I've been hired as as a Technical Engineer for a big company on Monday.
My main focus will be the upkeep of servers.
>What sort of advice could you give me?
>What should I expect at the job?
Automate all the things.
>>53221196
How did you even get hired to do it without knowing the answers to those questions?
Google ultron
>>53221196
install adobe pdf every time.
>>53221272
Nepotism probably
>>53221196
Expect it to be very boring for the most part, but don't get lazy just because its boring. Always be looking out for any issues that may be on the horizon and do what you can to fix issues before they make real trouble.
>>53221333
That copypasta
>>53221333
top kek
>>53221196
make sure everyone backs up their outlook to .pst files.
>>53221196
>http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0131480057/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?qid=1456626367&sr=8-1&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65&keywords=unix+and+linux+system+administration+handbook
read it and carry it with you all the time and you should be fine
>>53221272
>>53221365
Proper social skills.
>>53221502
Only an idiot like OP would get in by word of mouth.
>>53221548
I titty-fucked my way to the top, like your grand-dad.
>>53221196
>Technical Engineer
Hard to say by job title alone. What that means varies between companies.
On the hardware side, that probably means racking hardware, getting everything connected, managing the networking hardware, replacing failed drives and hardware, troubleshooting hardware issues, and maybe OS installs.
The the software side, that probably means setting up the OS, writing/using automation code, deploying new versions, troubleshooting software issues, etc.
Could be a bit of both but larger companies typically have different teams for each. Either will probably have you using ticketing and monitoring systems.
Advice? Hard to say without knowing more. I guess be careful and double check if you aren't sure about something. Nobody likes the new guy that blunders forward with something and causes a problem.
If this is you first technical job, be humble. I think a lot of techies are used to knowing more about computers than the people around them, and then they are suddenly surrounded by people who know a lot more and they get really defensive and try to claim they know things that they really don't. It's probably a subconscious thing, but I've seen ~20 new guys do this. Not only do they look like assholes, they look like stupid assholes. So be humble, keep an open mind, and you will probably learn a lot.
Final piece of advice: if you end up on the hardware side, try to move over to the software side ASAP, even if that means studying it on your own time. Hardware is a dead end job and the longer you stay in it, the harder it is to get out.
>>53221272
Seriously, when they ask you in an interview, "Do you have any questions for us?" That is literally the time to ask these questions.
>>53221272
nobody really knows what the fuck they are doing when they start their career, don't act like you were any different asshole
>>53221784
Maybe you caught me in a lie, and I have the interview on Monday and I'm trying to prepare.
>>53221778
I was told it would be more hardware-centric, which is good, because I know very little about software.
Also, they did mention rackmounts, 1U, 2U, 3U and working with switches and routers, RAID architecture was mentioned. LAN/WAN installation, testing and debugging with Cisco/HP/Juniper/Nortel/Ciena/NetGear switch/router networks.
I know a fair amount with hardware, but I'm concerned about the larger level server type shit.
>>53221196
>asking /g/, a forum filled with NEETs, about a job
>>53221872
>the larger level server type shit
What do you mean? Larger servers aren't that different. Usually it just means more room for drives, maybe more expansion card (e.g dedicated NIC and RAID cards), and maybe a multi cpu socket motherboard. It is all the same stuff, just more of it.
>>53221913
Boy, that really clears my mind.
It's still a transition worth nothing.
>>53221196
Just beware that when they say you'll be taking care of servers now, they mean pretty much always. I'm afraid so-called Big Engineering has fucking lied to you. Engineers don't get to drive trains around at all. This company you're going to work for probably doesn't even have any fucking trains at all. You've basically been tricked into learning stupid shit like math for nothing.
>>53221995
That's good, because I studied Philosophy in school.
>>53221947
The exception here is if by large systems, you mean something like IBM Z series mainframes which are going to be way different than anything you've come across, but I doubt that this the case here. They would have mentioned it if that was what you were going to be working on because it is a niche field.
>>53221196
>>What sort of advice could you give me?
Don't ask /g/ for advice on anything more difficult than what a sophomore CS student could be expected to know
>>53221778
>If this is you first technical job, be humble. I think a lot of techies are used to knowing more about computers than the people around them, and then they are suddenly surrounded by people who know a lot more
>mfw I thought this was the case and 3 years later I've still yet to meet anyone that knows fucking left from right
>>53221913
>Larger servers aren't that different
OOB access is a big one (iLO/iDRAC)
>>53222045
Thank you for input.
I am fairly certain this will be a low-labor intensive job, as I'm in a negro-centric town. I'm only considering the position offered as I want to use it as an "experience" job.
>>53222086
>OOB access is a big one (iLO/iDRAC)
Only entry level servers don't have IPMI so I wouldn't consider that a difference between 1U and 3+U servers. iLO and iDRAC brand names so I'm just going to assume you are an idiot.
>>53222086
>>53222141
See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intelligent_Platform_Management_Interface#Implementations
>listen to the veterans
>realize WHY you were hired(company getting bigger? are you replacing someone?[why did he leave?:did he abandon ship? job is shit?])
>hack jobs. hack jobs everywhere. with no comments asides a few brief lines in Sharpie on the inside of the case
>there's the 'textbook' way of doing stuff, and the way things are done at your place.
>'the way' depends on a lot of things(mantra of place:fast/cheap, quick/cheap, lazy/cheap, incompetent/cheap, cheap/cheap) quality of the other engineers, etc
>Everything is working:Why do we even pay you?
>Everything is broken:Why do we even pay you?
>>53222141
You're right, my comment was more about consumer hardware vs. enterprise servers.
But if we're going to split hairs, I think you're the idiot if you think IPMI is the only form of OOB access.
>>53221872
>debugging network gear
Unless you have a degree in networking i wouldn't let anyone that has no experience near the networking stuff alone, certainly would assign a network admin for first few times to inspect his knowledge.
>>53222243
I'm guessing in this case, debugging network gear is something along the lines of "oh, this port is turned off on the rack switch", and not "why is this switch detecting a loop in the spanning tree".
>>53222235
True, you could go with KVM over IP or something like that, but that is so 2005 and you will hate your life.
>>53222313
Yea OP just read carefully whats happening you'll be alright if it's hardware / software
>>53221196
Document everything.
Figured out how to do something?
>document that shit for next time
Google is your absolute best friend.
If someone asks you a hard question DO NOT say "I don't know." Say "Let me get back to you after some proper research."
If you are working with business associates (Normies by this boards definition) be polite. Tech speak scares them, so you have to dumb it down.
>upkeep of servers
Honestly it sounds like your main job is fixing what someone before you messed up or abandoned.
>>53222380
I'm not OP. Doubt OP would know spanning tree
>>53222401
please, enlighten us as to your knowledge on the esoteric.
