For those with IT jobs...do you actually know what you're doing?

[HayZeus 2000]

I found there were two things in the IT field that college teaching had prepared me for... and Jack left town. Good thing I spent most of my life tinkering with my own computers or I would have had no idea of what I was doing IRL!

 

[DaiShan]

Yes, I know what I am doing, that doesn't mean I don't have to ask questions sometimes, I might be able to figure out every problem on my own, but time is money. I was worried that I wouldn't be able to hack it because I haven't had that much experience outside of my home network, but the problems are nothing I can't handle especially since all important data is backed up regularly, so if something goes terribly wrong I don't have to worry about wrestling with the OS over it, I can just do a clean install and restore the backed up info. There is always an easy way and a hard way. At work they have it set up the easy way thankfully

 

[DaiShan]

Originally posted by: Soybomb

Originally posted by: MaxDSP
Seems like most of my friends can't tell a PC from a MAC yet they still have decent/good jobs in IT. Im wondering just how many of you actually know 100% of what you're doing at work, and how much of it you learned at college and how much you learned on the job or by yourself.

To be fair what do they do? Not all IT people need to know much about hardware...

Yeah my mom makes big bucks off software development (well project management, but she started as software and still oversees it) and she still calls the tower the hard drive, and honestly believes that no matter if I have used her computer or not, if I have walked by it near the time it has an error I caused it lol

 

[KingNothing]

Just a side note, don't assume that because a job description says that things you don't know how to do are required, you shouldn't apply for it. The job I'm doing right now is mostly different from the description of what I applied for, which is fine because I didn't know half of what was in the description. I know what I'm doing, though.

 

[JEDI]

Originally posted by: Freejack2
Waiting for someone to say their are a 250k/year CTO and don't even know how to turn on a computer.

Raises hand..and it's $1M/year

 

[JEDI]

Originally posted by: alzan
Love the title.

No, I don't know 100% of what I'm doing. Where's the fun in that?

Never went to college.

Learned 50% through OTJ experience, the rest is self taught.

alzan

Got lucky at my 1st IT job. I didnt have a clue what i was doing. Luckily, all IT staff was allowed 24hr access and i came in every weekend for the 1st month to work playing w/the equipment, and learning what i'm suppose to do.

Now i can use a floppy drive and ghost a machine like a PRO

Originally posted by: Rogue
I know just a little bit about everything. Given enough time and the internet, I can configure a Cisco Router/Firewall, setup partitions and file shares (Linux, Unix and NT), establish permissions, configure, setup and maintain an Exchange server, backup/archive SQL Server databases as well as general data functions in a variety of SQL databases, basic web page coding and just about anything you can imagine with hardware. All in all, give me an internet connection and enough time and I'll make it work.

So you have an entry level position, huh? Jr positions know a little about everything. Sr positions are experts in 1 specific field, ie: CCIE

 

[MaxDSP]

Originally posted by: KingNothing
Just a side note, don't assume that because a job description says that things you don't know how to do are required, you shouldn't apply for it. The job I'm doing right now is mostly different from the description of what I applied for, which is fine because I didn't know half of what was in the description. I know what I'm doing, though.

Thats the exact reason I asked this question. Im looking around for jobs and Im seeing all these requirements and qualifications for IT type of work, and its mind boggling. This one ad I saw had a whole paragraph of acronyms, of which I knew like what 10 of them stood for. On top of that, they required 20 years experience in that field :Q.

To be honest, 80% of what Ive learned about computers and tech has been from my own experiences with it, be it reading books, building pcs, messing around with different programs, etc.

 

[minendo]

For those with IT jobs...do you actually know what you're doing?

Let's see. Log into work computer. Log onto AnandTech.

Sure in hell know what I'm doing.

 

[Chaotic42]

I'm the "Network Admin"

:ahem:

Anyway, we have Lantastic based thin coax networks. I'm sorry to say that I know how to use Lantastic. Please don't hate me.

 

[Soybomb]

What field of IT are you wanting to get into? If all your training has come from your personal (at home playing around stuff) experience you're probably going to be way off in requirements for network admin, database admins, etc. You could get an entry level helpdesk/lan repair job and work your way up.

 

[geckojohn]

I'm a network administrator/ telecom engineer and i 0wn U!

j/k!

Anyways, i'm learning every day at my work. New things pop up all the time... i guess that's the beauty of being an IT professional.

 

[no0b]

No idea...... but then again all I'm doing is simple help desk stuff and cleaning computers. Its a start.

 

[jjessico]

Yeah, I know what I'm doing. Of course if I don't then you learn. No one can possibly know everything they might encounter on the job. IT is a large part figuring out the unknown.

 

[isasir]

I'm still trying to figure out how to use this reply function.

testing...

1 2 3

testing..

Did it work?

 

[brtspears2]

Yup, I can do it all. And if I can't do it, give me some time, a book, internet connection and what you want to work and I can get it to work.

 

[Anghang]

Originally posted by: cchen
I'm not using anything I learned in college.... but I know what I'm doing :beer:

 

[MaxDSP]

Originally posted by: Soybomb
What field of IT are you wanting to get into? If all your training has come from your personal (at home playing around stuff) experience you're probably going to be way off in requirements for network admin, database admins, etc. You could get an entry level helpdesk/lan repair job and work your way up.

The majority of my knowledge Ive gained on my own, however I just got my Bachelor's in Telecomm.

 

[MulLa]

Actually it sounds very funny how most if not all ads for IT positions require an IT related degree. Yet.... Almost 99.999% of the people that replied to this thread said their degree taught them nothing about their job.

 

[RealWarlock]

I know what I'm doing.

You put the floppy disk in the CD drive... right?... right?

 

[Jugernot]

Fortunately, I do know what I"m doing... though certain parts of my job are still mysteries.

 

[BurnItDwn]

I'm doing tech support in a help center ... and well ... some of my co-workers have a hard time telling left from right .... though I am pretty sure I know what I am doing (at least thats why I assume the customers are always very happy when they get me instead of someone else .. as well as why everybody else always asking me to explain procedures to them all the time, well not all the time .. usually by midnight Its just me and 2 other people ... and we all know WTF we are doing ... since we don't have anybody else to ask stupid questions to as all the higher lever departments dissapear by like 8pm . ...)

 

[StageLeft]

LMAO at the question. There is so much I do not know but my last couple of clients I've done work for I can comfortably say I understood what was going on from the getgo.

 

[chin311]

I dunno i just keep pressing ALT-F4, and then CTRL-ALT-DELETE, things keep closing and my machine keeps restarting anyone know the problem??

bahhaa, yeah, i know what im doing

 

[rudder]

I know how to reboot a server. Thats been good enough for the last 4 years.

 

[Confused]

Originally posted by: minendo

For those with IT jobs...do you actually know what you're doing?

Let's see. Log into work computer. Log onto AnandTech.

Sure in hell know what I'm doing.

Ditto!


Seriously, though. I've just started a new job 4 weeks ago, and there are quite a few things that I don't know. And I say to people "I don't know, haven't used that before, but will find out"

Somehow I managed to wing it through the application process, and out of 98 application forms submitted, and 5 interviewed, I got the job.

Like others have said, I can normally figure most things out given an internet connection and some time


Confused