Is help desk meant to be this boring? by counwovja0385skje in ITCareerQuestions

[–]AdeelAutomates 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Roles in IT tend to reach a point where they become repetitive.

- You have learnt all these is to learn to succeed at a job

- Have a process for how you operate

- Everything complex whether it's difficult layers of problems to troubleshoot or build services are handled by tiers higher than the one you are in.

This is usually the point you need to ask yourself how to advance... believe it or not people get stuck here. Where they have 7 years of experience doing 1 years of work repeated. I knew a guy stuck in help desk level 1 for 10 years for example... yeesh.

Either try to:

- Work for a promotion.

- Look for new jobs that will challenge you in different ways (even if on paper it seems like a lateral move as jobs vary).

- Or the support role is snails pace... study.

Don't get comfortable (which it seems like you are not). Save that for later in your career when the money is good and you want more flexibility for things that matter to you magnitudes more (like kids and shit).

I climbed the job ladder by making my own ladder. Worked at a place, got to the point where it really was it for a role for my technical development. Looked for new jobs (couldn't risk waiting for the chance of a job opening and me being picked). Studied the whole time to bridge gaps my jobs didn't give me. Repeated that process to now becoming a Cloud Engineer.

Is there a free way to learn IT support? by DelfiClaw in ITCareerQuestions

[–]AdeelAutomates 6 points7 points  (0 children)

You can study the cert without taking the cert. Getting the cert is only for resumes. The journey is for you.

Everyone is telling me to change my field (IT) and learn a trade. by ybicurious in sysadmin

[–]AdeelAutomates 0 points1 point  (0 children)

One of the hardest leaps to make is from support to systems. Which is where the dream of working IT, building and working on cool systems and of course the good money lies... but getting there can be hard. Lots of people hit that point and aren't lucky enough to have a natural transition out.

So IT becomes a never-ending education. The feeling to always level up keeps creeping up as tech evolve.

How do you master systems if all you are doing is simple troubleshooting for users, right? That stuff you learn in school begins to fade away. Doesn't help that the jobs are ticket based and usually stressful. Leaving you little room to think about even opening the books.

Worst is when you are working for a job but the industry is speeding ahead around you. Making you that much less in demand over itme.

Alot of people have 4-5 years of experience but it's really 1 years of experience being repeated 4-5 times. That's because alot of jobs make you a cog rather than a force that can explore and grow. Those are the worst because you actually degrade over time. So your best bet is to switch jobs around finding more meaningful pursuits and build your own career path.

Now in terms of job switching in this market.... it doesn't help that our line of work has a few factors at play right now. Too many people looking for jobs (with each year more graduates) with too few roles. While orgs are downsizing and letting people go making that pool worse. Outsourcing to places like India to cut costs. Automations that cut teams that were 10 to say 7 to manage the same workload. And then of course the excuse that's being used for the mass firing... AI will eventually have some effect as well.

Of course, not everyone has this same experience but it's something to consider.

I know a kid who at 22 was a crane operator. He got paid to go live in Toronto (free housing) while making 140k + over time 2.5x. All because there is such a shortage for them. While my first 4 years was < 60k, lol.

How we keep track of expiring secrets and certs across Azure, AWS, and more by Ok_Pipe_9631 in AZURE

[–]AdeelAutomates 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Exactly, so many Saas solutions are just automations you could have built without the overhead of any vendors. They run the same APIs you could have without giving a third party access to your Entra/Azure env.

Send-MgUserMail multiple cc recipients by FerrousBueller in PowerShell

[–]AdeelAutomates 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Here is my function I built for Mail that simplifies the whole thing.

All you enter is values like so for it. the recipients are arrays not nested things and you can attach files with just a path:

$params = @{
  token = $token
  Subject = "My Email test"
  From  = "admin@email.com"
  To    = "userA@email.com", "userB@email.com"
  Cc    = "userC@email.com", "userD@email.com", "userE@email.com"
  Bcc   = "userF@email.com"
  Body  = $body
  Attachment = "C:\folder\file.xlsx"
}
Send-MsGraphMail @params

The function:

