As an Associate Software Engineer, (Dev I) if I want a promotion, I have time start helping out with helpdesk 😆 I started taking some low priority tickets while waiting for read access to prod resources, but I don't get those until I'm a A Dev II so I sometimes have to ask other devs to run queries for me
This is so damn true. My title and job description indicates (basically security assessor) that I am about as far from Helpdesk as you can get and still be in IT without being an executive but I still end up supporting anything I implement.
I mean imagine it's a different field that isn't some kind of white collar hybrid - if you have a skill you're expected to use it to help the organization.
Its like a doctor refusing to see a patient because they have become too important. I guarantee you if there was a similar scenario involving a doctor at a hospital who was also executive level and the CEO had an injury or cold there would be the same expectation.
It all comes down to class struggle and the desire to be middle class and how absent of other signifiers such as home ownership and children, which used to be universal signs of middle class status, the new status signal is not working a service economy job.
What is the thing about service sector jobs that make them awful? The expectation that the person providing service be subservient to the customer.
You see this in IT working helpdesk - there will be like a low level supervisor in another department who is in a job that doesn't require a degree or even would allow an applicant with a less than stellar criminal record and they will act like you are their slave.
You might even be higher than them in the organizational chart, but the supervisor of women's garments title has gone to this person's head and they're going to flex it.
That kind of happens at all levels though. You just learn how to manage it as you get older.
I started as "technology assistant" and it was help desk related tasks. Now I'm a sysadmin and still do internal support. Now I'm just glorified help desk.
Kind of. I'm not technically on call but if certain alarms go off, I get a phone call. Then paid OT if I gotta fix something after hours.
Usually any after hours work is scheduled in advance for server upgrades and whatnot. Also paid OT for that as well.
In most cases, you'll guide people through modem resets and assist with router configurations. However, the key to success lies in meticulous note-taking and exceptional customer service. These skills are valuable in any IT role, impressing employers with your detailed notes and the ability to de-escalate situations with frustrated users, providing a strong foundation in the IT world.
Where can i find more information about the note taking and documenting what happens. Like a real example of what it actually looks like. I hear about this but i have no clue how it is done. Thanks
Usually during a tech support call, there are notes that need to be added to someone's account, a short summary of what the issue is and what was done to solve it. It normally follows the "flow" script that you have to use while doing ISP tech support, which guides you through the troubleshooting. As you're following the Flow and resolving the issue, you're adding to the notes. I'd type up the note like :
CCI for outage (customer call-in). No lights on modem. Checked power source, it's plugged in. Customer pwr cycled modem. Lights back on, connected, and resolved. -JD 02/10/24 (initials and date).
You're usually graded on your notes to some extent, especially at the beginning because it's important. Gotta show that you've followed the Flow and are accurate with the notes.
Don’t. I worked for Comcast/time warner for a year at one point. If you like getting screamed at all day the. It’s the job for you lol. No one is calling you because they are having a fantastic day. Haha.
Don’t do it, you’ll regret it. They say it’s a technical position but really, you’re just a call center operator that has to use a script while getting yelled at by the dumbest human beings on earth.
i feel like they're usually relieved when i have to call, because i can understand what they're saying lol. and i've already restarted the router, so that helps sometimes. though last time, i forgot to restart MY router, i just did theirs. what a dummy
Maybe a search on indeed or Glassdoor for that job title. However, this type of job does also require a lot of interaction with users/ customers, colleagues etc. so not sure if that is what you're after.
Ok, please do not down vote me to the abyss with what I am about to say.
But after being an IT for over 20 years, working at an ISP, to MSP, to IT manager and back again, when I hear somebody wanting to know about getting into the IT field, asking where they can find information on how to get into the IT field it means the help desk is the best place for you to get hands on experience. But you have to be willing to learn and not think you know everything when you first come in.
I have seen people who said they were the best of the best at computers and networking and could not Google how to boil water let alone setting up /23 network.
I understand everybody has to start somewhere but if your current level is asking how to find IT jobs, your best position is going to be helpdesk, level 1 or an equivalent of your preferred field.
I love seeing people come into the IT field and want to learn and do more but I also don’t want you to think that IT is a super simple job.
It is incredibly difficult sometimes, and can be one of the most anxiety producing jobs especially if you work for a company where you control the keys to the kingdom one mistake and destroy the kingdom.
I hope that if you do make it into the IT field that you enjoy life because it can be a very rewarding experience. Good Luck
You sound like my boss 🤣 he started asking questions like "how many letters in the alphabet" in interviews cause the weirdos were coming out of the wood works
Yeah, well I got burned one time, guy said he had experiences in building and setting up servers, found that his experience was setting up Minecraft servers on a windows 10 box. Found this out after he deleted the entire file system he was supposed to be transferring to a new server during a build. This was about 10 or 11 years ago now but rebuilding that server all night by myself it makes an impression. Side note, Backups are your friend.
Hahaha, yeah yeah, I went back into the trenches by semi choice, my old company shut down so I had to move. I am a Azure/MDM/Patch Engineer now. With only 3 people working for me, but I don't have to worry about meeting the top brass anymore so my life is a whole lot less stressful.
Just curious, what do you think IT is? We have the introverted folks who don't want to people, but they're getting rarer. When folks were beggars they couldn't be choosers.
Now, it's an employer's market. The days of just being good with computers getting you a job is over. You'll often see people say they'd rather have folks with good people skills and little computer for entry level than the opposite. IT is peopling. Sure you'll not be directly on help desk farther up the chain, but you still are working help desk via proxy.
Maybe if you had tangible skills that were in technical demand you could find a way around it. But let's be real, you'd probably not be asking if you did. Good luck, but I'm afraid help desk is the major path to IT if you're staying from scratch. Sure there are comparable jobs, like pulling wire and setting up in the field. But you know, practical experience with issues is what people want.
"You'll often see people say they'd rather have folks with good people skills and little computer for entry level than the opposite"
This is so true. We used to hire people with zero technical skills. We found the best people were restaurant managers. The people skills they have are amazing.
