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Employment Advice


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#1 Trandrackule

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Posted 07 September 2021 - 07:14 AM

Hi

I thought I would like to become a desktop support person, but have no confidence. I am 41 years old, and live in England. I have done some minor qualifications (city & guilds level 2 in IT support/systems & principles, MTA's in OS, Networking, & Security). I am trying, and struggling, to get a level 3 apprenticeship, as I am told that I have enough to apply for desktop support jobs.

I have three questions

1. Can anyone tell me if there is a way that I can practice troubleshooting? I don't know loads of people with computers that need fixing. Is there anywhere that I can access some sort of setup, where desktop support is simulated - I.e. where I am told there is a problem with a computer, and then I go into a lab and try to fix the issue.

2.Can anyone suggest good courses which would really improve my confidence, bearing in mind that money is definitely an object.

3.Is desktop support a good way to go, or should I do something else? Can anyone tell me the best thing to get into, considering my age, and the few qualifications I have. Is software a good place to go? I have not done any programming yet.

If anyone can help, I would be really grateful. I really need this.

Cheers


Edited by hamluis, 07 September 2021 - 07:38 AM.
Moved from Gen Chat to Certs/Careers - Hamluis.


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#2 achzone

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Posted 07 September 2021 - 08:08 AM

Hi,

 

I've been supporting desktops and doing server administration for a couple of decades and have had help desk employees under my control. In my view, desktop support isn't something that you can learn from text books but more so with personal experience. In answer to your specific questions.

 

1. Can anyone tell me if there is a way that I can practice troubleshooting? I don't know loads of people with computers that need fixing. Is there anywhere that I can access some sort of setup, where desktop support is simulated - I.e. where I am told there is a problem with a computer, and then I go into a lab and try to fix the issue.

 

You don't need to know loads of people with computers that need fixing. There's people all over the world looking for help in forums just like this one. Dive in, read all of the questions in the areas you're interested in and offer any help you can. The more you do it, the more experience you gain in diagnosing and solving real world problems. Much better than a lab scenario because you also learn from other posters helping users at the same time.

 

Let's take an example of working for an ISP's support desk. You should know that (in most cases) the vast majority of level 1 support desk people are working from a script. They have a series of prepared questions they follow religiously, which is a constant source of frustration to folks calling for help that already have some basic technical knowledge and done everything they want to step through all over again. Reboot Windows. Turn the router off and back on. Boot into safe mode with networking. Turn everything off, unplug from the wall and then plug everything back in and so on. That's likely what you would be doing in any entry level help desk scenario. Go for it, you're probably over qualified for that type of work already.

 

In so far as not working from a script, one of the most challenging issues you're going to face is extracting the right information from a person that needs help. To take an extreme example, if a caller says that their screen is black and they can't see the Internet, what's the first thing you would ask them? Experience has taught me that the first thing to determine is that their monitor is actually plugged in to both the power and computer. The cables may have come loose. I struck that very problem once and it took almost half an hour to get the person to actually check the connections on the monitor and the back of the computer. You could be told that Windows won't boot up, but the real problem is that the power board their computer is plugged into has tripped its switch. This is why I say I don't believe a lab scenario would teach you much. Classrooms can only simulate problems - in the real world, things rarely work the same way as in a classroom. 

 

I guess what I'm trying to say here is that if you already have some qualifications in IT support/systems & principles, MTA's in OS, Networking, and Security, then you're more that qualified already to apply for simple help desk positions. You speak of your lack of confidence and that's understandable when trying to break into any new field of employment. Take a leap of faith in yourself and just apply for some positions when they're advertised. If it doesn't work out, then what's the worst that could happen? You'll have learnt something from the experience and that's the most important thing.

 

2.Can anyone suggest good courses which would really improve my confidence, bearing in mind that money is definitely an object.

 

 

User forums just like this one. Join more than one and dive in. Doesn't cost a cent. Try your best to never suggest anything that could do harm to a users computer and only suggest things based on your own experience. The more you do it, the more you help others, the more your confidence will grow and you'll learn different troubleshooting techniques as you go.

 

3.Is desktop support a good way to go, or should I do something else? Can anyone tell me the best thing to get into, considering my age, and the few qualifications I have. Is software a good place to go? I have not done any programming yet.

 

 

Desktop support is mind numbing work, particularly if you're working in a specialised field and have to use a pre-prepared script. It's just a job. A stepping stone to more interesting work, but certainly not a career in itself. That's not to say it's not important work - it is. Just that you're unlikely to find it very satisfying or rewarding work for any length of time. Programming needs you to be an inventor of sorts. Many people can put together a bit of code, but if you're not passionate about it, then I don't believe that's something you can learn to do well enough to be paid to do either.
 
Figure out your passion. When you were doing the courses for your current qualifications, what was your end goal? What did you hope to achieve and where did you hope to end up? You will do best if you follow your passion. 
 
I hope the above is of some help. Feel free to ask any specific follow up questions if you like.
 
Best, Andrew

Edited by achzone, 07 September 2021 - 08:20 AM.

Andrew Leniart - IT Professional / Freelance Journalist

 

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#3 wee-eddie

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Posted 07 September 2021 - 09:02 AM

achzone is spot on.

 

May I just add another observation. Many members of the population (particularly family) consider that what you are proposing, as a way of earning a living, is actually a hobby and that you're doing it for pleasure and should not charge anything, let alone a £60 Callout Fee and £40 an hour.

