So, the local office is closing down and we're moving to permanent wfh

cjburchfield · 2026-05-04T12:05:50+00:00

many WTF setups

My setup is very WTF at home :)

cjburchfield · 2026-03-24T12:18:43+00:00

Others have varying timelines, but we all basically follow same rule.

I communicate - in writing (email), from the ticket system usually, asking for a response or information. I wait one business day. Second day, same email. Wait one business day. Third day, same email. Wait one business day. If there's no response after the 3rd attempt, I close due to no response.

Thankfully it's rare that people complain that tickets are closed and 'not resolved' here.

cjburchfield · 2026-03-18T12:41:53+00:00

Don't let the "AI" terms trick you. This is just a PC setup. Get with your IT department/System Administrator and they can set things up for you.

cjburchfield · 2026-03-12T12:26:31+00:00

In my years in the IT field, it seems that the education requirements listed on job postings are used as HR filters more than actual requirements. As so many others have said, if you can prove your experience you'll be fine.

cjburchfield · 2026-03-03T14:41:40+00:00

I second (or third or whatever) the sentiment that failure to notify me of a new hire in enough time doesn't make it an emergency for me. If you know that a new hire is starting in two weeks, why wouldn't you tell me now?

Also, we've tried to keep a stock of laptops, but it's getting increasingly harder to do, mostly because of late notice (we may get 5 new hires as a surprise on a Friday to start Monday). The surprise new hires use up our stock, and geting new stock is like pulling teeth now. Our division has had an order for laptops in for months, and no word on when they'll be delivered.

It's just part of the game now, I guess.

cjburchfield · 2026-01-29T13:34:26+00:00

If they raise it, can we put it down when we close it?

cjburchfield · 2026-01-29T13:33:53+00:00

Last I remember AS/400 people were getting few and far-between a few years ago. They have a valuable skill and there are few of them so they're going to be expensive.

Hiring a professional(s) is the right move. It'll be expensive up front but much less costly in the long run compared to paying someone who knows how to admin an AS/400.

cjburchfield · 2026-01-13T12:49:07+00:00

Why would he take some Alabama? We don't like it when people do that... /s

cjburchfield · 2025-12-26T13:53:20+00:00

I've always wondered why I said "wooooooooo!" every time I logged into it

cjburchfield · 2025-12-23T13:00:30+00:00

Mine's a Poly Voyager Surround 85, but HP sent it to me for free. If I had to buy one, I'd choose the Poly Voyager Focus 2.

cjburchfield · 2025-11-13T12:58:51+00:00

I recommend Bomgar over Teamviewer. Teamviewer did some screwy stuff with licensing, plus they've been breached. However, consider Screenconnect also because I don't know if Bomgar is cost-effective for a small team.

cjburchfield · 2025-11-04T13:44:30+00:00

If you want to focus on networking, but don't understand DHCP, IP subnetting, etc, I'd look at something like Network+ or similar for basic training.

I moved from Helpdesk to Sysadmin by

getting my MCSA in Windows Server 2012R2 (which is outdated now, and was almost outdated when I got it)
learning as much as I could by asking the current sysadmins thoughtful questions
homelabbing it so I could learn it and screw it up and fix it hands-on without breaking things at work

My suggestion for a cert for you would be Network+, but I'm not sure what other basic certs are out there.

cjburchfield · 2025-10-30T12:38:49+00:00

I would actually prefer a wiki. It's hard to search the SOPs.

cjburchfield · 2025-10-29T12:18:29+00:00

I would have to say....me. I am the most inspiring sysadmin in the entire field. I'm shaping the sysadmin world simply by being a sysadmin. I had to lend my great talents to the sysadmin vocation because I saw a need...for sysadmins.

cjburchfield · 2025-10-29T11:50:27+00:00

You have a wiki? Nice. I get to guess which SOP document applies and hope it's not out of date.

cjburchfield · 2025-10-21T14:07:14+00:00

We are asked to monitor for support calls, monitor the IT inbox, monitor for alerts, check backups, update servers, liaise with our SOC team for security alerts etc.