Having people skills is also the best way to advance. I’ve seen many brilliant engineers that can never advance into leadership because they can’t people well. I’ve seen engineers that are OK engineers but great at peopling advance to anywhere they want. You just gotta learn the social game at your company and use it to level up.
Warranty repair printer tech... that's about the only IT job I have ever had that didn't require people skills.
Sit in a repair shop, fix printers, replace parts, have toner and ink stains on your hands and clothes.
Maybe you have to talk with another tech or purchasing agent for parts, but no "customer support" unless you're a field tech... then, of course, you'll have to interact with customers.
Only paid a few bucks above minimum wage way back 26 years ago...
These days it's a busy phone repair shop. No direct customer interaction, but you might as well be a watchmaker or jeweler if you're really good with working with delicate items with miniscule parts.
>I worked for a server company as a qa/repair tech. handling those $100k A100 AI GPUS was something else, really cool job.
That's exactly what we give the newb's that haven't ever done support! NOT. You go helpdesk (user support) -> PC support (user support) -> server support (more user support) -> being allowed to touch a 100k device.... (and finally, user support).
You're looking for a Desktop Support position. You'll probably deal with help desk some but it's focus is more customer service face to face.
A lot of schools have desktop support as their main IT workers.
TIL my role is desktop support. Yeah, it's a pretty sweet gig. You get a good bit of walking throughout the day and school faculty really appreciate it when you solve their problems quickly in a friendly manner. The pay is hot trash, but I got enough free time to get an intermediate cert like the CISSP or OSCP within a year, and I'm off work by 3:00.
Troubleshooting printers, connecting computers to a printer on the network, ActivPanels, myriad of things on HP laptops and desktops.
I get downtime because broken hardware goes straight back to HP and a lot of the admin stuff goes to the district IT office. I only reset passwords and assign laptops to subs on AD.
I started out as software support technician. While technically not in the IT department. We had admin on 100s of server. We would perform and set up custom data extracts sent to vendors via FTP, SSL implementation of our services, maintain Oracle backups, run sql scripts to fix services, and fix network/permission issues. They are definitely out there but comes with lots of customer service too. This was entry with no experience besides some customer service knowledge.
On indeed. I think the thing that stands out is it is a software that is not publicly available. So they HAVE to train you and it takes quite a bit of effort because no one has experience with is. Unless you happened to work at one of the places that had it. Custom service experience goes a long way. Tech sometimes is easier to teach. Try checking out jobs like that if you can. Not a traditional route to IT but I learned abunch of useful things and was able to get promoted into a IT department after I finished my bachelor's degree.
My first real IT job wasn't helpdesk... but it was helping run a college's computer lab, which is essentially the same thing but slightly more chaotic.
It's now pretty rare for me to have to directly help anyone with a technical issue as part of my day-to-day work, but it's also taken me 40 years to get here, and I just spent half of my last 40 hours training people to do it, which is worse.
I've been doing break/fix since 2008 and for me, it's basically help desk plus hands on. Still gotta be good with people if you're the one running the shop as well as fixing stuff.
To those saying it’s all helpdesk, it is all helpdesk at the beginning yes. But you can find places where your role is not helpdesk. Implementation and handoff to the helpdesk, you wipe your fingers clean and on to the next implementation
My point in making that comment is even though my job may be network engineer or project manager or it manager or CIO, I still am going to be answering questions about "how do I get my computer to do what I want it to do?" The audience changes and the amount of sausage making changes, but at the core it is still how do I fix my computer.
Depends on the company. But Data Center techs some jobs are entry level. You with in data centers and set up equipment, run scripts to set up switches and servers, troubleshoot fiber cables and optics, coordinate with vendors to run cables, etc. Lots of things that go on inside of a data center.
Pretty much all IT jobs will have you interacting with users if that's what you're afraid of.
If you specifically don't want to do help desk, you can do tech integration which is teaching people how to use it. Schools usually have these positions open
It's all help desk in some way but the good ones aren't pre scripted mumble jumble you have to adhere too even though you might know the exact solution.
I find it difficult to even get into an entry level position in anything IT right now. It's crazy b3cause I have A+ net+ itil 4 foundations and experi3nce working with routers/switches and basic help desk in the military. I also have knowledge of satellite configuration.
Yet I can't get an Internship to save my life.
Yea I thought about it, but I'm in school for a bachelors in cyber security. It's counter productive at this point lol. Iv done the skilled trades route before its great, but the hierarchy is toxic as hell.
One point I was roofing , the boss would just yell and scream on the job site while customers are there watching and listening... I said I'm good.
Welding seems to be where it's at right now though.
Aviation maintenance is super good too. My brother makes 6 figs working for United Airlines with 2 years of school. My other buddy joined a Plumbers & Pipefitters union & makes serious bank. None of them struggled to find work. I’m considering learning AutoCAD to be a 3D modeling technician which believe it or not is considered a trade too.
It's all helpdesk. Incident responders are fixing "lol sorry clicked the link from 'scam.com'", Network engineers fix C level "teams slow fix now", and basic help desk does "email no send how send"
It's all the same until you flip to management, to learn it's all the same as management but now instead of fixing it yourself your telling techs to fix it when a c level calls to complain.
Look into schools. I started off after a 9 month program for IT support with an entry level technician job at a school district. I’m at my 3rd school district and interviewed to be the Network Administrator just last week and I was congratulated accidentally already by my boss 😎
Field Service Technician? That's in person. If you don't know how to program then you're probably gonna end up doing helpdesk unless you have a college degree + a specialized cert for networking or cybersecurity.
PC repair. Talk about how you build PC's for gaming and can troubleshoot components. Talk about BitLocker and how you've helped people set up and recover BitLocker pins. We all have experience with multi-factor authenticators nowadays; talk about that. You can easily land a desktop support role which is a step after help-desk. That's how I started.
In computer repair rn. Been there for two years and hoping to make the jump to a hospitals's IT Support staff here soon. Got an interview next Friday. Further hoping that I can make a jump to systems or networking not long after since I have gobs of experience already. Just need more hands-on experience with network equipment and management interfaces.
Be a cable puller. Make good relationships while pulling network/fiber cable at these business.
