Tier 2 Tech Support: Must knows? (how to, Windows, working, hardware)

[harhar]

From Wikipedia:

Technical support - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


"Level 2(L2)
This is a more in-depth technical support level than Tier I containing experienced and more knowledgeable personnel on a particular product or service. It is synonymous with level 2 support, support line 2, administrative level support, and various other headings denoting advanced technical troubleshooting and analysis methods. Technicians in this realm of knowledge are responsible for assisting Tier I personnel solve basic technical problems and for investigating elevated issues by confirming the validity of the problem and seeking for known solutions related to these more complex issues.[7] However, prior to the troubleshooting process, it is important that the technician review the work order to see what has already been accomplished by the Tier I technician and how long the technician has been working with the particular customer. This is a key element in meeting both the customer and business needs as it allows the technician to prioritize the troubleshooting process and properly manage his or her time.[5] If a problem is new and/or personnel from this group cannot determine a solution, they are responsible for raising this issue to the Tier III technical support group. In addition, many companies may specify that certain troubleshooting solutions be performed by this group to help ensure the intricacies of a challenging issue are solved by providing experienced and knowledgeable technicians. This may include, but is not limited to onsite installations or replacements of various hardware components, software repair, diagnostic testing, and the utilization of remote control tools used to take over the user’s machine for the sole purpose of troubleshooting and finding a solution to the problem.[5][8]"


I think you're on the right track.

Learn how to use remote assistance, virtual machines if you haven't already, and get familiar with a lot of networking terms.

But the most important thing (in a tier 1 type role is) is learning how to find things on Google fast to solve a problem.

[Nomander]

It sounds like you have a general experience at the level of an Comptia A+. Some information that would help and is likely relevant to the level of work you will be dealing with is to look into the Comptia Network+ and Sever+ lines of content. You don't have to test for the cert if you aren't interested (though it always is good to), but the content is on the level with what you will be dealing with and is organized in a general fashion of basic networking and server management. As for their mention of SSL, you might look into the Security+ line of content as well as it will cover all the function of basic security concepts (SSL, IPsec, general encryption, etc...). If your place is a Microsoft house, you could look into the MCP/MCSA/MCTS line of content to get the basics to help with the "Microsoft way" in terms of understanding their products as it relates to the basics. The same can be done with Linux using either the Comptia Linux+ line or the LPIC 1-3 certs.

Certs are not a be all end all and they won't make you an expert, but they will familiarize you with all of the concepts and topics to which you might encounter in various levels of jobs. Pick up one of the books and just read through it to get a feel for the topics.

[Pruzhany]

What you need to know is not in the books. Its the experience of working through the little quirks in each system. The things that have no canned answers. The things that require certain items to be done for them to occur and you being able to resolve it by knowing what variables are needed. So what to read if you dont have the experience..........read the techie boards, read the hacker boards.

As to certs, the early ones only prove that you can read and write. The high certs are for the things that havent even made it to market yet. These are expensive to get, but to get them nearly guarantees that job wont be outsourced for a few years. Just look at Oracle 10g payscales, if you are not being paid six figures something is really wrong.

[Bo]

Originally Posted by Nomander

Certs are not a be all end all and they won't make you an expert, but they will familiarize you with all of the concepts and topics to which you might encounter in various levels of jobs. Pick up one of the books and just read through it to get a feel for the topics.

I was going to suggest this, too.

[Nomander]

Originally Posted by NeilVA

What you need to know is not in the books. Its the experience of working through the little quirks in each system. The things that have no canned answers. The things that require certain items to be done for them to occur and you being able to resolve it by knowing what variables are needed. So what to read if you dont have the experience..........read the techie boards, read the hacker boards.

As to certs, the early ones only prove that you can read and write. The high certs are for the things that havent even made it to market yet. These are expensive to get, but to get them nearly guarantees that job wont be outsourced for a few years. Just look at Oracle 10g payscales, if you are not being paid six figures something is really wrong.