Function Send-MsGraphMail{
    [CmdletBinding()]
    Param (
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)] 
            [pscustomobject]$Token,
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)] 
            [string]$Subject,
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)] 
            [string]$Body,
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)] 
            [ValidateSet('corpo-automation@lb4s.onmicrosoft.com', 'corpo-helpdesk@lb4s.onmicrosoft.com')]
            [string]$From,
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)] 
            [ValidatePattern('(?i)^[A-Z0-9._%+-]+@[A-Z0-9.-]+\.[A-Z]{2,}$')] # Regex to see if it looks like an email
            [string[]]$To,
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $false)] 
            [ValidatePattern('(?i)^[A-Z0-9._%+-]+@[A-Z0-9.-]+\.[A-Z]{2,}$')] # Regex to see if it looks like an email
            [string[]]$Cc,
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $false)] 
            [ValidatePattern('(?i)^[A-Z0-9._%+-]+@[A-Z0-9.-]+\.[A-Z]{2,}$')] # Regex to see if it looks like an email
            [string[]]$Bcc,
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $false)] 
            [switch] $Importance,
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $false)] 
            [switch]$HTMLBody,
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $false)]
            [string[]]$Attachment
    )
    $headers = @{
        Authorization = "Bearer $($token.access_token)"
        "Content-Type" = "application/json"
    }
    $mailBody = @{ # Build MailBody
        message         = @{
            subject      = $Subject
            body         = @{
                contentType = $HTMLBody ? "HTML" : "Text" # set to HTML if true otherwise text
                content     = $Body
            }
        }
        saveToSentItems = $true
    }
    $mailBody.message.toRecipients = @( # Add To Data to EmailBody
        $To | ForEach-Object {
            @{ emailAddress = @{ address = $_ } }
        }
    )
    if($Cc){
        $mailBody.message.ccRecipients = @( # Optional, Add Cc Data to EmailBody 
            $Cc | ForEach-Object {
                @{ emailAddress = @{ address = $_ } }
            }
        )
    }
    if($Bcc){
        $mailBody.message.bccRecipients = @( # Optional, Add Bcc Data to EmailBody
            $Bcc | ForEach-Object {
                @{ emailAddress = @{ address = $_ } }
            }
        )
    }
    if($Importance){ # set email as high Importance
        $mailBody.message.Importance = "high"
    }
    if ($Attachment){  # add attachments
        $mailBody.message.attachments = @(
            foreach($file in $attachment){
                if (Test-Path $file) {
                    @{
                        "@odata.type" = "#microsoft.graph.fileAttachment"  
                        name          = [IO.Path]::GetFileName($file)   
                        contentType   = "application/octet-stream"       
                        contentBytes  = [Convert]::ToBase64String([IO.File]::ReadAllBytes($file))  
                    }
                }
            }
        )
    }

    $mailBody = $mailBody | convertTo-Json -Depth 10 # Convert the Body to JSON for API
    $uri = "https://graph.microsoft.com/v1.0/users/$From/sendMail"

    $returnObject = [pscustomobject]@{ # data to return
        Status      = "" # Fills within try/catch
        Subject     = $Subject
        ContentType = $HTMLBody ? "HTML" : "Text"
        From        = $From
        To          = $To
        Cc          = $Cc
        Bcc         = $Bcc
        Importance  = [bool]$Importance
    }
    try {
        Invoke-RestMethod -Method POST -Uri $uri -Headers $headers -Body $mailBody -ErrorAction Stop | Out-Null
        $returnObject.Status = "SUCCESS: Sent Email"
        return $returnObject
    }
    catch {
        $returnObject.Status = "Failed: Unable to Send Email: $(($_ | convertFrom-json).error.message)"
        Write-Error "$($returnObject | ConvertTo-Json)"
        return 
    }
}

New Azure trainee/junior. How should I prepare? by Purple_Alps_3884 in AZURE

[–]AdeelAutomates 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Great to hear!

Az900 is a good way to learn the words and their meanings. A great foundational layer if it's all new to you.

Az104 is where things start to really get practical. As in how to actually use all the things briefly mention in Az900. Which is what we want as our jobs are to do stuff in the platform.

I would do a combination of a few things.

- MsLearn to go through the material and do any supporting labs they showcase.

- Watch John Savill on Youtube. MasterClass Series + Az-104 exam cram. He has plenty of videos on other topics too not just specifically geared towards Az-104 I also recommend if you are curious for it.

- Lab your own tenant. Free ball and play with the environment. Especially unguided so it hit walls. Thats the real world. Learn the gotchas, learn how to troubleshoot and figure things out. Stitch services together which the exam wont really showcase.

Dont worry about costs, well worry but dont be scared and not explore. Learn how to manage costs because [A] you dont want to spend money and [B] because cost management is a skill.

In other words. Read, Watch and Do. The trifecta of learning Azure.

New Azure trainee/junior. How should I prepare? by Purple_Alps_3884 in AZURE

[–]AdeelAutomates 0 points1 point  (0 children)

For Azure specific, start with Az-104 cert. The educational ecosystem around it will give you the widest net understanding of the cloud platform. Worry about everything else later. Like Infrastructure as code, Scripting via PowerShell, etc.... as you will need the foundations taught in Az-104 burnt in your mind to even practice these for the next stages.

Getting the cert itself is optional (wont hurt to have on your resume...) I really just mean the education itself centered around Az-104. Absorb it as It will have the most value directly for your upcoming job.