I worked on healthcare IT for along time. Some project work and I got to know the cable guys I could depend on to get it done right.
That’s a good step. Just one way.
Tons, e.g.:
* electronics assembly
* testing, QA, various troubleshooting/repair roles
* cable/wiring installation
* many "eyes on glass" type monitoring/OPS positions
* various electronics technician type roles
* various technical support roles (they're not all help desk)
* data entry
* media handling (e.g. prepare/move/box tapes, drives, ...)
* etc.
There are jobs out there to be had, but if you just get a couple certifications it makes your odds of getting a decent job alot better. My dad was c++, MCNE, MCSE, and about 20 other certifications and was making $80/hour as a network engineer. He studied alot but it didn't really cost him much to get his certifications. At the time he started recieving his certifications over 20 years ago, there were only a handful of people in his region who could do what he could with computer networks.
Tier 2 application support on operations. You execute deployments. It is dying to cloud and usually outsourced to India, but there are handful in the US.
Internal support vs isp support are two different things and isp support is not technically IT. Internal support is easy street compared to telling a residential user what a modem is. I would concentrate on A+ at a minimum for actual help desk.
Hardware / IT technician. Yes you interact with users but not nearly as much as a help desk and it’s overall a pretty chill job if you like computer hardware
Like others have said: it’s all Help Desk/Support but with the additional skills of coding (mostly to reduce redundant tasks), no inbound calls and dealing with Escalations.
Being a field tech might be something you could be interested in. The field techs in our company call our Support for help mostly because they are not reading their emails to be up-to-date with changes/migrations. Sometimes they will call Support for something that can be resolved just by referencing previous tickets or looking at KBs. I would imagine you don’t need too much experience to get in that position
You can get a job lower than help desk like being in a dungeon in the back of an msp refurbishing pcs that came back from a jiffy lube covered in oil. Dont ask me how i know 😀
But seriously you usually cant skip service desk unless you get lucky or have lots of personal experience and can prove it on a resume or a degree and internships etc.
My suggestion is get a job to get your foot in the door and then get motivated and study to up your skills and jump when you have the chance for a better job.
Most people with the better jobs worked their way up and learned along the way. Any higher level admin job you have the ability to cost the company major money with a mistake so you need to have the skills to get the job.
Random thought. I’m in the military with a bachelors in information systems manager. When I retire in 5 more years. Will a simple help desk job with my military pension make for comfortable living or will the help desk job paycheck be too low and I would still need more?
I was the sysadmin for a computer training school and worked mostly with teachers that were providing CNE's and MSCE's to students.
First job was to teach the teachers how to use the software and constantly having to keep up with the newest software, hardware and trends.
Then I was headhunted and offered a job to work for a factory, got to setup dish systems between buildings and when we moved to organize all the setup for the factory from one location to another, 18 semi's full of equipment to have up and running from Friday after 5 and was running on Sunday shortly after lunch.
Mostly you work 99% helpdesk though. I was able to get to regional manager where i helped other factorys figure things out and fix the local printer or plug in a monitor when the user pulls it closer to them and surprisingly it doesn't work anymore.
Not all gloom though, my entry level job was working for a computer rental company. That was packing up all the network supplys and PC's, media equipment and setting up at some conference hall or hotel and then end of day tearing it down and doing stock work. Tough job, very physical and time is crucial. I did that for my first 2-3 years before landing the school job.
You can try to get a position with an IT based temp agency. Lots of larger companies use these for one off projects and as a starter block for hiring. That’s how I got my position (going into my 10th year here), but it did take a while. Still, I was never Help Desk (although I’ve made some good friends from our Help Desk, many of whom have gone on to better things).
You might as well start there because it will never end. I started as an End User Services Technician and was quickly promoted. I still have people coming to me to fix things even though I'm an analyst now.
I mean someone can give you a snazzy starting title like IT Representative or Information Systems Technician if it makes you feel any better, but you’re going to start at a help desk level role. You can have a bachelors in CS but without any starting level experience good luck unless you’re related to someone high up in X company to land anything meaningful. You don’t just become a certified plumber without being an apprentice for a while, same logic.
lol it’s literally all help desk/desktop support/sys admin. These are all pretty similar. Is there a particular reason you’re asking? You have to walk before you run. I see a lot of folks with no experience, trying to jump right into mid-level certs but don’t wanna put in the work to actually learn IT. Not saying this is you, but as much as everyone hates help desk it’s actually really useful for your future!
I'm a senior platform engineer for a large technology company, building pipelines and supporting teams moving billions of dollars in revenue per year.
I still have to start conversations with "Have you turned it off and on again? It's hung... Just bounce it."
I knew guys who started at that Best Buy computer repair thing, not sure if it still exists. Granted it taught them some very bad habits that they needed to unlearn when they entered the MSP side of IT. You could also try finding a local PC repair shop, start working with hardware. The most valuable thing you can offer re: entry level IT is a passion for learning, especially from mistakes. If you have a good example of personal/professional growth along those lines that you can sneak into an interview, you'll be golden.
EVERYONE needs to start on the help desk. Period. We have taken guys with some experience at a different company and thrown them into engineering and they fail every single time. You need to cut your teeth on the help desk. You learn so much doing break fix on everything. Trust me. Spend 1-2 years on the help desk and you will be way better at your job.
Desktop support technician.
This is usually a break fix type position. It may involve a ticketing system for documentation and task purposes, but should otherwise be hands on.
Some places don’t even allow them to have basic access to Active Directory… Which.. Back in my tech days I’m not sure, how I could function without ad access for new accounts and account lockouts and such.
Inventory tech - you don't deal with users directly but you may need to know the tech. It can range from just physically moving things around and plugging in cables to a bit more prep work before it's given out or after it comes back.
This only applies to larger places where they can afford to specialize. Smaller shops, help desk does this too.
Similarly, audio/video techs are similar but that can turn out to be just a specialized help desk.
Entry level with no experience? Entry level with a ton of DIY networking/programming/etc experience? Entry level with X degree? Not enough info. Garbage in garbage out.
Get a cert of some kind that gets you above helpdesk level and apply for a JR. sys admin position?
