still in use but I replaced 1 today. Did a lot of printer support today, which was overwhelming at first but I achieved the goal with a few minor issues. Someone prints to a home printer from work up which worked until yesterday. I didn't know this was possible without google cloud or similar, didn't notice it installed. I noticed it was using port LPT1 which looked like the culprit. I had no idea how to get the home ip address, after about 5 minutes of trying to figure it out, I said we have to consult the 'network guy' who I haven't met. Is this an appropriate way of handling a 'can't fix' situation? Suggestions?

There's 2 24 port switches, I compared the prices of trendnet and cisco switches, the cheaper cisco's are about the same price as the trendnets, $350. Found some 48 port cisco switches around $500. I never identified the router but I think it was white and mounted on the wall, trendnet only sells soho routers from what I could tell and this wasn't one of those.

As for questioning them why it's this way unfortunately I don't think the ones I've worked with so far could answer it. Network guy set it up and he's hasn't been there since I started. Should I still ask?

Thanks for the input on roaming profiles, I'll make note of it.

The IT guy documented for the first time today and I think him and the CEO sense there are some potential issues and want to deal with it, hiring this support position had something to do with it. During the interview they really focused on me starting WGU BS IT sec. Which is why I presented number 3 above about the issues and wanting to help, although I don't have a definite answer either.