from a friend:
1: Started as tech support for an internet service provider.
2: I enjoy being able to sit at my computer all day doing what I consider a hobby. Afterall, I was doing this before I was receiving a paycheck.
3: The late night calls, and inexperienced people expecting serious problems to fix themselves in a matter of seconds.
4: Hands on training is your best friend. As far as formal education, I really cannot say. Most of my co workers were employed by a friend refering them. Some had formal education, some did not. I personally had none at all. Experience is everything, and home projects does not really cut it. You need to find what they want, learn it, and be able to lie your way through a situation.
5: Like above, I had studied myself and recieved my CCNA and CCNP certifications, aswell my as net+/a+...They did little to nothing for me. Experience is key, and not personal experience either. The only thing a certification ever did for me was overqualify me for a job that they gave to someone else.
6: The benefits for me are that I am able to spend most of my day doing things I love. I am an active open source developper, and being around my projects all day allows me to in a sense...get payed to play. I also spend a great deal of time on IRC talking to long time friends. This may not be an expected benefit, but it sure if with me and my job.
7: My average day consists of daily backups, some hardware upgrades, service troubleshooting, and alot of small stuff.
8: Sometimes when using propietary software with poor support, it is hard to diagnose a problem. Related, when a problem occurs, some people are real impatient with your timeframe to fix it, no matter how unimportant it is.
9: Most difficult part for me is the fact that I am on call 24/7. If something goes wrong, I have to start working on it in 30 minutes or less. This can really hurt your social, and love life
10: Someone who is willing to learn, and is a quick learner at that. You need to be able to troubleshoot a problem, often times a problem that no one has encountered before. The internet is your friend, and you need to be able to find stuff on the spot.
Friends are good too. The more people you know, the better chance you have of placing something worth while. It is sad, but true. Like I said before, its not what certifications you have, or where you went to school. It is who you know(either who your friends/family are, or who your last employer is). Communication is good too, aswell as being able to talk to, and relate with non-tech savvy people.
-------------------- The DJ's took pills to stay awake and play for seven days.
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