Getting an IT Help Desk Job For Dummies

Chapter 2

A Day in the Life of a Help Desk Engineer

In This Chapter

• Discovering what it's like to work for a day as a systems analyst
• Experiencing the structured and chaotic life of a roving consultant
• Finding out what it's like to work as a help desk representative

One of the downsides of getting a new job is that you've never done it before. Sure, you know how to work with technology, but this is a new job. No matter how much experience you actually have, you will have never experienced this new position. Experience is, after all, one of the legendary chicken or the egg questions of all time. In order to get a job, you need experience, but you can get experience only from a job.

Or can you?

Technology is a fundamentally different subject than almost anything else on the planet. Unlike most skills, you can translate your personal experience with technology into a well-paying job. Try getting a $50,000 entry-level job as a cook, a mechanic, or a hair dresser. You'll have to work your way up, which will take years. The IT help desk is a fantastic place to use your existing experience on a real job where you can quickly and efficiently learn all new technologies, all of which give you a leg up as you move up in the industry.

You can do a lot to develop an awareness of what work will be like, but not much is more effective than going for a kind of virtual ride-along, which is what I give you in this chapter. This chapter certainly isn't the only help you'll get from this book, ...