IT internships, and intimidation.

[Babzu]

So iv been going to a tech school for a while, iv taken my intro classes and I feel like I need to start looking into an internship, I found one posted that said it only requires you be seeking a degree in an IT field. It was for helpdesk.

Im very tempted to go for it, but im worried, am I ready for help desk? Can I do it? What if I dont know how to handle a ticket or call?

Is there anyone who has done this type of thing before? Im literally hyperventilating at the thought of failure.

[Darsithis]

Moved to off-topic

[Deleted]

IT helpdesk?

You're going to need patience more than knowledge. Most the people you're helping out are going to be old ladies trying to figure out how to skype their grandchildren.

Either that, or people who when you tell them to restart the computer by "Turning it on and off" will simply turn the monitor on and off.

Edit: http://www.reddit.com/r/talesfromtechsupport

There, a perfect example of the sort of people you'll end up dealing with a lot of the time.

[Deleted]

I started in a helpdesk position around 7 weeks ago, following an apprenticeship (UK internship).
It is quite daunting going in, because as you say, you are held to SLA's and expected to be able to resolve issues quite easily and quickly, excluding any escalations.
When I first started in the position I was certain I wouldn't be able to do the job to the standards expected.
7 weeks in and I am breezing through calls each day.
Basically, if the company is worth anything, it will have a decent training program, particularly if it is an internship, you won't be going into the position and be expected to be fantastic.

My experience of a good Helpdesk, ( I work for Specsavers, biggest opticians brand in UK and branching into Europe, so a big company) is that is that it is incredibly team focused, there should always be someone around to ask for help on resolving an issue you are stuck with.

I think one half of being a good helpdesk analyst is also time management skills, and the ability to investigate i.e. ask tons of questions to get as much info as possible.

I would say go for it!

[Deleted]

IT helpdesk?

You're going to need patience more than knowledge. Most the people you're helping out are going to be old ladies trying to figure out how to skype their grandchildren.

Either that, or people who when you tell them to restart the computer by "Turning it on and off" will simply turn the monitor on and off.

Edit: http://www.reddit.com/r/talesfromtechsupport

There, a perfect example of the sort of people you'll end up dealing with a lot of the time.

This is quite accurate if you are in first line support. In second/third line support it changes a bit though and the more, eh.. retarded questions becomes less common.

http://www.reddit.com/r/techsupportgore/
Also, would like to post this in addition to the reddit you linked Even if a bit rare you do come accross more odd things in that line of work.

What if I dont know how to handle a ticket or call?

Depends on what position you are getting placed in, if you can't handle something by phone it gets redirected to third or second line which is the guys actually going to the client calling.

[Aldred]

I'd agree that patience is one of the key attributes you'll need. I wouldn't worry about not being able to handle every call. If you know your way around the operating system and typical applications people will be using just at a user level, you're already well placed to help. The stuff that you can't solve should be getting passed up to your supervisor/second line support/software provider, etc.

Really though, most people that call up are likely to be eh.. not as computer literate as you might hope. So you'll spend a lot of your time explaning to them how to do really simple things, rather than being challenged technically.

[Deleted]

Most of the time there will be some sort of training first and frankly, it's more easy than you might think.

In a matter of weeks you'll see thats theres maybe two dozen of recurring problems which you'll fix in a matter of minutes very easily, with the occasional "rare" problem you'll encounter but there's always someone to ask arround or just google it and you'll find the fix.

You'll be able to fix almost any problem very fast as you'll go along because you've already seen them and it's almost always the same ones, whats needed is people skills, patience, and asking the right question to diagnose the problem.

Asking the exact right questions can make the difference between a good diagnostic and a problem fixed in a couples of minutes, and someone telling you random things because they are huge newbies and leading you nowhere.

Then comes people skills which will come as you answer call, being patient and polite when people are very pissed and rude, calming them down and helping them.

Do not overthink it, it's a really fun job it you like contact with people and IT

Good luck

[Warwithin]

I've worked IT help desk and I'm not even a computer-related major lol, I'm just good with computers and approached the IT guy at my internship and said "I want more hours let me do IT Help Desk for you".

It's mostly filtering emails, either doing them if you can or delegating them to who can. Depending on the company, might change printer toner, fix printers, fix computers, install things, move computers, and change out computer parts. It's really easy lol

[Reeve]

So iv been going to a tech school for a while, iv taken my intro classes and I feel like I need to start looking into an internship, I found one posted that said it only requires you be seeking a degree in an IT field. It was for helpdesk.

Im very tempted to go for it, but im worried, am I ready for help desk? Can I do it? What if I dont know how to handle a ticket or call?