 

Although they'll willingly pay the Plumber



#4 achzone

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Posted 07 September 2021 - 09:53 AM

Although they'll willingly pay the Plumber

 

Indeed, and sometimes not even the plumber if they can get away with it. Although in general, plumbers tend to be fairly burly type chaps who will often find colourful black and blue ways to convince you to settle their account.

 

Your post reminded me of an article I once read on another site I no longer log into. This was written long ago, but remains just as valid today as the day it was written.

 

WARNING: 5 Reasons why you should NEVER fix a computer for free.


Andrew Leniart - IT Professional / Freelance Journalist

 

Helping others, to help themselves for 20+ Years

 

Links to all my Articles & Tutorials can be found at this link (Contains no Ads or Nags)            

 

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#5 Trandrackule

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Posted 07 September 2021 - 12:26 PM

Thank You Achzone, this was by far the best reply, to the question I posted on the 5 forums i have joined today.

 

Wee - Eddie, who wants to work for free? Especially when you are doing this stuff all week.



#6 achzone

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Posted 07 September 2021 - 06:44 PM

You're very welcome Trandrackule. Glad you found some value in my post.

 

Regards, Andrew


Andrew Leniart - IT Professional / Freelance Journalist

 

Helping others, to help themselves for 20+ Years

 

Links to all my Articles & Tutorials can be found at this link (Contains no Ads or Nags)            

 

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#7 Trandrackule

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Posted 14 September 2021 - 07:38 AM

I'm just going for a poo.



#8 Kilroy

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Posted 17 September 2021 - 10:29 AM

Like achzone I've been doing IT support for a very long time, since Windows 3.11.

 

Doing IT for friends and family is very different from doing it professionally.

 

As achzone Level 1 (Help Desk) is basic knowledge and the ability to use scripts to assist users.

 

Level 2 (Desktop / Deskside Support) is more of a knowledge or troubleshooting position.  Being good with a search engine is the number one job skill.  No one will know everything and being able to find the answer is more important than knowing the answer.  I've worked for many different companies over the past three decades and each one has about 100 software packages that they use.  So, every time you switch jobs there will be new software to learn.  If you're not into learning Level 2 support is not for you.

 

Here's where the personal and professional support differs, there is a point where trying to fix a problem will exceed the time to reload a machine with a known good image, normally an hour or two.  Once you pass that point the solution is going to be back up the user's data and reload the machine.  A virus infection is a no brainer, backup and reload, there is no cleaning in a professional environment.  Once a machine is infected you can no longer trust anything from that machine.

 

Hanging around online forums such as this one are good places to get troubleshooting experience and advice.  Even if you aren't the one to solve the problem, you can see how others solve the problem.  A lot of troubleshooting is actually understanding how the pieces fit together.

 

I'll give you an example.  I work with vehicles that have a Cellular network for network access.  On the vehicle is a laptop server (that can be one of a dozen machines), a printer that is always the same, and a number of workstations that are always the same.  All of the workstations connect to the server to access a website hosted by the server.  The common call is that I can't get to the Internet.  Well, they aren't connecting to the Internet they are connecting to the server on the vehicle.  I have a batch file that pings the devices from near to far, first it pings the gateway of the cellular router (this will allow me to connect to the equipment), then it pings the server, and finally it pings the printer.  If I can ping the gateway good, if not work on that first, are there lights on it and so on.  Next can I ping the server (most likely not as that is the issue).  The servers are set to get a DHCP address and then assign themselves to IP address 1 on the network (this is the absolutely coolest thing I've done in IT).  What normally causes the problem is that the server came up before the router so it assigned itself a 169.254.x.x address.  The solution is to undock and redock the laptop which causes it to try to set the IP address again.  If that doesn't do it then troubleshoot the docking station.  If that still doesn't do it connect the laptop directly to power and network.  The printer normally has an IP (provided it is turned on) and shows that the local network is working.  Everything has to be done with IP addresses as the vehicle uses the cellular router for DNS and I'm using a different DNS server.

 

Normal Level 2 jobs you spend the first 90 days seeing what the "normal" issues are.  The first year you see most of the issues you will see.  Documentation is important.  Document what you did to fix issues in your ticketing system and document common fixes in a knowledge base.  Because trust me, you won't remember what you did six months ago to fix issue X.

 

Level 2 you need a good relationship with both Level 1 and Level 3 people.  You can assist the Level 1 people and things they can do to resolve tickets so that they don't get sent to you.  The same applies with Level 3, they can tell you what you can do so that you can solve tickets you would send to them or get them the information they require.


Edited by Kilroy, 17 August 2022 - 02:14 PM.


#9 MrNeoAnderson

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Posted 29 July 2022 - 08:38 AM

I started my career doing desktop support. 

 

Here is an answer to your questions. 

 

1, My best recommendation would be to get hands on experience. Troubleshooting in my opinion is difficult to teach because of all the variables. For experience, I would volunteer your time. There are a lot of non-profit organizations that need IT support and it a great way to get some experience. 

 

2. I would look for A+ and Network+ training on YouTube or Udemy. 

 

3. The learning curve for programming is going to be steeper and its not for everybody but that doesn't mean you can't do it. It all comes down to your interests. There is a great free course on Python called "Python for Everybody" on YouTube. Watch that and see if programming something you are interested in. 

 

Also, you could learn both, however, I would be cautious doing too much in the beginning. 


Edited by MrNeoAnderson, 29 July 2022 - 08:38 AM.





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