Slashdot Mirror
Ask Slashdot: Do Older IT Workers Doing End-User Support Find It Gets Harder With Age?
Longtime Slashdot reader King_TJ writes: I've worked in I.T. for almost 30 years now in various capacities, from bench PC technician to web page designer, support specialist, network manager, and was self-employed for a while doing on-site service and consulting too. In all that time, I've always felt like I had a good handle on troubleshooting and problem-solving while providing good, friendly customer service at the same time. But recently, I've started feeling like there's just a little too much knowledge to keep straight in my brain. If I'm able to work on a project on my own terms, without interruptions or distractions? Sure, I can get almost anything figured out. But it's the stress of users needing immediate assistance with random problems, thrown out willy-nilly in the constant barrage of trouble tickets, that I'm starting to struggle with.
For example, just this morning, a user had a question about whether or not she should open an email about quarantined junk mail to actually look through it. I briefly noted a screenshot she attached that showed a typical MS Office quarantined email message and replied that she could absolutely view them at her discretion. (I also noted that I tend to ignore and delete those myself, unless I'm actually expecting a specific piece of email that I didn't receive -- in case it was actually in the junk mail filter.) Well, that was the wrong answer, because that message was a nicely done phishing attempt; not a legit message -- and she tried to sign in through it. Then, I had to do a mad scramble to change her password and help her get the new one working on her phone and computer. With more time to think about what happened, I'm realizing now that I should have known the email was fake because we recently made some changes to our Office 365 environment so junk mail is going directly into Junk folders in Outlook -- and those types of messages aren't really coming in to people anymore. On top of that? We're trying to migrate people to using two-factor authentication so I was instructed to get this user on it while I'm changing her account info. Makes sense, but I had to dig all over to find our document with instructions on how to do that too. I just couldn't remember where they told me they saved the thing, several weeks ago, when they talked about creating the new document in one of our weekly meetings. Am I just getting old and starting to lose it? Is everybody feeling this way about I.T. support these days? Are things just changing at too quick a pace for anyone to stay on top of it all?
I mean, in just the last few weeks, we've dealt with users failing to get their single sign-on passwords to work because something broke that only an upgrade to the latest build of Windows 10 corrected. We've had an office network go berserk and randomly drop people's Internet access, ability to print, etc. -- because one of the switches started intermittently failing under load. We've had online training to set up a new MDM solution, company-wide. And I had to single-handedly set up a new server running the latest version of vCenter for our ESXi servers. And all of that is while trying to get in some studying on the side to get my Security Plus cert., getting Macs with broken screens mailed out for service, a couple of new computers deployed, and accounts properly shut down for an employee who left, plus the usual grind of "mindless" tickets like requests to create new shared DropBox team folders for groups. It's a LOT to juggle, but I was pretty happy with my ability to keep all of it moving right along for years. Now -- I'm starting to have doubts.
For example, just this morning, a user had a question about whether or not she should open an email about quarantined junk mail to actually look through it. I briefly noted a screenshot she attached that showed a typical MS Office quarantined email message and replied that she could absolutely view them at her discretion. (I also noted that I tend to ignore and delete those myself, unless I'm actually expecting a specific piece of email that I didn't receive -- in case it was actually in the junk mail filter.) Well, that was the wrong answer, because that message was a nicely done phishing attempt; not a legit message -- and she tried to sign in through it. Then, I had to do a mad scramble to change her password and help her get the new one working on her phone and computer. With more time to think about what happened, I'm realizing now that I should have known the email was fake because we recently made some changes to our Office 365 environment so junk mail is going directly into Junk folders in Outlook -- and those types of messages aren't really coming in to people anymore. On top of that? We're trying to migrate people to using two-factor authentication so I was instructed to get this user on it while I'm changing her account info. Makes sense, but I had to dig all over to find our document with instructions on how to do that too. I just couldn't remember where they told me they saved the thing, several weeks ago, when they talked about creating the new document in one of our weekly meetings. Am I just getting old and starting to lose it? Is everybody feeling this way about I.T. support these days? Are things just changing at too quick a pace for anyone to stay on top of it all?