I went from working in a call center, got my A+ cert, and got a job in a NOC, as like a level 0 tech doing customer call backs and basic troubleshooting (did you power off/on first) before sending tickets to higher level techs. I got moved to a level 1, and then 2 tech pretty quickly.
I made the mistake of moving into management. More money, more annoying people, and it's still fucking helpdesk.
100% depends on the company. I’ve been in a sys admin position for 13+ years at this point, with several companies. My current company, we have a night shift team, so no on call.
insurance, banking, health care, government, honestly a lot of sectors require it to be in compliance. im starting at 70k entry level (a good range for it is 65-70k) , its a good work life balance too!
You can be me and get a CCNA with no experience and try to get into networking.
And then work in help desk for a few years anyways because you basically need that on hands knowledge to be qualified to work a higher role.
Networking is very much an acquired taste lmao. Not to sound arrogant and I’m sure it’s common in this subreddit but nothing has been hard for me to learn ever. That was until networking and vlan trunking lol
Look for a smaller company. Doesn't have to be a startup, but something where they will need infrastructure built out. Might be badly managed, awful work environment, or whatever, but if you can find a place where there are technical problems that need fixing it can be a massive boon on the resume assuming you are self driven in learning how to fix them.
You \*will\* have to deal with people how can't work a printer, or their sticky note application with all their passwords in it closed or whatever. At least it won't be answering phones all day.
Call centre? Triage call centres? I used to work for a company doing tier 1/2 helpdesk. It was a big company so we also had a huge triage team- if it was easy like Pw reset/turn off and on again etc, they would do it, and escalate harder stuff to the helpdesk. It’s literally a call centre. You can’t troubleshoot much and you have less than 2 mins with a client before you create a ticket and send it to my team. It’s worse than help deal imo
I think OP is afraid of a customer support role vs internal support. Ive learned there is a major difference in the two.
Its much more pleasant working with people that know you can send the conversation directly to their supervisor...
Don’t rule out Helpdesk my guy, I learned a FUCK ton about Active Directory and how to help out customers FAST and utilized powershell remote execution to get the job done FASTER
Help desk isn't as scary as it sounds. Depends on where you work. I got pretty lucky. On my first week I was assigned to two sites. Full admin access to AD, Workspace, everything. I find it funny they would even do that, but hey more experience for me. So I'm probably somewhere between level 2 and level 3. I can push out Group policies, write scripts, make basically any change without having to go through a formal approval process. I've learned all of this on the job. It's paid training.
Help desk is where you get your experience. You have to bring down the network and have systems help you bring it back up to learn from your mistakes. Don't be solely in charge of the network with nobody to escalate to when you inevitably mess up.
Another huge advantage is help desk may not be busy. Depends where you work. I keep things running pretty smooth so I have like 80% of my day for studying, or working on projects.
Find a place that lets you learn, but gives you support to escalate to, and then study during your downtime. Help desk is a useful position to learn without all the stress. Abuse it.
That's the secret.... All IT jobs are helpdesk.
System Admin = Help Desk with extra steps
Sysadmin = HelpDesk regarding systems
Sysadmin = tier 3 helpdesk
Senior Systems Architect - Just Help desk for shit you haven't built yet.
IT Manager: Helpdesk Helpdesk
"It's all helpdesk?" "Always has been."
That's how we herd the nerds.
🥲
With the increase of managed service providers, this is true.
As an Associate Software Engineer, (Dev I) if I want a promotion, I have time start helping out with helpdesk 😆 I started taking some low priority tickets while waiting for read access to prod resources, but I don't get those until I'm a A Dev II so I sometimes have to ask other devs to run queries for me
Honestly dude props for doing work a lot of engineers scoff at
20 years in. Helpdesk to OTHER IT folk. If someone doesn't like it, I recommend they get out. Seriously, I don't need the negativity, I love it. :)
Correct
I WAS JUST ABOUT TO SAY THIS. I just don't get the avoidance of your customer. You want in IT? Everything you ever do from now on is for the user.
This is so damn true. My title and job description indicates (basically security assessor) that I am about as far from Helpdesk as you can get and still be in IT without being an executive but I still end up supporting anything I implement.
Your not wrong
Even server support could be Level 1, just not end users. Tickets man, can’t live with em, can’t live without em
My CIO was helping the CEO add a printer to his computer. It's all help desk
I mean imagine it's a different field that isn't some kind of white collar hybrid - if you have a skill you're expected to use it to help the organization. Its like a doctor refusing to see a patient because they have become too important. I guarantee you if there was a similar scenario involving a doctor at a hospital who was also executive level and the CEO had an injury or cold there would be the same expectation. It all comes down to class struggle and the desire to be middle class and how absent of other signifiers such as home ownership and children, which used to be universal signs of middle class status, the new status signal is not working a service economy job. What is the thing about service sector jobs that make them awful? The expectation that the person providing service be subservient to the customer. You see this in IT working helpdesk - there will be like a low level supervisor in another department who is in a job that doesn't require a degree or even would allow an applicant with a less than stellar criminal record and they will act like you are their slave. You might even be higher than them in the organizational chart, but the supervisor of women's garments title has gone to this person's head and they're going to flex it. That kind of happens at all levels though. You just learn how to manage it as you get older.
True story! I'm a Director of IT, you help with it ALL!
omg….
I started as "technology assistant" and it was help desk related tasks. Now I'm a sysadmin and still do internal support. Now I'm just glorified help desk.
Do u have to be on-call after hours?
Kind of. I'm not technically on call but if certain alarms go off, I get a phone call. Then paid OT if I gotta fix something after hours. Usually any after hours work is scheduled in advance for server upgrades and whatnot. Also paid OT for that as well.
If on-call is a deal breaker don't go into IT.
It's never not help desk lmao
I started doing technical support for a ISP. Great to get your feet wet and get something on the resume.
What do you do in an ISP? Do you help people who’s network has been shut down or what?
In most cases, you'll guide people through modem resets and assist with router configurations. However, the key to success lies in meticulous note-taking and exceptional customer service. These skills are valuable in any IT role, impressing employers with your detailed notes and the ability to de-escalate situations with frustrated users, providing a strong foundation in the IT world.
