Every job has its ups and its downs, and not everyone is necessarily happy in their role, but what I do find intriguing is that I rarely come across anyone working in IT Support, well in the UK and US at least so far, who don’t actually really enjoy what they do, of course much of the work is a repeat of the same, updating software, repairing the odd computer, replacing a modem, cleaning a server, setting up email accounts… however as boring as this may seem to some, almost as exciting as watching paint dry as one of my friends would say, we are not only regularly asked to carry out these more mundane jobs but asked to carry out a vast array of differing exciting tasks and usually at a drop of a hat, so we have to know exactly what we are doing, therefore staying continually up to date with the latest technology, systems, software you name it, just recently for example my colleague Tom was granted full access to the Windows 11 software while still in it’s testing stages in order to help with detecting any bugging issues and to better understand how the new operating system works, what it has to offer, and how it can help you and your business, and he has done all of this in his free time! That just shows dedication!
Inevitably much of the time like with repairing a car, it’s not always the most obvious thing(s) causing the issue(s), so until we can get under the hood to check, we won’t always be able to diagnose the problem and this is really where hands-on experience becomes so valuably important in what we do. It’s the difference of making what seemingly would be a simple fix to a server by replacing something like the RAM which may only cost £200 at best, to assuming that the server has packed up and needs replacing for £5000 along with many days lost work until the new server arrives, is setup and has every bit of data uploaded to it, so as you can imagine we take great pride in what we do, and enjoy it when we can get you back up and running quickly and as seamlessly as possible, and while saving you money in the process whenever we can, not so easy nowadays when having to replace certain components like microchips due to the current semiconductor crisis for example, so it’s definitely well worth having the right individuals onboard looking after your IT, and again just like with the car repair industry though there are many excellent service centers, not all play by the rules.
What Does An IT Support Specialist Do?
On any given day we are technicians, IT support specialists, IT applications specialists, help desk operators, maintenance engineers, tutors, internet security experts, server engineers, email specialists and on the rare occasions counsellors and psychotherapists, though that last bit isn’t written into our contracts. It can be and usually is a fun action packed day, full of many twist, turns, learning new things and appreciation for our hard work from our clients which makes the job far more enjoyable, the only things I would say is it can be difficult to turn off from, and that’s quite simply because we are techies, AKA, Geeks! There I said it, but I’m proud of that fact. It’s certainly not a bad thing, as I pointed out from the outset, how many people can genuinely say they are wholeheartedly happy in their career? Well IT Support and geeks are the perfect marriage in that respect. The only thing I would change if possible would be the ability to earn enough money to work from an exotic island somewhere, but as that’s not yet a reality I will happily make do with my little tropical garden in Surrey in the meantime.
Something that surprises me more and more and not in a good way is the sheer volume of companies who don’t have anything in place to support their IT, no backups, no IT support company or individual or anyone trained up in-house as the go to technician! Going back to the car analogy again, would you drive your car without servicing it every year or do you keep driving it until the vehicle no longer starts, overheats, makes funny noises, or blows up? Because that’s almost exactly what many are doing about their IT, leaving it until something goes pop, it’s astounding.
And if I had a pound for every time we recommend coming in and taking a look to find the route cause to something, and the individual rather us just tell them over the phone what the possible causes maybe so they can attempt to diagnose and fix the issue themselves, I would be able to afford to work from an exotic beach on an island somewhere! Hmmm, maybe I should start charging. We are very cautious when giving out such information in situations like this, making abundantly clear that this is not advice on how to fix it yourself, we recommend you get an IT expert in to take a look. Do they, no of course not, 9 times out of 10 they end up calling us back usually a day or two later with even bigger and more costly problems on their hands, it really does amaze me that people are willing to go to the extent of breaking their computers, networks, servers… on the off chance the £5 usb device they found on a 1 minute video on TikTok would do the trick in repairing their slow, overheating devices to discover the £5 piece of nonsense helped to overheat it to the point of no return. You know who you are! It didn’t have to be this way! That said we do enjoy finding and repairing such issues so if you’re happy risking the inevitable we are more than happy to do the repairs. Alternatively just get yourself an IT Support provider on board.
Conclusion
IT Support isn’t obviously going to be the right career choice for everyone, not everyone is suited to every role, however some people were born to be signers, actors, leaders, athletes and IT technicians, not everyone can say they were born for a role or that a career was made for them, and as nerdy as this may sound, I can proudly say I was born to be an IT expert.
If you are considering a career in IT Support or would like to find out more on what an IT career or company may have to offer then do take a look through our following services or take a look through the latest from our blog HERE.
