So what do you do for a living?

[Red Squirrel]

NOC tech. I basically watch alarms and do stuff if one comes in. Deal with all sorts of stuff from environmental alarms (power/temp etc), microwave radio, fibre optics, misc CO equipment, DMS10/100 etc... pretty much anything that is involved in our telecom infrastructure. We now watch 3 separate telcos (all owned by same company). It's generally cushy but when there's storms or a fibre cut or anything it can get pretty hectic. Lot of interesting stuff happens, like we had one building get hit by lightening and it caused tons of outages etc. We're basically damage control in those situations, updating whoever calls us, calling techs out in middle of night etc...

I use to be a server tech which one would consider as a "higher tier" job but I actually prefer this job, it pays more and is less stressful, so it's a win. Not customer facing either, except for the odd overflow 611 or data circuit call. Server tech was directly customer facing. My idea of server tech originally was that you are not customer facing but that is FAR from the truth.

The hours are awesome too because it's shift work, so the more 12h shifts I work the more days off I get. Right now I'm on a set of 6 12hour nights in a row, after that I'm off for like 8 days. I've had times where I got like 2 weeks off in a row, just depends on how the schedule ends up. Lots of overtime opportunities too.

With this job you have to know a bit of everything though, when I first started I thought I was in over my head. Heck even now I would not say I know everything. There is just too much, everybody kind of has their own stuff they are more an expert at failing that we have tons of documentation... just the thing of finding it when you're looking for it lol.

...and an RCU just crapped out as I typed this, bringing it back up now.

 

[XavierMace]

If your server techs are customer facing, you're doing it wrong. LOL.

 

[Red Squirrel]

If your server techs are customer facing, you're doing it wrong. LOL.

Yeah it was an odd setup, I actually worked at the customer's premises. We were basically acting as helpdesk and server tech, even though there was a real help desk. People would just walk in and ask for stuff. The IT manager (the customer) was basically our boss and always breathing down our neck.

 

[core2slow]

Highly paid, glorified desktop support tech who also does virtualization design and engineering.

 

[John Connor]

So what do you do for a living?

Who's your daddy and what does he do?

well... I make rich people richer.

 

[Harrod]

Hourly network analyst for a decent sized isp. I mostly do Voip work now, but help other teams with data issues as well. I'd say in a given week I do about 8 hours of actual work. I spend my downtime reading mostly cisco books and some security related books. I have a real problem with getting motivated to setup labbing equipment though, so most of that stuff is done virtually if I can help it.

 

[ch33zw1z]

IT hardware support and services. Work on anything from desktops to mainframes.

I spend most of my time baby sitting non-technical people like PM's , over coming language barriers, and researching procedures for upcoming changes at customer accounts.

This description barely covers it. I'm an IT whore, with a pimp who gets to keep most of the money.

 

[BarkingGhostar]

Call Drop Inducer for Apathetic Tyrant & Televangelist Wireless

 

[ControlD]

Electrical engineer working as a senior PM in the machining/assembly/automation industry. Been doing this job for about 22 years now in various capacities.

 

[msi1337]

SysAdmin for a private company

 

[Ruptga]

well... I make rich people richer.

That doesn't really narrow it down.

 

[PricklyPete]

I'm in the dreaded middle management position. Luckily my team is responsible for all advanced tech at our company. We search for pain points and see if they have applications for new tech (software mostly). Turns into lots of fun development where I still get my hands dirty. Unfortunately I'm being "groomed" to replace my old boss and my current boss (there really should only be one role...but they are both close to retirement so they are waiting on that to consolidate the role). When that day comes, management duties will crowd out my chances to get "dirty". Not looking forward to that day.

 

[Kaido]

IT Hardware for Small Business. I alternate between stints on-site (office job) & doing freelance. Desktops, networks, servers, and machine tools primarily.

I love it, but it is a disappearing field. Google just introduced their new mesh-networking Wi-Fi routers, which are amazing. The second-gen "computer on a stick" models are out for $129 with a copy of Win10:

https://www.amazon.com/Intel-Compute-Computer-processor-BOXSTK1AW32SC/dp/B01AZC4NHS/

More & more people are (smartly) switching over to Chromebooks these days, which typically run in the $199 range & never require any maintenance outside of a simple "reboot to update". Servers are all virtualized these days; even if you don't want to spring for a Dell or HP, you can whitebox a Supermicro with 40 cores, 500 gigs of RAM, and crazy-fast SSD's for under $20k these days, which is chump change for being able to run a dozen stable servers in a single 4U box. Synology, QNAP, & others make amazing NAS boxes that you can stick 10TB drives in & build 200TB+ SANs with only a screwdriver (some of the new ones are even tool-free!) for backup, file storage, iSCSI network drives, etc. Everything is getting easier, cheaper, more reliable, and more feature-packed.

Even desktop VDI is growing, especially thanks to NVIDIA's GRID & Tesla cards; you can rent out a desktop computer VM (with a GPU!) from places like Paperspace & Amazon for an hourly or monthly fee that has multiple cores, plenty of RAM, and SSD, a 1Gbps connection, and even an actual video card, and simply stream your computer to your giant iPhone, Android tablet, or 2-in-1 Chromebook just like Netflix. Cloud computing places like PixelPlow let you do DCC on your desktop & pay to use a supercomputer to do the rendering for you instead of waiting around forever.