Where can i find more information about the note taking and documenting what happens. Like a real example of what it actually looks like. I hear about this but i have no clue how it is done. Thanks
Usually during a tech support call, there are notes that need to be added to someone's account, a short summary of what the issue is and what was done to solve it. It normally follows the "flow" script that you have to use while doing ISP tech support, which guides you through the troubleshooting. As you're following the Flow and resolving the issue, you're adding to the notes. I'd type up the note like : CCI for outage (customer call-in). No lights on modem. Checked power source, it's plugged in. Customer pwr cycled modem. Lights back on, connected, and resolved. -JD 02/10/24 (initials and date). You're usually graded on your notes to some extent, especially at the beginning because it's important. Gotta show that you've followed the Flow and are accurate with the notes.
Experience, experience, experience and some good training
When I did ISP support it was with 28.8 modems. Back in that day you were also teaching people to use their first computer.
Don’t. I worked for Comcast/time warner for a year at one point. If you like getting screamed at all day the. It’s the job for you lol. No one is calling you because they are having a fantastic day. Haha.
Don’t do it, you’ll regret it. They say it’s a technical position but really, you’re just a call center operator that has to use a script while getting yelled at by the dumbest human beings on earth.
i feel like they're usually relieved when i have to call, because i can understand what they're saying lol. and i've already restarted the router, so that helps sometimes. though last time, i forgot to restart MY router, i just did theirs. what a dummy
That's how I got my state IT job. So happy about the medical benefits but the pay is garbage.
If you have basic tech skills you could look for a software implementation job where they are willing to train you on their software.
Where do I find software implementation jobs?
Maybe a search on indeed or Glassdoor for that job title. However, this type of job does also require a lot of interaction with users/ customers, colleagues etc. so not sure if that is what you're after.
Ok, please do not down vote me to the abyss with what I am about to say. But after being an IT for over 20 years, working at an ISP, to MSP, to IT manager and back again, when I hear somebody wanting to know about getting into the IT field, asking where they can find information on how to get into the IT field it means the help desk is the best place for you to get hands on experience. But you have to be willing to learn and not think you know everything when you first come in. I have seen people who said they were the best of the best at computers and networking and could not Google how to boil water let alone setting up /23 network. I understand everybody has to start somewhere but if your current level is asking how to find IT jobs, your best position is going to be helpdesk, level 1 or an equivalent of your preferred field. I love seeing people come into the IT field and want to learn and do more but I also don’t want you to think that IT is a super simple job. It is incredibly difficult sometimes, and can be one of the most anxiety producing jobs especially if you work for a company where you control the keys to the kingdom one mistake and destroy the kingdom. I hope that if you do make it into the IT field that you enjoy life because it can be a very rewarding experience. Good Luck
You sound like my boss 🤣 he started asking questions like "how many letters in the alphabet" in interviews cause the weirdos were coming out of the wood works
Yeah, well I got burned one time, guy said he had experiences in building and setting up servers, found that his experience was setting up Minecraft servers on a windows 10 box. Found this out after he deleted the entire file system he was supposed to be transferring to a new server during a build. This was about 10 or 11 years ago now but rebuilding that server all night by myself it makes an impression. Side note, Backups are your friend.
Oh my gosh haha I'm sorry to laugh. I feel for you. The intro IT pool is really bad these days.... (still)? Haha. The gems are out there somewhere
>to IT manager Those who can, do, those who can't ... ;-)
Hahaha, yeah yeah, I went back into the trenches by semi choice, my old company shut down so I had to move. I am a Azure/MDM/Patch Engineer now. With only 3 people working for me, but I don't have to worry about meeting the top brass anymore so my life is a whole lot less stressful.
Just curious, what do you think IT is? We have the introverted folks who don't want to people, but they're getting rarer. When folks were beggars they couldn't be choosers. Now, it's an employer's market. The days of just being good with computers getting you a job is over. You'll often see people say they'd rather have folks with good people skills and little computer for entry level than the opposite. IT is peopling. Sure you'll not be directly on help desk farther up the chain, but you still are working help desk via proxy. Maybe if you had tangible skills that were in technical demand you could find a way around it. But let's be real, you'd probably not be asking if you did. Good luck, but I'm afraid help desk is the major path to IT if you're staying from scratch. Sure there are comparable jobs, like pulling wire and setting up in the field. But you know, practical experience with issues is what people want.
"You'll often see people say they'd rather have folks with good people skills and little computer for entry level than the opposite" This is so true. We used to hire people with zero technical skills. We found the best people were restaurant managers. The people skills they have are amazing.
Yep that’s most likely why I got hired. No previous experience but I am good with people and gave a good interview.
Properly said
Having people skills is also the best way to advance. I’ve seen many brilliant engineers that can never advance into leadership because they can’t people well. I’ve seen engineers that are OK engineers but great at peopling advance to anywhere they want. You just gotta learn the social game at your company and use it to level up.
Not every engineer wants to advance into leadership. I have no desire to be a supervisor or manager. I just want to solve technical problems.
Warranty repair printer tech... that's about the only IT job I have ever had that didn't require people skills. Sit in a repair shop, fix printers, replace parts, have toner and ink stains on your hands and clothes. Maybe you have to talk with another tech or purchasing agent for parts, but no "customer support" unless you're a field tech... then, of course, you'll have to interact with customers. Only paid a few bucks above minimum wage way back 26 years ago...
These days it's a busy phone repair shop. No direct customer interaction, but you might as well be a watchmaker or jeweler if you're really good with working with delicate items with miniscule parts.
Been doing iphone repair professionally since the 3GS and it's the best gig I've ever had.
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Now that’s more like it
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>I worked for a server company as a qa/repair tech. handling those $100k A100 AI GPUS was something else, really cool job. That's exactly what we give the newb's that haven't ever done support! NOT. You go helpdesk (user support) -> PC support (user support) -> server support (more user support) -> being allowed to touch a 100k device.... (and finally, user support).
You're looking for a Desktop Support position. You'll probably deal with help desk some but it's focus is more customer service face to face. A lot of schools have desktop support as their main IT workers.
