isit normal to at times think "F this"

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I don't know what it is, but I go through spells of not really caring about studying or my job for that matter. Sometimes I just don't see the value in the work I do.. I enjoy IT don't get me wrong but my dear lord am I getting bored with troubleshooting the same issues over and over and over again like the day is on repeat. Anyone get like this?

 

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I am in the same boat as you mate

Currently I have no drive and focus. I do try and change it but sometimes you get caught in a loop as it were. I think my problem is I need progression and although I have progressed where I am, its not enough, I need second and third line constantly.

 

See in Bold mate.
Its got to a point now where I really struggle to get out of bed and I certainly don't see the value in the work I do. I fully agree with the point of doing the same Cr@p over and over for the same people. "Can you setup a VC (Which involves typing a code into a console)", "Ive forgotten my BitLocker code (Despite having the same code for over a year)", I must have dual screen, and I need it now (Despite the desks being so small, they cant contain dual screen, laptop and dock)" In general, all I get is Me, Me, Me, Me, Me.

Add in to that, the fact that I cant get promoted as our main offices are in Leeds (ive already been told that if I did move to Leeds, I would be in a Junior Networking role). Along with the fact that when people are promoted, its because they are friends with so and so (See my thread in the Jobs and Employment section) Life at work at the moment is pretty sh!t.

HOWEVER, Its only me that can me out of this mess. Despite being promised Excellent progression etc, nothing has materialized...So its all down to me. Its down to me to get my Cyber Ops, its down to me to get my CCNA: R&S and its down to me to get a new job, tell them to stick their job. In the long run, it will be their loss and my gain.

Don't get me wrong, I have days where I HATE coming here. When I have those days, it reminds me why I want to get out and gives me that extra push to do another 5 pages of the book, or another 3 CBT Nuggets videos, or a long lab.

As Rhianna once sang, Don't let the B@stards bring you down mate.

Chin up!

 

If there's one thing I've learned - It's never rely on other people or believe anything they say.

Upskill. Get certs on your CV, move companies. Rinse and repeat. Internal progression is basically not real. At least in the way people would like it to be.

 

@Pseudonym has hit it mate.

"Get certs on your CV, move companies. Rinse and repeat. Internal progression is basically not real."

I have found that in the places I have been in, its hard to move up.

If you work hard, help the team, then your line manager doesn't want to lose you (I appreciate it may be selfish from their perspective).
If your lazy, cant be arsed, then the hiring manager doesn't want you.

As @Pseudonym says, Certs on CV, Bum out the door, onto bigger and better things (With more money to boot)!

 

I dont like job hopping tbh, Id rather find a decent company and stay until retirement. My current role demands alot but pays so little (I may aswel go work in retail Id be paid the same) Im motivated by money at the end of the day, being tasked with jobs that arent worth the money is a motivation killer.. they arent even interesting jobs. IT is a selfish thankless industry, and unless you’re a super dooper tech with 100 years of experience, the money sucks! If my pay doesnt go up soon Im off to go work in ASDA which will be less hassle.

 

That's fair enough mate. Each to their own. For me, its usually 3 years tops before I start to get the itch. Don't get me wrong, I like the people I work with, but I couldn't imagine seeing the same faces, going to the same place, on the same train every day (But that's just me).

I work to live, I don't live to work. Given the chance, I wouldn't work at all and live a life of luxury ha ha

 

Sadly, I'm in the same boat as Juelz.
The solution I've come up with is that help desk really isn't for me and I should find work outside this field to "recharge". I could go into details in a separate post...

 

Id be interested in hearing what your experience has been and compare it with my own.

 

In regards to it being a thankles task..what really annoys me is when I spend ages and dedicate myself to an issue which I resolve, and the user doesnt appreciate it and even sees it as “its your fault it broke so you should apologise to me” even though you didnt event the technology they are having issues with.

 

Juelz,

My current job looks to be my first and probably last job in IT. I should have known what I was walking into - I should have asked to see exactly where I would be working (a dark corner of the office with old metal desks and no natural light) and asked to see a sample of the kind of tickets we receive (spelling errors, tickets entitled "locked out of iphone LOL" etc.).

Been here 9 months and I am pretty burnt out. It's just one person (me!) covering 500 users in over 25 different offices with a sysadmin helping out now and then. I don't think of myself as "working in technology", I think of myself as a "digital office cleaner".

I have lost any kind of drive to get my next cert (they are even offering to pay for it, but that would mean staying here for longer...) and I am even starting to set up enterprise networking gear (I was really interested in networking at one time...).

- Tickets open for days/weeks as staff are part-time, work different random shifts or my favourite, lodge a ticket and then go on holiday!

- 75% of tickets arising from legacy hardware (3+ yrs old laptops) because they don't have a hardware replacement policy.

- As I am in healthcare, frustrated by tickets about 2 different 3rd party systems I have no control or access to but somehow am supposed to help people with.

- Tickets which essentially boil down to "do my job for me" eg. clear out junk mail, format a Word document.

- Working weekends and evenings on my first IT project (a training webinar and end-user documentation) with only a handful of people actually showing up to the webinar (about 30 people registered!) and the feedback I got was the documentation was "too much for them".

