Scavenger Hunts

Life is more manageable when approached as a scavenger hunt, rather than a suprise party.

- Jimmy Buffet

Technical Support is, by its nature, a reactive job - it's very hard to be proactive in an environment where your purpose for being there is to "fix things".  In my experience, there are two ways to approach the situation:

•  a never ending series of emergencies which require immediate, adrenaline-laden flurries of frantic activity to fix whatever was broken (and try and prevent that from happening again); or
•  a series of interesting challenges which can be overcome with enough research, questioning, and learning (and can then be documented so you can recover gracefully 

I leave it to you to decide which way leads to less stress and irritation at your customer base.

 (and yes, we're back on line - your humble blogger got himself a new contract gig and has been, well, busy doing tech support - we'll get more info and useful tools out here shortly)

 

 

 

Update! Update! Update!

This holds true for most jobs, but especially in the area of IT and Tech Support:  When you learn a new skill, get it on your resume as soon as possible.  Partially because it follows the Write Everything Down rule, and partially because you can use your resume to remind yourself about your skills and experiences when it comes time to think about your next assignment, job, or career choice.

It also doesn't hurt to have an updated resume just in case someone points out an opportunity, of course...

Starting Out: The Contract Gig

It can be challenging to get into the Tech Support industry - although there are plenty of postings for job openings, there are also plenty of applicants for those openings.

One alternate way to get experience in Tech Support is to work short term "contract" assignments.  Many companies need IT personnel for their internal "Help Desk" or Technical Support for their customers on a temporary basis. Even more companies use contract employees to fill the need for more bodies on a seasonal basis, or to "try out" new employees before committing to full-time employment.

If you're starting out as a tech, do a few searches for "technical staffing" on the search engine of your choice. The odds are good you will find at least two agencies in your area who provide temporary employment (also known as "contract").  Call, email and make appointments with the understanding that you're just starting out.

If you're an experienced tech and currently "between jobs", a contract agency can help you fill the gaps between full time employment. Some techs simply go from contract gig to contract gig, as it allows them flexibility and the ability to decide when and where they work.

Working with agencies can make job-hunting easier: the agencies are paid by the companies who are looking for help, so they're motivated to help you get work!

Happy New Year from 20 Years...

Here's hoping 2011 brings you more of what you want and less of what you don't want - and here's hoping that what I can give you as a result of shaking out my brain for tips, tricks and things that actually work helps keep you sane and employed.


Onward!

Oh, and here's a Titanium Spork.

Welcome.

Let's set some ground rules here: I'm  40-something mutidisciplinary geek (fine arts / theatre / music ) and part time gadget fiend. I started working in the Technical Support industry in 1988. I've been pretty steadily employed for one company or another as Tech Support or Helpdesk since then.

It's now 2010.  By my math, that's ... over 20 years in Tech Support.

According to industry wisdom, six months to a year is a "long time" for someone to be in Tech Support for one company. So far I've worked for each of the companies who dared employ me for at least one year - my longest gig is the current one, and that's clocking in at 9 years in April.

So that's a long time. How do I manage to keep doing it? What have I seen? What have I heard? What do I feel like talking about?

Interested?

All right, we'll begin.

20 Years in Tech Support