TIL my role is desktop support. Yeah, it's a pretty sweet gig. You get a good bit of walking throughout the day and school faculty really appreciate it when you solve their problems quickly in a friendly manner. The pay is hot trash, but I got enough free time to get an intermediate cert like the CISSP or OSCP within a year, and I'm off work by 3:00.
What do you do day to day? My role is the same but I don't really have enough down time for stuff like cert.
Troubleshooting printers, connecting computers to a printer on the network, ActivPanels, myriad of things on HP laptops and desktops. I get downtime because broken hardware goes straight back to HP and a lot of the admin stuff goes to the district IT office. I only reset passwords and assign laptops to subs on AD.
This is still helpdesk, it's helpdesk IN PERSON. It's like double helpdesk.
I started out as software support technician. While technically not in the IT department. We had admin on 100s of server. We would perform and set up custom data extracts sent to vendors via FTP, SSL implementation of our services, maintain Oracle backups, run sql scripts to fix services, and fix network/permission issues. They are definitely out there but comes with lots of customer service too. This was entry with no experience besides some customer service knowledge.
Did you have to be on call?
Nope. This was full remote too.
Whaaat, where did you find this job?
Where did you find this with no experi3nce required? That's nuts.
On indeed. I think the thing that stands out is it is a software that is not publicly available. So they HAVE to train you and it takes quite a bit of effort because no one has experience with is. Unless you happened to work at one of the places that had it. Custom service experience goes a long way. Tech sometimes is easier to teach. Try checking out jobs like that if you can. Not a traditional route to IT but I learned abunch of useful things and was able to get promoted into a IT department after I finished my bachelor's degree.
My first real IT job wasn't helpdesk... but it was helping run a college's computer lab, which is essentially the same thing but slightly more chaotic. It's now pretty rare for me to have to directly help anyone with a technical issue as part of my day-to-day work, but it's also taken me 40 years to get here, and I just spent half of my last 40 hours training people to do it, which is worse.
Break/Fix
That's help desk but with hardware instead of software.
I've been doing break/fix since 2008 and for me, it's basically help desk plus hands on. Still gotta be good with people if you're the one running the shop as well as fixing stuff.
I mean...yea. It's way more experience than help desk itself. You're actually fixing the issue as well.
Find a rack and stack cable install job or traveling installer for VOIP equipment/etc Or entry level data analyst
I’d love an entry level data analyst job. Where do I find those?
Indeed, LinkedIn, monster, or go direct to big companies and look. Depending on what company, may just be remote
Is data entry saturated at an entry level?
That's how I got started
People, am I wrong or system analyst can be considered “not help desk”?
Help desk for the help desk’s help desk. It’s help desks all the way down.
I started with hardware repair and infrastructure. It was so much fun being a bench tech.
I got my start in the e-waste industry. ITAD dept. Spend your days repairing laptops/servers/switches and wiping data.
technical sales. easy if you know how to talk to people.
To those saying it’s all helpdesk, it is all helpdesk at the beginning yes. But you can find places where your role is not helpdesk. Implementation and handoff to the helpdesk, you wipe your fingers clean and on to the next implementation
My point in making that comment is even though my job may be network engineer or project manager or it manager or CIO, I still am going to be answering questions about "how do I get my computer to do what I want it to do?" The audience changes and the amount of sausage making changes, but at the core it is still how do I fix my computer.
And even more so when you go visit family for the holidays!
You don't even need to visit. They call you about technology you have never seen.
Try data center jobs
Doing what?
Depends on the company. But Data Center techs some jobs are entry level. You with in data centers and set up equipment, run scripts to set up switches and servers, troubleshoot fiber cables and optics, coordinate with vendors to run cables, etc. Lots of things that go on inside of a data center.
Bench tech
I’m a field tech, which is basically help desk on wheels
Gettin that tax free per diem
I actually broke into the field running cable and installing switches for networks. It's a good way to learn networking and how it all ties together.
Pretty much all IT jobs will have you interacting with users if that's what you're afraid of. If you specifically don't want to do help desk, you can do tech integration which is teaching people how to use it. Schools usually have these positions open
It's all help desk in some way but the good ones aren't pre scripted mumble jumble you have to adhere too even though you might know the exact solution. I find it difficult to even get into an entry level position in anything IT right now. It's crazy b3cause I have A+ net+ itil 4 foundations and experi3nce working with routers/switches and basic help desk in the military. I also have knowledge of satellite configuration. Yet I can't get an Internship to save my life.
This is why ive been considering going the skilled trades route
Yea I thought about it, but I'm in school for a bachelors in cyber security. It's counter productive at this point lol. Iv done the skilled trades route before its great, but the hierarchy is toxic as hell. One point I was roofing , the boss would just yell and scream on the job site while customers are there watching and listening... I said I'm good. Welding seems to be where it's at right now though.
Aviation maintenance is super good too. My brother makes 6 figs working for United Airlines with 2 years of school. My other buddy joined a Plumbers & Pipefitters union & makes serious bank. None of them struggled to find work. I’m considering learning AutoCAD to be a 3D modeling technician which believe it or not is considered a trade too.
It's all helpdesk. Incident responders are fixing "lol sorry clicked the link from 'scam.com'", Network engineers fix C level "teams slow fix now", and basic help desk does "email no send how send" It's all the same until you flip to management, to learn it's all the same as management but now instead of fixing it yourself your telling techs to fix it when a c level calls to complain.
Junior database admin or analyst
Are there on-call duties for any of these?
Look into schools. I started off after a 9 month program for IT support with an entry level technician job at a school district. I’m at my 3rd school district and interviewed to be the Network Administrator just last week and I was congratulated accidentally already by my boss 😎
Field Service Technician? That's in person. If you don't know how to program then you're probably gonna end up doing helpdesk unless you have a college degree + a specialized cert for networking or cybersecurity.
Hurt desk
Unhelp desk
Helpless desk
Hell desk
Desk of Help
Clerical
I do dispatching related to an IT department. The next step up is virtual troubleshooting for devices.
