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Ah yes, the brand-new world of IT

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  • Ah yes, the brand-new world of IT

    No longer am I a grocery store slave! Yes, I am now back in the business...but with IT at my college! Great part time job so far (full time in the summer). But you know what I've found out? Professors are brilliant people with the least amount of common sense ever.

    Anyone have any IT tips for me?

  • #2
    back!

    Alas, the only universal tip I ever have is to keep it simple.

    ^-.-^
    Faith is about what you do. It's about aspiring to be better and nobler and kinder than you are. It's about making sacrifices for the good of others. - Dresden

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    • #3
      yes,

      it's always physical.

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      • #4
        The person with absolutely the LEAST common sense I know has three post doctoral degrees, so I feel your pain with the professors.

        On the IT front. Probably the best advice I have after twenty-five years is to:

        A. ALWAYS work your way methodically down the troubleshooting tree. Whether in person, or by phone, or remote, I GUARANTEE the first time you skip "Is the device plugged in?" is the time that WILL be the problem.

        B. Vis a vis the troubleshooting tree: Sometimes there are TWO problems. It's rare, but keep it in the back of your mind. A PSU can die and take components of a m-board along with it (E-Series anyone?) It might be a cable AND a peripheral. Make sure every step is verifiable.

        C. Don't discount the user's story automatically. They were there. You weren't. Hardware is anthropomorphic. Software is crazy magic.

        D. Don't accept the user's story automatically. "I haven't installed anything." = "I don't want to get caught." "It's always been like this." = "I just noticed." etc. etc.

        E. Don't talk down to them. Do you know everything there is to know about church sponsorship of erotic art in the 15th century? Iron age impact on agricultural law? Computer dumb doesn't always equal Real Dumb.

        F. Don't proselytize. Fix.

        G. Remember. You're not getting paid to "push buttons." You're getting paid because you know which buttons to push.

        Congrats and good luck, and don't forget to network here (At "Unsupportable" actually.) if you run into any problems.

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