Helpdesk will never disappear, nor will support for machine tools because those are complex beasts, but my days of having fun building custom computers & networks are definitely coming to a close. For probably the last two years straight, nearly all of the machines I've "built" have been mini NUC & BRIX computers that really only require a screwdriver & 2 minutes to assemble. Lately I've been playing with the Razer Core (external GPU chassis) to see if it's a valid replacement for engineering workstations; this lets you build a mini computer (Skull Canyon NUC) & attach something like an 8GB GTX1080 via a USB-C Thunderbolt 3.0 cable & basically have a modular engineering or gaming computer. I suspect that they'll eventually figure out VDI to the point where 99% of users will go back to the dumb terminal/mainframe model of computing. With the Razer Core, you can buy Razer's tiny ultrabook for relatively cheap ($999 for something as thin as a Macbook Air) & plug the eGPU chassis into it & game, so you get the best of both worlds.

Times are a-changin'! The last big shift I saw was when we got quad-core CPU's & SSD's...that made computers (1) boot up super fast, and (2) made all of your programs open basically instantly. Then we had the big shift to smartphones...why use a computer when you have a giant 6" touchscreen with you at all times that you can talk to to type for you & answer your questions? It will be interesting to see how computer jobs will play out over time...I think this is why the development world has been exploding, everything is about apps & software usefulness now that we've more or less conquered acceptable CPU performance on most devices (laptops, smartphones, etc.).

I think I'm going to jump into filmmaking at some point. Only problem is I like having a steady paycheck so I can pay my bills on-time lol.

 

[Kaido]

I'm in the dreaded middle management position. Luckily my team is responsible for all advanced tech at our company. We search for pain points and see if they have applications for new tech (software mostly). Turns into lots of fun development where I still get my hands dirty. Unfortunately I'm being "groomed" to replace my old boss and my current boss (there really should only be one role...but they are both close to retirement so they are waiting on that to consolidate the role). When that day comes, management duties will crowd out my chances to get "dirty". Not looking forward to that day.

I actually left a job prior to this one because of that...I did not want to take over the management position. I like dealing with machines, not people lol.

 

[Kaido]

IT hardware support and services. Work on anything from desktops to mainframes.

I spend most of my time baby sitting non-technical people like PM's , over coming language barriers, and researching procedures for upcoming changes at customer accounts.

This description barely covers it. I'm an IT whore, with a pimp who gets to keep most of the money.

...yup.

 

[Demoralized]

Still in the tool & die trade running a surface grinder with a little bit of welding thrown in.

I do lots of welding with a little bit of grinding thrown in. But the money is great.

 

[PricklyPete]

I actually left a job prior to this one because of that...I did not want to take over the management position. I like dealing with machines, not people lol.

Yeah, it will be hard decision point in my life. I don't mind working with people, but my real talent is on the technical end. I know I could easily jump off and make a lot of money consulting (it is what I did before my current job), but I make more than i need now and I get to leave at 3pm every day to be with my family and live my life. I've found living by a reasonable, regular schedule has made me happier and healthier.

That being said, I've been working with a mountain biking friend who is in upper management at small oil & gas company on some glaring tech gaps in the industry that might provide a startup opportunity. If that happens I know my schedule and work balance will totally blow up...and that would be hard as well.

 

[Jeeebus]

law talking guy

 

[Kaido]

Yeah, it will be hard decision point in my life. I don't mind working with people, but my real talent is on the technical end. I know I could easily jump off and make a lot of money consulting (it is what I did before my current job), but I make more than i need now and I get to leave at 3pm every day to be with my family and live my life. I've found living by a reasonable, regular schedule has made me happier and healthier.

That being said, I've been working with a mountain biking friend who is in upper management at small oil & gas company on some glaring tech gaps in the industry that might provide a startup opportunity. If that happens I know my schedule and work balance will totally blow up...and that would be hard as well.

Yeah...I've taken jobs that pay well but that I've hated. And I made way more consulting full-time as a freelancer than I have at my last few corporate-type jobs, but I like having a fairly regular schedule (even tho I work a lot of hours) & the happiness payoff is more important to me than the higher paycheck. I do a job I enjoy, I'm paid enough to live fairly comfortably, even if it means having to save up for stuff a bit longer, I don't have to manage anyone, and I'm not super stressed out 24/7. It all depends on what floats your boat tho...I have a buddy who doesn't even like dental work, but became a dentist because it pays bank. It's just a job to him, but he enjoys the money outside of work on watersports toys & traveling, so that's what works for him!

 

[slightlyhuman]

freight broker in the rubber industry

 

[Rifter]

Sameday courier Dispatcher

 

[rcpratt]

I feel like this topic comes up several times per year.

I'm an engineer working for the local electric utility. Currently, I manage a group that is responsible for procuring and planning deliveries of coal, natural gas, and oil to our power plants. We buy, transport, and deliver about $700,000,000 worth of fuel every year.

 

[BW86]

IT supporting Medical Billing Offices, Doctors Offices, etc.

 

[Oyeve]

IT director. Same shit I've been doing for the last 30 years. 6 figs and I get to troll AT all day.

 

[deustroop]

I recently retired from a commercial litigation practice with the federal government. CBSA, CSIS and CRA were my primary clients. Before that I was a political assistant to several prominent politicians, federal and provincial. Law and politics have kept the career somewhat interesting. Pay your taxes , declare everything purchased when you return home from abroad and don't get shirty when strip searched and we would never have met.lol.