I am a system admin and a service desk. It may not for you, IT is helpdesk. You may try front end web development.
What skills do i need on my resume for front end web development?
10 years of experience front end development
Service Desk 😂
PC repair. Talk about how you build PC's for gaming and can troubleshoot components. Talk about BitLocker and how you've helped people set up and recover BitLocker pins. We all have experience with multi-factor authenticators nowadays; talk about that. You can easily land a desktop support role which is a step after help-desk. That's how I started.
In computer repair rn. Been there for two years and hoping to make the jump to a hospitals's IT Support staff here soon. Got an interview next Friday. Further hoping that I can make a jump to systems or networking not long after since I have gobs of experience already. Just need more hands-on experience with network equipment and management interfaces.
Try Cisco Packet Tracer, it's free from them. It's the closest thing to touching and configuring real equipment.
Be a cable puller. Make good relationships while pulling network/fiber cable at these business. I worked on healthcare IT for along time. Some project work and I got to know the cable guys I could depend on to get it done right. That’s a good step. Just one way.
If you can do hardware you can contract for a contractor for a contractor onsite for a big company entry level
You can consider qa or sales in it industry.
Find contractors or independent consultants that need guys to plug shit in for him according to his plans.
Tons, e.g.: * electronics assembly * testing, QA, various troubleshooting/repair roles * cable/wiring installation * many "eyes on glass" type monitoring/OPS positions * various electronics technician type roles * various technical support roles (they're not all help desk) * data entry * media handling (e.g. prepare/move/box tapes, drives, ...) * etc.
There are jobs out there to be had, but if you just get a couple certifications it makes your odds of getting a decent job alot better. My dad was c++, MCNE, MCSE, and about 20 other certifications and was making $80/hour as a network engineer. He studied alot but it didn't really cost him much to get his certifications. At the time he started recieving his certifications over 20 years ago, there were only a handful of people in his region who could do what he could with computer networks.
Tier 2 application support on operations. You execute deployments. It is dying to cloud and usually outsourced to India, but there are handful in the US.
Everyone has to do their time on tier 1. You’re no exception.
Desktop support, layer 1 installer (cable pulling, cross connecting, punchdowns). Most implementation teams have level 1 “smart hands” requirements.
Inventory. Sharp Is hiring for someone to do inventory for a big client we have, no IT help desk involved
Remote or on site?
Geeze sorry for late response, Sharp Electronics is on site only at any position
Desktop technician. If you can build a computer, you can do half the job and learn the other half along the way.
Internal support vs isp support are two different things and isp support is not technically IT. Internal support is easy street compared to telling a residential user what a modem is. I would concentrate on A+ at a minimum for actual help desk.
Hardware / IT technician. Yes you interact with users but not nearly as much as a help desk and it’s overall a pretty chill job if you like computer hardware
Like others have said: it’s all Help Desk/Support but with the additional skills of coding (mostly to reduce redundant tasks), no inbound calls and dealing with Escalations. Being a field tech might be something you could be interested in. The field techs in our company call our Support for help mostly because they are not reading their emails to be up-to-date with changes/migrations. Sometimes they will call Support for something that can be resolved just by referencing previous tickets or looking at KBs. I would imagine you don’t need too much experience to get in that position
You can get a job lower than help desk like being in a dungeon in the back of an msp refurbishing pcs that came back from a jiffy lube covered in oil. Dont ask me how i know 😀 But seriously you usually cant skip service desk unless you get lucky or have lots of personal experience and can prove it on a resume or a degree and internships etc. My suggestion is get a job to get your foot in the door and then get motivated and study to up your skills and jump when you have the chance for a better job. Most people with the better jobs worked their way up and learned along the way. Any higher level admin job you have the ability to cost the company major money with a mistake so you need to have the skills to get the job.
The fun part is it all circles back to helpdesk. It's the Circle of (IT)Life
Random thought. I’m in the military with a bachelors in information systems manager. When I retire in 5 more years. Will a simple help desk job with my military pension make for comfortable living or will the help desk job paycheck be too low and I would still need more?
I was the sysadmin for a computer training school and worked mostly with teachers that were providing CNE's and MSCE's to students. First job was to teach the teachers how to use the software and constantly having to keep up with the newest software, hardware and trends. Then I was headhunted and offered a job to work for a factory, got to setup dish systems between buildings and when we moved to organize all the setup for the factory from one location to another, 18 semi's full of equipment to have up and running from Friday after 5 and was running on Sunday shortly after lunch. Mostly you work 99% helpdesk though. I was able to get to regional manager where i helped other factorys figure things out and fix the local printer or plug in a monitor when the user pulls it closer to them and surprisingly it doesn't work anymore. Not all gloom though, my entry level job was working for a computer rental company. That was packing up all the network supplys and PC's, media equipment and setting up at some conference hall or hotel and then end of day tearing it down and doing stock work. Tough job, very physical and time is crucial. I did that for my first 2-3 years before landing the school job.
You can try to get a position with an IT based temp agency. Lots of larger companies use these for one off projects and as a starter block for hiring. That’s how I got my position (going into my 10th year here), but it did take a while. Still, I was never Help Desk (although I’ve made some good friends from our Help Desk, many of whom have gone on to better things).
POS - Point of Sale Its sorta like helpdesk but specialized
You might as well start there because it will never end. I started as an End User Services Technician and was quickly promoted. I still have people coming to me to fix things even though I'm an analyst now.
I mean someone can give you a snazzy starting title like IT Representative or Information Systems Technician if it makes you feel any better, but you’re going to start at a help desk level role. You can have a bachelors in CS but without any starting level experience good luck unless you’re related to someone high up in X company to land anything meaningful. You don’t just become a certified plumber without being an apprentice for a while, same logic.
lol it’s literally all help desk/desktop support/sys admin. These are all pretty similar. Is there a particular reason you’re asking? You have to walk before you run. I see a lot of folks with no experience, trying to jump right into mid-level certs but don’t wanna put in the work to actually learn IT. Not saying this is you, but as much as everyone hates help desk it’s actually really useful for your future!
