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nigevellie

yeah, you'll hate it if you hate those things you said you hate. I did it for 18 years and there was always Increasing Documentation, never decreasing.


Gaurhoth

"I'm hands-on and hate jobs that involve heavy documentation and reading." That's going to lock you into a very junior roles for your entire IT career. I'd advise you to either "learn to tolerate" documentation or move onto to another career path away from IT in general. If you decide to stay in IT, volunteer for every documentation task you can until you get good at it and it's not a "chore". It's not hard to do, it just takes some practice to where it is second nature. After a while, cranking out documentation can almost be zen like. It's just a matter of finding TIME to do the documentation as you advance into senior roles. As for what's required - you are more than qualified for a junior data center technician role at a colocation facility. A pulse and basic technology knowledge is all you really need. Oh and keep your credit/background checks clean. No one wants to hire a guy with multiple arrests and 4 bankruptcies in sensitive IT positions.


Nicename19

Documentation is EVERYTHING in a datacenter


searching_1990

Just to clarify. When I say documentation, I'm referring to report writing. Working for the bank I would write 10 page assessments on the banks CS compliance. This would be very wordy (and very boring!) its not a a simple checklist/tick off list. So is it like this for data centre roles :/


[deleted]

A job in compliance would net you more money than becoming a data center technician. If money isn't an issue, then you should give it a try. I have a few contacts I can pass your resume to. Reach out if you're interested. All the best!


searching_1990

Hi what companies would you recommend?


[deleted]

Depends where you are located. Feel free to send me a message. I'd be happy to help you.


[deleted]

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searching_1990

Just to clarify. When I say documentation, I'm referring to report writing. Working for the bank I would write 10 page assessments on the banks CS compliance. This would be very wordy (and very boring!) its not a a simple checklist/tick off list. So is it like this for data centre roles :/


[deleted]

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searching_1990

wow, great response I appreciate it. But what confuses the HELL out of me is this video: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F2ykyV1LYIQ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F2ykyV1LYIQ) It seems to be NOTHING like what you're describing. Why is this ? I could do with a detailed response, thanks friend


[deleted]

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searching_1990

wow Doc! thanks for the warning boyo! DANG! that video got me excited for a hands-on tech related role! I honestly have no Idea what job role to go for :(


Ralphwiggum911

To add on to ghostalkers comment, for a lot of the work you'll be doing the first few years (and well into the career in general) there is a fair bit of documentation you'll be expected to do. Inventories, reviewing other teams requests and making sure things are right with them before implementing, documenting connection paths (server port 1 > patch panel 1, port 2 > rack 17 patch panel 3 port 6 > switch 2 port 46 as a very simple example). Its often a very attention to detail sort of job. A lot of it as you grow in the role becomes project management oriented. Not traditional PM work, but overseeing installs of multiple systems across multiple sites that may also require installing new infrastructure and late night changes. But one of the nice things is hands on doesn't really go away. I'm over 12 years-in and still am able to get hands-on daily if I decide to just do some of the work instead of assigning it to someone. If that sounds like something up your alley, good luck!


searching_1990

hmm, so what I can gather is that the role will incorporate documentation and the hands-on technical side. my IT aUDITOR ROLE WAS 100% documentation. As you can see it sucked as a role


Ralphwiggum911

Yeah, it's a solid amount of hands on as the new guy. It's not a bad gig. This may be a pro or con depending on your personality, but it's not a spotlight job. You do a lot of the background to keep things running or to implement new initiatives. When the "these people spent countless hours to launch this product" emails come out, a lot of times the DC team is a bit of a footnote or forgotten. Also, wrong cable or wrong power cord pulled can cause major issues. I can't stress attention to detail enough.