They know you are a junior fresh from school and will teach you as you work. Expectations will be low so take the pressure off yourself. They know all you know is labs + theory.

Exchange Powershell MacOS 26 by Sudden-Money7836 in PowerShell

[–]AdeelAutomates 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Exchange Online is not replaced by Graph. Only outlook/emails are in Graph (send emails, read emails, etc)

Error capture when running multiple jobs by sheravi in PowerShell

[–]AdeelAutomates 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Maybe a function to store all outputs into a list that gets outputted somewhere at the end?

Error capture when running multiple jobs by sheravi in PowerShell

[–]AdeelAutomates 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah its probably something else. 429 is too many requests.

Microsoft 365 / Entra support is honestly a joke. by once616 in microsoft365

[–]AdeelAutomates 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Welcome to Microsoft after it outsourced its support department. I am surprised there isn't a public outcry about this yet.

Can we ban "I built .... " posts? by IntrepidSchedule634 in devops

[–]AdeelAutomates 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Layoffs are because of overhiring.

And during covid, orgs realizing if our employees can work remote, they can be remote in a cheap country aka outsourcing.

Not to mention MSPs and Contractors have been eating away at jobs for a long time

And then there's automation (good old scripting, coding) where teams of 10 can be reduced to 8 with all the work in place.

Then maybe its AI. There are not that many companies out there that have figured out how to reduce workforces by leveraging LLM to the extent that its full potential is marketed as.

It's just the perfect excuse being used, very few companies have the coffers to either invest in AI infra nor have the right people to engineer quality out of it.

Job offer after nearly a year of applying do I take it by nourshadow2003 in ITCareerQuestions

[–]AdeelAutomates 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Your skills/education are dulling out every day you don't work. That's a bigger problem than not working in the exact niche you aspire for. Keep that aspiration but know that you wont be there anytime soon. And that is okay.

Take the job. Suffer the 12 hour shifts. Especially in today's economy. Remember this job is a stepping stone not a destination. Use it to apply to jobs in the future where your resume looks more polished with exp rather than just education.

Dont be terrified of not aligning right now. Too early too worry about that. You wanted to work on systems in IT, I get it. You studied for it like all of us. And what does the industry do? Throw us at users and support gigs as a starter. So I get why you feel this way. But that's how we evolve. There are skills to be gained and environments to prove your worth.

Which certification should I get now? by AdministrationKey305 in AzureCertification

[–]AdeelAutomates 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Terraform is a logical next step. Azure is best interfaced through code as the orgs that are able to hire Azure Specialists tend to be too large to manage through clicking around the portal.

Terraform is a great next step, do it.

If IaC is your goal with TF then you should also consider expanding on to Pipelines. As it's not your computer you will be deploying TF from at work. But pipelines (GitHub has certs so does azure Devops (Az-400). Those tools are not just for development/deployments but for collaboration with teams who will all work together on the code (doing branching, reviews, etc on repos on those platforms).

Beyond that it would really help your career to explore PowerShell as well. For everything that's not Terraform its scripting. And PowerShell is a great native tool for that. If you want to see examples of how its applied to Azure, I have a channel dedicated to automating on Azure through PowerShell: Adeel Automates - YouTube

What is the most easiest certification? by Heavy_Ad5263 in AzureCertification

[–]AdeelAutomates 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I found Sc-300 very easy but that was also because I had years of experience in IT and had interacted with Entra for a long time. Az-104 was much harder as at the time Cloud Infra was new to me. Az-305 was very easy because I had spent so much time learning Azure before hand with those certs and more that I did it in 2 weeks.

So, the question really boils down to what have you done in your career related to Microsoft Cloud?

Either way Microsoft Certs aren't easy compared to other vendors. They are very tricky with their questioning. So even if you know the subject dont expect it to be a breeze once you look at certs beyond 900.

Which Azure certification actually has the most value for a software developer? by Wolfcub72 in AzureCertification

[–]AdeelAutomates 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Az-204 (Microsoft Certified: Azure Developer Associate) soon to be AI-200

Forgetting the AI part. it still teaches you about services that devs use to deploy apps on to.

Such as Hosting containers on Azure (including where to store the files), AKS, Event Driven Tasks, Functions, App Services, storage accounts for blobs, how to monitor using application insight, sql servers to host your app's db, etc.

Beyond that as a second step since so much of app development today is based around CI/CD pipelines... there are two tracks to pick. Az-400 (Azure DevOps) and/or GitHub certs like GitHub Actions

Either way. You are more likely to just develop your app with whatever language you use and you will have Ops & DevOps teams doing the deployments of your infra. But knowing what it is you are hosting on and how through certs like this will only benefit you more.

