So I've got 5 days left at helpdesk...

[JimmiG]

...before I move on to the IT operations/sysadmin role.

If I have to say "Have you tried turning it off and on again?" or "Are you sure it's plugged in?" one more time, I'm not sure I'll be able to survive that long. It really feels like these are going to be the longest 5 days in my life.

 

[Crono]

If I have to say "Have you tried turning it off and on again?" or "Are you sure it's plugged in?" one more time

 

[DigDog]

i share your feels.

 

[sdifox]

Newsflash, you will still have to say those things in your new role :whiste:

 

[KB]

Newsflash, you will still have to say those things in your new role :whiste:

Bingo. Now you're second level support and you get the call when the help desk monkeys forget to ask them those questions. so you still need to ask them.

 

[Exterous]

Bingo. Now you're second level support and you get the call when the help desk monkeys forget to ask them those questions. so you still need to ask them.

Yep - now you'll get escalated issues like 'The network is down' and blank stares when you ask them what that means (because it sure doesn't look the the network is down), where it happened and what steps were taken to diagnose the issue

But overall its better....slightly :awe:

 

[manimal]

congrats!

Now you get to answer passive aggressive emails and appease people above you who are beneath you.

 

[saratoga172]

You do realize without those questions you wouldn't have a job...or the pay you get. Always a flip side to each role.

And now you'll realize how dumb some of the helpdesk monkeys are when they ask you the same questions over and over.

 

[zCypher]

Congrats!

 

[MustISO]

Hope you got a nice bump in pay. You'll certainly enjoy learning new things. Take on any responsibilities you can get so you can move up and keep increasing your knowledge and salary. If the company pays for education and training - do it!

 

[GagHalfrunt]

...before I move on to the IT operations/sysadmin role.

If I have to say "Have you tried turning it off and on again?" or "Are you sure it's plugged in?" one more time, I'm not sure I'll be able to survive that long. It really feels like these are going to be the longest 5 days in my life.

You should be worried. In police or military movies it's always the short-timer who gets whacked right before his tour is over.

 

[xSauronx]

"yes, i changed something--for it to work again you will need to turn it off and turn it back on again"

 

[TheGardener]

I worked at a major computer company. They used contract workers for the helpdesk. A lot of turnover. But if someone was really good, they'd hire them. So it is a good training ground. Congrats on the new job.

 

[JimmiG]

Bingo. Now you're second level support and you get the call when the help desk monkeys forget to ask them those questions. so you still need to ask them.

Thankfully at the new job, I will be spared almost all contact with the subspecies of humans known as "Users". The only things I will have to turn off and on again are services, application pools, VM's and maybe occasionally a switch.

"yes, i changed something--for it to work again you will need to turn it off and turn it back on again"

That's the trick - make them think you actually did something, rather than just tell them to power cycle in the hopes that it would fix the problem (which it does 90% of the time) - Of course this can backfire when a user refuses to re-log and you actually did add them to an AD security group or something.

Seriously though it hasn't been too bad, and for the first year or so it was even fun and rewarding. But I had to keep on doing it for almost 4 years before I got this opportunity to move up. I don't think one should stay more than 1.5 years in helpdesk, if one wants to keep one's sanity.

 

[Red Squirrel]

Newsflash, you will still have to say those things in your new role :whiste:

Yep... unfortunately. When I was in college I got a job at the company I work for now and was a level 3 sysadmin. I realized this is exactly the kind of work I wanted to do so that's what I aimed for out of college. Started at help desk, worked there a few years, then got the job I wanted. I then realized that doing that job full time, vs as student was not what it was cracked out to be. 80% politics, 20% tech, and throw in dealing with users in there too. Even though I was a SERVER guy half the time I was out fixing printers and computers anyway. If it connects to a server, you probably end up working on it anyway.

That said it was a nice break from answering the phone and dealing with the petty stuff, so congrats, it's still a step ahead.

Now I'm at the NOC, best move ever. The job itself can get borring, but not having to deal with users at all, and very minimal politics is a plus. Come in to work, do my job, leave. The shift work is a bonus too, so much better than 8*5.

 

[HumblePie]

LOL to the OP thinking he'll never have to ask those questions again with his new job.


HAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

trust me you'll laugh at the irony soon enough!

 

[dave_the_nerd]

No, "turn it off and again" is still a thing, even for system admins.

 

[IronWing]

Will you be re-installing Adobe Reader?

 

[Exterous]

Thankfully at the new job, I will be spared almost all contact with the subspecies of humans known as "Users". The only things I will have to turn off and on again are services, application pools, VM's and maybe occasionally a switch.

You might be surprised. After I made the switch I realized that my definition of 'Users' changed and, while I interacted with fewer of them, those I had contact with was more extended which just meant they found larger ways to screw up things. Like not testing things they said they would test or giving you wrong data to import and telling you after you imported the data or giving you the wrong project requirements which you only find out about after you've bought the server.

 

[trmiv]

Unless you're an engineer you're still likely production support, which means.....dealing with users. Only now you get to deal with developers and their ilk, which are waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay worse than your standard user. It's NEVER a problem with their code, it's always a server issue! Or you get the help desk punting issues over the wall because someone mentioned the word "server" only to find out it's an issue with the user's computer. But since you've got the user on the phone and you don't want to be a dick, guess what, you're fixing a computer issue.

 

[dave_the_nerd]

Will you be re-installing Adobe Reader?

Dagnammit, I know that should be a funny reference, but I've completely forgotten the backstory.

 

[dave_the_nerd]

Unless you're an engineer you're still likely production support, which means.....dealing with users. Only now you get to deal with developers and their ilk, which are waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay worse than your standard user. It's NEVER a problem with their code, it's always a server issue! Or you get the help desk punting issues over the wall because someone mentioned the word "server" only to find out it's an issue with the user's computer. But since you've got the user on the phone and you don't want to be a dick, guess what, you're fixing a computer issue.

Dunno man. Supporting developers has its upsides.

10:20: Hey man, I'm having a problem with ____. I tried this and this and this other thing. Any ideas?
10:30: Doesn't sound familiar. Let me do some research and get back to you. Can you dump your log files in dropbox here: _____?
11:15: Hey, I figured it out. Thanks anyway.

I basically work with a bunch of OCD puzzle addicts. They don't need my help nearly as often as they think they do, and I can mostly fiddle with servers.

 

[IronWing]

Dagnammit, I know that should be a funny reference, but I've completely forgotten the backstory.

http://imgur.com/gallery/iJD8f

http://imgur.com/gallery/AOz0d

 

[dave_the_nerd]

http://imgur.com/gallery/iJD8f

http://imgur.com/gallery/AOz0d

Oh. Thanks!

 

[trmiv]

Dunno man. Supporting developers has its upsides.

10:20: Hey man, I'm having a problem with ____. I tried this and this and this other thing. Any ideas?
10:30: Doesn't sound familiar. Let me do some research and get back to you. Can you dump your log files in dropbox here: _____?
11:15: Hey, I figured it out. Thanks anyway.

I basically work with a bunch of OCD puzzle addicts. They don't need my help nearly as often as they think they do, and I can mostly fiddle with servers.

You must have good developers. Here it's always the blame game "Oh it's your server issue, my code is clean" "Hmm, well this is a shared server, and no other sites are having issues" Five hours later they figure out it's their code. We're rolling out appdynamics soon, so hopefully that will stop some of that nonsense. Granted there are a few who are great to deal with. But they tend to be within the IT department usually, not typically developers from other units.