- Egregious examples of staff incompetence eg. attaching non-approved wifi equipment to an office network thus bringing the network down, randomly unplugging cables from network equipment and printers, moving printers and IT equipment without IT dept. knowledge and somehow expecting us to resolve issues that THEY CAUSED THEMSELVES.

- Lying about special instructions "told to them by IT" when we didn't.

- Resetting a password 5 times in 3 days for the same user. I kid you not. Many of our users have a very, very low knowledge of technology but yet we dish out iphones and laptops to them like Halloween sweets!

- Senior management unable to turn on a monitor ("the screen looks different") or sign into their laptop (CAPS LOCK was on...).

I've even left a text file for the next tech on my laptop so they know what to expect:

"Congratulations! Your inquisitive nature has led you to take a look at the last incumbent's Files and you have discovered this text document!

As you are the new IT Helpdesk Technician for ????, first of all, heaven help you. Secondly, I wouldn't put away your CV just yet.

Do not stress yourself out about meeting any SLAs. There are none here, apart from replying to tickets within 24 hours. There really is no point in killing yourself over a simple password reset. Or resetting the same password five days straight for the same user who keeps mis-typing.

Abandon any notion of thinking that you are in a technology-related job. What this role *really* is, is "Technology Support Worker for Developmentally-Challenged Adults". You will essentially be baby-sitting grown-ups who do not know how to use technology and frankly, probably don't deserve it.

Be prepared to have any suggestions or recommendations that you make to be ignored, as the user base at ???? continues to intentionally damage, unplug or lose equipment. I've even had "managers" just add a wifi router to one of our networks and bring the whole office down.

Also be prepared to be constantly disturbed at your desk for trifling technology matters, some of which are related to non-??? equipment (which is out of your job scope and you should refuse it). You'll also receive tickets which just boil down to "do my job for me". Hopefully you will see through this.

You will also be frustrated by third-party systems that you have no access or control over - as this is healthcare, prepare yourself for this as there are at least 3 that are used here.

Also be prepared for user to straight up lie to you - "But IT said..." when IT actually didn't.

Since senior (and I do mean "senior") management (a retiring CEO who can't figure out CAPS LOCK...another director who wasn't able to turn on a monitor) is wholly clueless about technology but still want to have the latest shiny toys, do not expect the help desk to add any extra staff to look after the growing user base. Your workload will always be high and there will be days when you will be doing back-to-back tickets (particularly after any maintenance windows for in-house or external systems).

If you are able to, please use your non-work time to study and gain certifications so you can find a better job within IT.

Please be aware that any documentation you produce or webinar you represent will be ignored or poorly-attended, so any extra time or effort you put in will not be rewarded or recognized in any way.

You may be called upon to go to other ???? sites for work. Be aware that you are at risk of bed bugs or even assault from mentally-ill people."

Phew, I'm off on holiday in 2 days' time, some of which will be spent finding another job.

 

Sounds truly awful mate.

However places I work they made you raise tickets, then support go on holiday and the system automatically deletes em !
Some of these tickets could take 1-2 hours to fill out.

So yeah, my jobs never sucked as bad as that, but plenty places have dysfunctional IT.

 

I like the thought of tickers being deleted, sounds wonderful.

 

@MasterDelgado sounds rough mate.. Im onto my second IT job and think IT might not be for me. I find it really hard to care about end users issues.. there are a few users at my place who I have all the time in the world for..but 95% are C U Next Tuesdays.

 

So 1st line doesn't sound like its changed much since I went through it. Its true that you may get into IT and find out its not really for you and want to stick to personal IT projects and doing stuff for beer money for mates. But IT won't always be like that for you. Helpdesk and 1st second like roles are high pressure roles and always involve lots and lots of trivial matters for staff.

Depending on which industry you work in they can on the whole be very grateful or otherwise generally rude etc, however I believe that working at the coal face in IT will give you a better understanding of what area of IT interests you and also teaches you a bucket load about customer relations and above all patience. Its essential to learn the skills to be able to defuse a rather sticky situation even if you cannot actually help them. Everyone has been through that stage that you guys are in right now and we all know the thankless task that it is but if you ride it out and follow your interests it won't be long before you'll be rocketing up the ladder to bigger and better things.

I think pretty much everyone in IT get's into it to play with the shiny toys, stare at the flashing lights and press the buttons and most of us unfortunately didn't think about the users which can be a shock.

For example many years ago I was on second line and someone phoned up complaining quite considerably that their computer had suddenly stopped getting emails and getting to the internet. I rock up and immediately detect a rather unpleasant odour. I look under the desk and they had rested a fan heater on the network cable and burnt right through it. I explained what they had done but they didn't seem to care too much. Also it was a blimin furnace in their office!

Typically I would expect someone with some drive would likely spend around 12-18 months in first and second line before moving on, I would spend some time if I were you thinking about what you do and see if any area at all attracts your interest, forget about the users for a minute and really think about the tech. IT doesn't start and end with password resets and paper jams if you stick at it and follow your interests, if you really can't think of anything then without sounding harsh it might be worthwhile looking elsewhere.

 

I dont know what Id do if I didnt work in IT.. without going back to formal education (which would cost money) you are pretty much limited to retail. I wouldnt mind an outside type job.. but we have to consider that moving out of IT with no real other skills means less money. Im paid pretty shitly now tbh but theres potential to earn alot more soon, which is why Im still at my current gig, if the wage does increase soon though, Im off for sure.