Taking my first step in the Job world

[TSeNg]

Hey People!

Well, I have been studing networking for a really, really, really long time now. got cisco certed when i was 16, now expired, couldnt find a job... too young, no experiance. but for some reason i just got offered a job as a network admin for the city. I mean experiance is priceless so im going to take it.

but as much as i studied, and learned i cant come up with the slightist thing do to first when i enter that job. so I ask those whom are network admins for there company to give me some advice....

how should i start a normal work day?
what things should i keep in mind?
what do they (emplyoer) want to see?

or any other tips would be helpful. thank you!
Thnx, i just need a little adivce!

[dnkcrook]

Chris

The most important thing is learning from your peers. Don't dive straight in with recommendations on ripping out the whole infrastructure to put in the 'perfect solution'.
The world of books and exams is not the same as the real world! In a perfect world everyone would have the latest hardware, fat pipes to the net etc.. unfortunately unless you are very lucky most of the equipment you deal with on a day to day basis will be old and abused.
Ask questions, there is no such thing as a stupid question, show initiative where you can, but don't be tempted to implement something without checking with your sysadm.
Keep on studying if you want to progress, by that I mean learn subjects that are interesting to you and helpful in your job. Don't be tempted to download cheat sheets to pass exams, you will soon be found out!
I wish you every success in your chosen career.

Crookie
dnkcrook@hotmail.com

[shadow_dancer]

yo mate ..

any way , congratulation for your job . so it is the first time you work for real eh ?
i had an experience too, at the first time it's really hard for me to sholve many problem ( network troubleshooting ) in my office.. so many ppl mad and didn't satisfy for my result. but that was 7 yesr ago. But my uncle gave me so many support and advices .. he said "Never Give Up " he asked me to read more and more. sometimes theory not always correct ( 90% ) the most important is experiences. if you can mix both of them ( ur theory and experiences ) you will be a great netwrok admin ( i believe that ) . evevyone has changes to be a great guy. so pls don't give up .. what ever had happend to you will grow you up and make you more better .

[thread_killer]

i cant come up with the slightist thing do to first when i enter that job. so I ask those whom are network admins for there company to give me some advice....

how should i start a normal work day?
what things should i keep in mind?
what do they (emplyoer) want to see?

or any other tips would be helpful. thank you!
Thnx, i just need a little adivce!

First thing to do is make sure you arrive earlier than anyone else. This way you can have a couple of cups of coffee in you before the (L)users start making ridiculous demands of you.

Seriously though, I doubt any employer is going to expect you to jump head first into decision making right off the bat. Take a little time to get to know your network. First, ask for all documentation that was done by your predecessor. Then read it. It may help you figure out why some of the decisions have been made in the past. Check out your server rooms and wiring closets. Make sure you know where all your key pieces of equipment are and what they do. It sucks to make what you think is going to be a "minor repair" on something unimportant and find out that you just bounced the server that payroll was using to print everyone's checks. Users don't like things like that too much.

Do's
Always smile and be nice to the users, even when they want you to do something that you are sure a minimally trained rat on crack could do. They are just trying to do their job, and when their computer prevents them from doing it, they are going to take it out on you.

Haggle with vendors.

Get three quotes.

Be on time, be neatly dressed, have a good attitude about working, even if the rest of your world is falling apart. (this is a good do for any job.)

Be honest about what you know, and what you don't. I'd rather have one of my guys tell me "I have no idea how to do that, could I get some help?" Then have him say "Yeah sure, I'll get right on it" and because he doesn't know what he's doing, screw things up.

Document everything you do. Use something like VISIO to make pretty little pictures that a drunken monkey could understand. Everyone will love you for it.



Don't
March into the bosses office after three days of being on the job and proclaim "This network sucks!!!"

Tell a user you will do something for them and then not get around to it. Users will hold it against you forever

Reboot ANYTHING unless you know who's connected to it at the time.

Complain, unless you already have a better solution all thought out.

Yell at a user or call them stupid. To them, you are like the janitor or maintenance man. If their trash is full, they call the janitor, if their light bulb is burned out, they call the maintenance guy..........If they need a new printer cartridge they are going to call you. Even if you have a job title like "Super Duper Uber Diety of Technology Who Will Not Change A Print Cartridge!" Explain very patiently the proper procedure for getting a printer cartridge changed, and that it doesn't involve you. You may have to explain this concept fourteen times to some people.



Anyway....good luck on the new job, and congrats!

[shadow_dancer]

You must be have much of experiences "thread_killer " .... great advices and and it is so detail about how to respect ur job and ppl around you "TSeNg".

good advices Thread.

[Dr_Evil]

Good luck TSeNg.


Just be your self, if you dont know something, just say I'll find out for you.Dont bull - s**t and get into trouble.

Never let others push you around .If they can do it on the first day, they'll do it for the rest of yourlife.

need experiance - yes know I that feeling. And also, ever been to an interview where the manager knows sh*t all about IT. Brings back some memory :- once I was asked how many pins are there on a pci network card for an administartor post.

Ha, Ha, Ha

Anyway good luck, if it's your first job then try to stay for at least two to three years.Cuz the next interviewer will ask:- how many years experiance have you got on the last job ?

Ha, Ha, Ha,

Good luck

Dr_Evil

[waverebel]

One, tip I haven't seen yet,
If you are designing an new system for the company or changing a system, make sure you design it around how people work and not get people to work around the way you have designed it.

Good luck sounds like a great oportunity

[MrLinus]

First off, congrats! It's always hard to get that first admin job and get going at it.

Now, all the advice offered here is excellent and you should take it to heart. There is one more piece of advice I'd like to offer that I tell my students: have fun! Part of being a networking-security geek is that we often love what we do. If it isn't fun, then why do it?

Anyways, good luck and let us know how you survive your first day.

[thread_killer]

Originally posted here by waverebel
One, tip I haven't seen yet,
If you are designing an new system for the company or changing a system, make sure you design it around how people work and not get people to work around the way you have designed it.

This is so true. Just because you think the new Ultra-|337 Binford 1600 VPN concentrator authenticating to a TACACS + server after filtering through two proxies is a good idea, your users will not be happy if they have to type six passwords just to check their E-mail.


A little more concrete advice now that I've had some coffee.

Check your backups first thing every morning
If your backup failed, tell somebody!
Have a written policy in place for everything. If you don't have a policy, come up with one. Don't do it in a vacuum though, get user input.
Make sure your virus scanners are up to date and running.

That ought to get you off to a good start.

[sdkramer]

It's a well duh thing, but above all. Don't make major network changes on a Friday...that is assuming you like your weekends to be yours.