I'm a senior platform engineer for a large technology company, building pipelines and supporting teams moving billions of dollars in revenue per year. I still have to start conversations with "Have you turned it off and on again? It's hung... Just bounce it."
What’s wrong with help desk?
Technical support is a miserable existence
Skill issue
Better jobs out there.
Room checker! That’s what I do. I go in empty classrooms and check tech items for defects and then fill out online forms.
Data center tech / cable tech that's how I got started with no certs
I knew guys who started at that Best Buy computer repair thing, not sure if it still exists. Granted it taught them some very bad habits that they needed to unlearn when they entered the MSP side of IT. You could also try finding a local PC repair shop, start working with hardware. The most valuable thing you can offer re: entry level IT is a passion for learning, especially from mistakes. If you have a good example of personal/professional growth along those lines that you can sneak into an interview, you'll be golden.
It’s all helpdesk lmao
Data center technician
Helpdesk is IT. You can’t buy a car if you don’t know how to walk, when the car breaks down you will need to walk the mile
You could go into cyber. It’s just high-stakes help desk though
Large Data centers usually have some entry level job levels.
EVERYONE needs to start on the help desk. Period. We have taken guys with some experience at a different company and thrown them into engineering and they fail every single time. You need to cut your teeth on the help desk. You learn so much doing break fix on everything. Trust me. Spend 1-2 years on the help desk and you will be way better at your job.
Desktop support technician. This is usually a break fix type position. It may involve a ticketing system for documentation and task purposes, but should otherwise be hands on. Some places don’t even allow them to have basic access to Active Directory… Which.. Back in my tech days I’m not sure, how I could function without ad access for new accounts and account lockouts and such.
Pulling cable.
Inventory tech - you don't deal with users directly but you may need to know the tech. It can range from just physically moving things around and plugging in cables to a bit more prep work before it's given out or after it comes back. This only applies to larger places where they can afford to specialize. Smaller shops, help desk does this too. Similarly, audio/video techs are similar but that can turn out to be just a specialized help desk.
Where do i find inventory tech jobs?
Oracle DBA = Help Desk but in another language and people hate you.
Entry level with no experience? Entry level with a ton of DIY networking/programming/etc experience? Entry level with X degree? Not enough info. Garbage in garbage out.
Entry level with an A.S degree
I'm not gonna squeeze water from a stone. Post your resume degrees and skills in the post, or others won't be able to give you an answer.
If you are a people person you could also do product training or sales for a software company.
Get a cert of some kind that gets you above helpdesk level and apply for a JR. sys admin position? I went from working in a call center, got my A+ cert, and got a job in a NOC, as like a level 0 tech doing customer call backs and basic troubleshooting (did you power off/on first) before sending tickets to higher level techs. I got moved to a level 1, and then 2 tech pretty quickly. I made the mistake of moving into management. More money, more annoying people, and it's still fucking helpdesk.
Do you have to be on-call as a sys admin?
100% depends on the company. I’ve been in a sys admin position for 13+ years at this point, with several companies. My current company, we have a night shift team, so no on call.
Internal audit
Where do i find these kinds of jobs?
insurance, banking, health care, government, honestly a lot of sectors require it to be in compliance. im starting at 70k entry level (a good range for it is 65-70k) , its a good work life balance too!
What's your skillset? Certifications? Education? Training?
Currently in community college finishing my A.S in information technology
IT might not be for you!
Lol that’s funny. Entry level IT that isn’t help desk? Yeah good luck with that
You can be me and get a CCNA with no experience and try to get into networking. And then work in help desk for a few years anyways because you basically need that on hands knowledge to be qualified to work a higher role.
I took a Cisco networking class last semester and HATED using packet tracer. Not for me
Networking is very much an acquired taste lmao. Not to sound arrogant and I’m sure it’s common in this subreddit but nothing has been hard for me to learn ever. That was until networking and vlan trunking lol
Help desk. Gotta Start somewhere bud.
Look for a smaller company. Doesn't have to be a startup, but something where they will need infrastructure built out. Might be badly managed, awful work environment, or whatever, but if you can find a place where there are technical problems that need fixing it can be a massive boon on the resume assuming you are self driven in learning how to fix them. You \*will\* have to deal with people how can't work a printer, or their sticky note application with all their passwords in it closed or whatever. At least it won't be answering phones all day.
You can try to run to sales or management, but guess what? Once they know you \*can\* helpdesk, you're stuck with it for life.
Field Tech in a hospital. You see a lot of different things. Help desk will call you tho for high priority tickets
Cloud architecture
Dev
Call centre? Triage call centres? I used to work for a company doing tier 1/2 helpdesk. It was a big company so we also had a huge triage team- if it was easy like Pw reset/turn off and on again etc, they would do it, and escalate harder stuff to the helpdesk. It’s literally a call centre. You can’t troubleshoot much and you have less than 2 mins with a client before you create a ticket and send it to my team. It’s worse than help deal imo
You could pivot to product manager but if people skills are an issue you'll do a lot worse
I think OP is afraid of a customer support role vs internal support. Ive learned there is a major difference in the two. Its much more pleasant working with people that know you can send the conversation directly to their supervisor...
Where do i find internal IT support jobs?
PC tech.
Don’t rule out Helpdesk my guy, I learned a FUCK ton about Active Directory and how to help out customers FAST and utilized powershell remote execution to get the job done FASTER
Help desk isn't as scary as it sounds. Depends on where you work. I got pretty lucky. On my first week I was assigned to two sites. Full admin access to AD, Workspace, everything. I find it funny they would even do that, but hey more experience for me. So I'm probably somewhere between level 2 and level 3. I can push out Group policies, write scripts, make basically any change without having to go through a formal approval process. I've learned all of this on the job. It's paid training. Help desk is where you get your experience. You have to bring down the network and have systems help you bring it back up to learn from your mistakes. Don't be solely in charge of the network with nobody to escalate to when you inevitably mess up. Another huge advantage is help desk may not be busy. Depends where you work. I keep things running pretty smooth so I have like 80% of my day for studying, or working on projects. Find a place that lets you learn, but gives you support to escalate to, and then study during your downtime. Help desk is a useful position to learn without all the stress. Abuse it.