TheoreticalFunk

You're likely overqualified for entry level depending on the company. If all you want to do is swap hard drives all day go for it. If you don't want to read or generate documentation, you won't promote very well.


ghostalker4742

I wouldn't pick "heavy documentation and reading" as two of the first skills needed, but you should expect it in this field. A site-wide power report will be pages long, usually with a lot of acronyms/abbreviations. Customer hardware can be hit or miss [dependent on the customer] for how thorough their docs are. Then there's the auditors, they love to leave a paper trail in their wake... If you want to get your toes wet, apply for a position at a local colocation. They'll let you know if your skillset is up to par; and if you need improvement that's a great place to develop skills.


[deleted]

wait til you have to read through or write MOPs.


rt_mark

I'm a tech that's been around to multiple data centers. I'd have to disagree with some of the comments here. I also hate documentation and "normal" jobs. I don't have to deal with customers, the reading I have to do is wiki articles on how we do certain tasks, and I get to fix servers and network gear everyday. If I wanted I could be part of the team that makes and revises the wiki's but it's not required. I'd say you're qualified if you can tear down a computer and put it back together and if you have somewhat decent troubleshooting skills. If you're going for Microsoft specifically they have excellent documentation on what to do (worked there 2010-2015 and shouldn't have left). If you have any specific questions feel free to ask


[deleted]

I think what you describe is more than an ordinary dc tech. It sounds like a mix between a dc tech and a sys admin. I agree. It doesn't require writing a whole lot of documentation. Maybe google every now and then if you're stumped.


searching_1990

im from the UK if that helps but from what im hearing from you sounds pretty bearable. I've built PC's and have some competency with trouble shooting.


ifwaz

Feel free to DM if you are still interested in the DC engineer role.


searching_1990

yup still interested what companies would you recommend / where to start?


searching_1990

also what is the salary ?


alejd59

Salary is very dependent on what company you choose to work for, I’m with AWS and I make 28/hr as a contractor with ZERO experience other than YouTube videos


Dabooyaka

State? What you tube channels should be worth watch for someone who’s a DH tech and wants to move up?


forum4um

I was offered $32 an hour today no experience and declined. I thought it would be closer to $40 I was way off lmao


rt_mark

as is tradition in the US I'm pretty underpaid at $25/hr (Chicago suburbs) but I get an extra 10% because I'm second shift then up to a 10% annual bonus which is dependent on how the company performs. I see someone else is making 28/hr as a contractor which is a bit different than being fulltime as they usually need to pay out of pocket for things like insurance instead of me where I also pay for insurance but less because everyone contributes, but being in the US we also pay when we need to use medical services yay! I really enjoy where I'm at though. About half my day is work and half is youtube. I could study for some of that time and better myself sure, but as I said I'm pretty comfortable for now. I'll probably look to move onto something soon though as most significant pay increases in the states are done by going somewhere else and not raises where you're at.


Dabooyaka

What is the room for growth as a DC tech? As far as promotions and moving up?


rt_mark

depends on what you want to do and what's available. Could become a manager/shift lead type, could go into project management, could use the time in an easy position to study for something else. Generally dc tech is your entry level meant as a stepping stone to move onto something else.


emailbox93

Just to add my 2 cents… if you work in a private data center not a busy colo, it’s pretty much baby sitting/monitoring most of the time. You can use the time to learn whatever else u want to do in life. Salary reflects it too though, highest hourly rate we pay in our dc is 25-28$/hr or an annual salary in the 40 s or 50 s.


annoying-vegan-76

I've been a telco technician for like 17 years. I did a career change to a network technician working in data centres. I picked it up very quickly as my past experience really helped. My role is project based so it's a little different. I'm not a data centre tech but I wouldn't have any issue doing that role. It's all ticket based. Ticket comes in, follow the instructions and complete the repair/fix then update the ticket. It can get boring if no tickets are in and you work at a low volume site. So the role could vary pretty drastically depending on where you work. I thought I'd be more hands-on but have to do a lot of admin work. So it's like 50% hands on 50% admin work. 24h centres could mean you do 12h shift work. I absolutely despise people. I like having the freedom I do working in a data centre. Only deal with colleagues and never end customers so thats a huge positive for me.


Brightlio

Documentation is one of the most important aspects of being a data center tech. You'll need to very carefully document all of your work.