I mean, in just the last few weeks, we've dealt with users failing to get their single sign-on passwords to work because something broke that only an upgrade to the latest build of Windows 10 corrected. We've had an office network go berserk and randomly drop people's Internet access, ability to print, etc. -- because one of the switches started intermittently failing under load. We've had online training to set up a new MDM solution, company-wide. And I had to single-handedly set up a new server running the latest version of vCenter for our ESXi servers. And all of that is while trying to get in some studying on the side to get my Security Plus cert., getting Macs with broken screens mailed out for service, a couple of new computers deployed, and accounts properly shut down for an employee who left, plus the usual grind of "mindless" tickets like requests to create new shared DropBox team folders for groups. It's a LOT to juggle, but I was pretty happy with my ability to keep all of it moving right along for years. Now -- I'm starting to have doubts.
I don't know that it gets harder with age ... maybe one just gets more cynical. In your 20s, you feel good doing anything that pays well and gives you some money to party and have fun with.
I learned that it wasn't something I wanted to do long-term after a decade or so in the business. There's too much good to be done in the world, research to work on, things to learn to waste the rest of one's life picking up after the errors of large software companies.
" I just couldn't remember where they told me they saved the thing, several weeks ago, when they talked about creating the new document in one of our weekly meetings. "
The problem is that every single meeting there are several of these " things " you're supposed to keep up with. The problem is every single meeting, those " things " you're supposed to remember from the last meeting gets changed to a " new " process or archived in favor of something else. Pretty soon, you have no idea which " things " are still active, which process is the current one or even what fucking day it is. . . . :|
All the while you're still putting out fires on a daily basis, headcount comes and goes and somehow it magically became your job to train the new people because when you asked management for a training budget and / or even the time to train them, you got laughed off the call.
One day, you just give up.
Eventually, you come to realize you've become the old timer you used to hate when you first started working for the company. The only difference is now you understand how they came to be that way.
If you feel you might be going that way, tech support can give you some practice. Seriously though, if you work tech support for any amount of time, it ruins how you think of your fellow humans. There is no way you can look at people and think "they know what they're doing" anymore. Sure, they don't all need to be tech experts, but some things are easy, and after explaining them four or five times, there's only one conclusion: These people are idiots. Don't do tech support, not even if you're good at it.
As you can imagine, the users aren't the main source of frustration. Our IT department is easily the dumbest on God's gray Earth, and the stupid flows downhill from the very top. The business model seems to be "make a change that breaks tens of thousands of computers -- or hundreds of thousands of user profiles -- and let the Help Desk fix them one at a time as they call in." We basically work for Dilbert's PHB, and our company is circling the drain while we divest locations and cut costs by laying off staff and ditching M$ Office for GSuite... both of which are making the call queues even worse.
I feel your pain, and this is my experience as well. The decision-makers at the top have risen to the level of their ignorance and incompentance, and are beyond the most rational and constructive criticism. Hold your tongue, and silently nod at any request, no matter how absurd.
All IT doers/admins want what once was widely the way: initially, there is a lot of work wrangling networks and clients and endusers, but there is light at the end of the tunnel, the work gets done, and then eventually, the work is merely monitoring and putting out small fires, and it almost appears to any that take a brief look at your job that you do nothing, but any deep hard look reveals that you set up the system for victory... less and less incindents. But the new way is that the guys at the top inexplicably get seduced by vendors coming up with ways to make money that invariably involves change with no benefit.
You must not complain. Try to see the benefit! Almost invariably, 90% or more of the incident tickets will require the same tasks over and over. Its that variating remaining 10% that bites you in the ass, due to unfamiliarity because of the rarity of the incident. So you learn the 90% like it is the back of your hand, and don't sweat the repitition, it is job security if nothing else (even if maddeningly unnecessary if only smart decisions were made by management). Any time you come across one of the rare incidents, document it, and make your own incident database. You don't need to memorize, just remember that you have come across it before, and know right where to look for the solution: your own notes to yourself.
Never share this information with younger IT workers willingly, but be subtle about holding back. And remember how Scotty from the Enterprise became a miracle worker... by the padding time to completion, and always completing the impossible task in half the time required or less. There absolutely is age discrimination in IT, and you must make yourself and remain essential to operations.
Hate the game, but play to win (and remain employed) nevertheless. And do not be tempted to take your work home with you. Leave it there if possible, and if you start dreaming about work during sleep, effectively working in your sleep, get into therapy, find a way to stop thinking about work. You own your life, not some shitty mindless fragile network or server rack.
When I was in my early 50's,
I think people might be missing the fact that "once upon a time" being tech support was a job with prestige and advancement - now it's just a bit above working in retail.
Almost every job besides investor is subject to being devalued one day.
>>"ad space available -- low rates!!!"