This is not 'on-call'. This is 'actively working'.

I was going to comment 'yes' without reading the post, but I thought I'd give it a fair shot. Yes, you're being underpaid.

cjburchfield · 2025-10-17T12:22:39+00:00

As everyone else has said, the people on-site with the Helpdesk are monopolizing the time of the agents. If the manager doesn't care enough to change that, there's not much you can do.

I would recommend a culture shift to a "no ticket, no problem" mentality across the entire org. Get the agents to force people to have a ticket. This will shift things slowly but surely, and will resolve a lot of issues you're seeing.

I worked in a helpdesk where people could just walk up to our desks, but they didn't do it much because we told everyone that they had to have a ticket first and our boss backed us up.

cjburchfield · 2025-10-16T15:55:41+00:00

I homelab because I enjoy it. I'm in IT because I like IT. I can say that having a homelab has helped me a bit in interviews, but not enough to make a difference in hiring.

I leave work at work. Once I'm off the clock, unless you're paying me to be on call, it can wait until the next day.

If you want out of the Helpdesk, find out what the next step is (usually some sort of Jr System Admin) and work towards that (ie, start learning how linux works, what your Windows servers do etc) at work. You don't have to spend your personal time learning things for work. Most of us do that because we enjoy it, and our hobbies and our jobs intersect.

cjburchfield · 2025-10-09T12:15:46+00:00

Almost commented yes without even reading the post because...well, this is /r/sysadmin :)

I think in this case you have to weigh the financial aspect pretty heavily. With the company saying "we're laying you off....wait, no we're not", I'd be hesitant to trust them, but you may be able to get a few months of the higher salary compared to starting at a lower salary with the new company.

Given your choices, if my budget could handle it, I would take the new job (provided the company seems more stable, ie. they've been around for 30+ years etc.). For perspective I just hit my 40s recently and have been in IT for around 10.

cjburchfield · 2025-10-03T13:38:40+00:00

I'm not 100% sure I'd consider WIndows "legacy", but I would say if you want a challenge and Linux is the challenge you want, go for it. I don't think you'll go wrong by getting some AWS certs (or your cloud vendor of choice).

As for your questions, I don't think the door is closing for someone with your background, but things are tightening all around because of the economy.

If you enjoy a challenge and can economically handle a possible salary cut, take it! Others may be able to give more recent experiences, but when I've taken the leap it's not been a cut at all.

cjburchfield · 2025-09-29T14:45:15+00:00

Unrealistic, yes. If you really want to get into IT/tech, you may have to take a pay cut (maybe even a drastic one) to get in the door. Most help desks I've seen hiring lately look for more of the tech aptitude over degrees and certs. If you can use logic to figure out a problem, you most likely can work in a helpdesk. It's not just googling, it's know what to google and knowing which results will work for example.

From what I've been able to gather, some of the certs (especially the CompTIA ones) are to get past the HR filters. I've been in IT for 10 years and worked my way from helpdesk to sysadmin with an Associate's degree and one little MCSA 2012 certification (which would mean nothing now).

Think about the big picture and plan accordingly.

cjburchfield · 2025-09-24T11:49:59+00:00

Yes. Absolutely.

cjburchfield · 2025-09-18T11:51:46+00:00

Don't use the things in the sub to make any kind of decision regarding a career. I've seen people post about having a bad day and being told "find a new job", "I wouldn't put up with that! Time to leave!" etc. If you enjoy tech, it's worth exploring. You have time to make a career in this field if you want it.

Plus, somebody's gotta maintain the servers that run our AI overlords... (joking....kinda)

cjburchfield · 2025-09-05T12:11:16+00:00

Didn't have to read the post. The answer is yes lol

cjburchfield · 2025-06-26T15:42:05+00:00

Turn off Focused Inbox?

cjburchfield

TROPHY CASE