Is there anyone who has done this type of thing before? Im literally hyperventilating at the thought of failure.

Help Desk isn't so much about how much you know. It's more about how good you are at troubleshooting and making extensive use of Google when you don't know the answer. As long as you have the patience to deal with people who never bothered to learn what a hard drive was, you'll be fine.

[Badpaladin]

Just keep this in mind:

They know you're going to be a beginner.

Say that again and again and again until it's the first thing that comes to your mind when you hear the word "IT". They're going to expect a certain amount of competency, but not to the point where you could immediately replace a current worker.

[Endus]

Also, this phrase is gold; "Would you mind if I put you on hold for a moment while I check a few things on our end?"

Then, put them on hold, and Google/bug your neighbour/etc. You want to get the customer on hold (though this is a short break; most jobs expect you to touch back in every 60-90 seconds or so, at most) so you can figure stuff out. The key is making the reason 1> plausible, and 2> nigh-impossible to fact-check from their end; vagueness and lack of detail is critical. Anything network-related can be summed up with "check some things on our end". Even if their PC is connected to the network; that means anything with their PC is "on your end" through the network. Remember; they don't know as much as you. If they did, they wouldn't be calling, or they'd be telling you exactly what the issue was to begin with.

And like the flaming llama above me said; it's an internship. Interns are supposed to be clueless newbies. It's part of the learning process. They won't be expecting you to fix the issues they can't handle, they'll be using you to take the load off by taking some of the easier cases.

[Greeney]

So iv been going to a tech school for a while, iv taken my intro classes and I feel like I need to start looking into an internship, I found one posted that said it only requires you be seeking a degree in an IT field. It was for helpdesk.

Im very tempted to go for it, but im worried, am I ready for help desk? Can I do it? What if I dont know how to handle a ticket or call?

Is there anyone who has done this type of thing before? Im literally hyperventilating at the thought of failure.

Nobody feels ready when they start, and they won't expect much of you at the start. They'll know it's going to be a learning process for you for a few months. Go for it.

[haloa]

As people already said, nothing to worry about, patience and kindness is what you'll need more than technical expertise. Good luck

[Belize]

As people already said, nothing to worry about, patience and kindness is what you'll need more than technical expertise. Good luck

Yeah, I've interned at a high school school IT dept. And most of my days were spent playing starcraft 2 on the IT laptop, while the actual IT guy played games on his tablet.

[Reeve]

Yeah, I've interned at a high school school IT dept. And most of my days were spent playing starcraft 2 on the IT laptop, while the actual IT guy played games on his tablet.

The IT guy on my crew in Mozambique used to spend most of his day reorganizing his porn collection. The project manager would come in, see the monitor, and say, "Oh, that's a good one! Carry on!"

[iamthedevil]

What would Mr. Roger's do?

That's what you have to think.

[Blackdecker]

It's mostly filtering emails, either doing them if you can or delegating them to who can. Depending on the company, might change printer toner, fix printers, fix computers, install things, move computers, and change out computer parts. It's really easy lol

Pretty much this.

It's a really good start, most IT guys don't like/are afraid to speak with people, the job will help you improve it a lot.
Google/Youtube stuff that you don't know and you are going to be fine.

[Belize]

The IT guy on my crew in Mozambique used to spend most of his day reorganizing his porn collection. The project manager would come in, see the monitor, and say, "Oh, that's a good one! Carry on!"

That's freaking funny. Sadly no porn allowed at a highschool

[ebah]

I've been IT intern in big firm in Finland now for 4months, and still have 1 month to go.

First two months i got to work with Microsoft InfoPath making all kind of forms, after that i have been just working with help desk.
At the desk i've been taking ppl in (they who come to help desk) and doing tickets if i have the skill/knowledge for the certain issue.
Most tickets are there only a user rights modifying so i havent done much tickets, since i cant modify them :P

[Ciddy]

Just keep this in mind:

They know you're going to be a beginner.

Say that again and again and again until it's the first thing that comes to your mind when you hear the word "IT". They're going to expect a certain amount of competency, but not to the point where you could immediately replace a current worker.

This is good advice. Don't try to constantly use this as an excuse, but people expect interns to mess up (and you will). If you get in over your head, you can always escalate the call. Also, for the most part, they're going to have you handling the very easy calls. You're going to be dealing with people who barely know how to use a mouse/keyboard. Yes, you are being tested, but you're not likely to be burdened with any major responsibilities as an intern. Seriously, just don't worry too much about it and do your job the best you can, and you'll be fine. Go for it.

The first one I did was as a network technician. I think I spent the majority of that time making patch cables of whatever length the guy in charge needed or helping him run cables to tricky places.