My official title is "IT Operations Analyst," but my actual title is closer to "IT Generalist" than anything else. I am a member of the Windows Server Technical Support team and we manage the Windows servers that our company uses. My primary responsibility is maintaining 15 servers around the country, providing support to my customers. Most of my servers are forward-facing so maximum uptime is essential. I also work in a disaster recovery datacenter. So in addition to the specific duties of my job, I handle various datacenter-related tasks on a daily basis. There's rarely a dull moment in a typical day.
As my team’s servers are located around the country, we rely heavily on RDP for remote access. Mission-critical servers are also equipped with out-of-band remote access equipment. We leverage WSUS to deploy Microsoft patches to our servers and schedule one day a month to perform routine maintenance. As we provide second-tier support for our customers, we are required to have good problem-solving skills as well as experience with different hardware vendors.
Since the datacenter is fully functional, I am often called upon to assist different teams within the IT Operations department of my company. The IT staff is located in Pennsylvania while my datacenter is in New Jersey. I function as a remote set of "hands and eyes" whenever physical access to the equipment is required. While I do not have to have expert-level knowledge of every system in the datacenter, my general familiarity with them makes working with the other teams much easier.
I am also the de facto site manager in that I interact with the staff that manages the facility in which the datacenter resides. I work with them to resolve environmental and other issues as they arise. I report anything that affects the entire datacenter to department management.
This particular position, as it has evolved, demands a certain flexibility. It’s very rare for me to focus solely on my own servers. And in the event of an actual disaster, I can expect to be very busy. My responsibilities are not tied to a desk either. I also get to install new equipment, which is often the most rewarding part of the job.
The most demanding aspect of this position (and most IT positions in general) is the potential for off-hours work. As I am salaried, I do not get overtime for off-hours work. However, policies governing off-hours work will vary between companies. On-call rotations are also prevalent, and you may be on-call every so often, as I am every two months.
While being a “jack-of-all-trades” isn’t for everyone, I have discovered that I have a natural talent for it. My previous positions have required a certain degree of flexibility, and most positions both inside and outside IT will entail some duties that are not strictly within the job description. Having the ability to adapt to new situations is always beneficial. Being productive in the IT industry requires the ability to adapt to anything that may arise.
Eugene Tang works in New Jersey in the IT Operations Department of a major electronics manufacturing company.
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