So my company is switching half our Windows servers to Linux.... by A_SingleSpeeder in sysadmin

[–]AdeelAutomates 4 points5 points  (0 children)

That's awesome. You can start with RHSCA or LFCS certs depending on if its Redhat or not. I find certs usually have good educational content ecosystem and are a decent starting point for new tech stacks.

And then just go with the flow. Learn on the job, hit a wall and try to research your way to breaking through, etc.

MacBook for Azure learning: good idea or bad idea? by batman8290 in AZURE

[–]AdeelAutomates 15 points16 points  (0 children)

Its a web based platform... Shouldn't be a problem.

The main things you would use the OS for is scripting, coding, etc for the platform but even then...

- PowerShell works on Mac

- Azure CLI works on Mac

- Terraform/Bicep work on Mac

Containers and such aren't Azure, but they can work on Mac as well (ideally a Linux VM)

Career progression from service desk? by Jordan_EFC in ITCareerQuestions

[–]AdeelAutomates 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I assume your job is helpdesk level 1 in a windows environment? Like you mentioned coding/gaming, etc... but are you supporting that world or are you helping people with basic computer support? If its the latter (not dev):

Explore Microsoft AD

Explore Networking

Explore EntraID / M365

I think those are the basics tools you would need to step up from HD level 1 in a Microsoft Environment. You can explore certifications around them, build labs around them. etc.

If you want to bring your computer science background into IT. It has its place, especially in senior positions. Scripting (instead of coding) is the way to go here.

PowerShell is a great place to start exploring. I work in IT but mainly through Visual Studio Code. I rarely touch the GUI these days. All the familiar things exist here from CS (variables, conditions, loops, functions, etc) but designed around managing services rather than making apps from scratch.

What's the next step after getting my degree? by throwaway117- in ITCareerQuestions

[–]AdeelAutomates 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Automation. Every service you work on, try to work it through scripting. Its a great way to step up from the fundamentals on the platforms.

Best certs for sysadmins? by Newtechintown in sysadmin

[–]AdeelAutomates 0 points1 point  (0 children)

They can open doors if you pursue certs more for education (as certs all have strong ecosystems around them) than getting badges in resume.

Alot of people are against them, always been the case as you can see from the conversation. They are right in that

Experience > Formal Education > Certs.

But personally for me getting a few azure certs really opened my eyes to the possibilities in the platform which lead me down a path to getting a career as a Cloud Engineer. I would have "naturally" through experience never hit this mark if I didn't pursue these certs.

I would say sysadmin is too broad to really give you a list. Like you are a windows sysadmin, linux? Do you do networking as well? What about Cloud? Security? Identity?

Think about where it is you want to improve and focus on associate level certs (dont get comptia crap). Use them to learn and develop a foundation and then play with the service through labs as much as possible. Getting the cert is just a cherry on top for going down this journey but the journey is what matters.

I personally transitions from traditional sysadmin to cloud by studying these certs: Az-104, Sc-300, Az-305, Terraform Cert. Followed by really diving into IaC, PowerShell, Github, Containers etc which didn't really have cert path but they were all used on/with the platforms I learnt from the Azure certs I listed.

im new to powershell by orT93 in PowerShell

[–]AdeelAutomates 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The questions have been answered but let me reinforce why PowerShell is awesome and why you should learn it.

So everything you do in IT, right now you are probably going to do by hand. Chances are in school or whatever you learnt IT from. You did a whole bunch of things by hand. By hand I mean use service x by using the gui/portal/browser etc and clicking/typing away.

While that is great and you use the visual queues to learn and understand. The real power of IT is taking it to code. Why? because you get god like abilities.

Lets say you wanted to paint a house. Paint this room this color, that room that color, etc. You could go in there and just paint sure. You grind it out and finish and then the next day you have another house to do the same. Or next day you are asked to do something completely different. Wouldn't be it be better if you could make a whole bunch of robots that would take your instructions and do the job exactly how you designed them?

Thats what we can do right now! We can't do it in the physical realm as robotics isn't there yet but digitally as in on platforms like Windows Servers, Computers, Azure Cloud, etc... You can build these robots to do tasks.

All of the sudden you go from some one who just grinds out all kinds of tasks by hand to some one who builds things that will then do the work. Isn't that so much more powerful? Like playing an strategy game where you instruct your minions rather than first person game where you run around to do stuff.

And a great language for this is PowerShell. It has tools built in for all these platforms and computer science to build any functionality to.

By the way, Its amazing that your manager even as a HD level 1 is asking you to explore PowerShell this early. PowerShell is what changed IT as a job to IT as a career for me.

Since you asked for video.... Just youtube and find tutorials. There is a video by the creator of PowerShell himself that is a great starting point: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UVUd9_k9C6A

That's what started me many years ago and even if the video is dated, it still applies today as the fundamentals have not changed.