I disagree to an extent. Experience is invaluable, it certainly brings about situations that often are not found within basic academic texts, but in my experience, a lot of the problems are avoided by having a foundation in the subjects.

When I was programming, we had "experienced" programmers who lacked any real understanding of the core structures and foundations of software development and maintenance. The bulk of their experience was that of trial and error with the foundation concepts. That is, they would apply methods without knowledge of those basic structures and the result was problems that they later had to resolve due to their lack of understanding of them. Sure, once they "learned" from those mistakes, they were more valuable in knowledge and experience with those specifics than that of one who simply understood the academics of such practice, but the point is that they wasted a lot of businesses time and money on the issue that could have been avoided by having a basic academic foundation in the subject.

Certs are a double edged sword. How useful they are depends on those who obtain them. I have seen some who have brain dumped and they are worthless. I have also seen others who simply studied "enough" to pass the tests, they are also worthless, yet some do comprehensive study on the topics and while they may not be "experienced" in all of the non-traditional occurrences that show up concerning the topic, they are better equipped to handle issues with the topic than another who may have experience, yet lacks any foundation in the specifics of any implementation they are working on.

I have seen some network engineers with "experience" generally in the field, but without the foundations of a particular design and setup they were attempting to implement. Their lack of knowledge on that specific topic resulted in them spending an enormous amount of time fixing errors with their configurations because they lacked the understanding of the intricacies of what they were working with, a problem that would have been irrelevant if they had the foundations to the topic they were dealing with.

So while I agree that certs aren't a guarantee, they are still useful. I would higher a person who had some certs, yet no production experience, but could properly show their level of skill in an interview over someone with experience, yet no certs, who could not properly discuss the issues of the topics in an interview. There are a lot of people out there with "experience" who are simply "experienced" at doing things in a poor manner.

A driver may have 20 years of driving experience, but driving 20 years poorly does not make a good driver.

edit:

I was speaking of the early certs. Something as simple as an A+ is actually a useful cert. You would be surprised at how many people walk in for a Network Administrator job and yet lack even the most basic understanding of hardware configuration and troubleshooting. Personally, I think everyone in the IT world should have one (that is, if they studied honestly for it and in a comprehensive manner).

[skel1977]

Tier 1. Useless questions that wont fix jack sh*t. Is your modem plugged in? Is your computer turned on? Did you clear your cache and temp internet files? Ok why dont you unplug your modem and turn off your comptuer and reboot, is it working now? Uh no im retarded, i didnt realize my computer was not on, thanks its working now

Tier 2: Ok going to ping your Ip address. Go to start run, type xxx tell me what you see. Go to control panel and double click my network. Tell me whats checked off there. etc.

In otherwords tier 1, reads from a book
tier 2 actually knows the stuff and doesent need a book and are actually familiar with the product they are helping you fix

[Pruzhany]

Something as simple as an A+ is actually a useful cert.

Its a useless cert. Most of the information in it has no current usage. Its a cheap foundation cert that looks good on resume for low level work. The main goal, as in any career, is to get the most pay for the least amount of work. The only way to stay alive in our field is to job jump every few years until you hit your goal salary. At my level I get certs to keep my job rather than expand my knowledge. Most of the new stuff coming out I've already hit and resolved. So by the time the conference happens (like the Oracle conference in NV last April) its a waste of my time. My company didnt give me the option of saying I dont want to go. They said here are your hotel reservations have a nice trip.

So here is my bit. Job jump to gain experience. A better job comes up, jump. Take as many certs as they will pay for. Always resolve, dont explain how it was resolved. This includes answering the phone 24/7. Do the parts others are unwilling to do. If they offer you an Indian counterpart, its time to jump (your position is about to be outsourced no matter what they tell you).

Now you may think I sit in my office all the time. Nope. My office is my celly. I haven't been in my building in three(ish) years and I dont go to company holiday functions. I meet an office friend once every few months to get the office politics update. I used to carry a notebook and now carry an IPad. Its a dream job for the freedom I have. But when a certain number comes up on the celly Its root canal time w/o the drugs. Or when I have to jump onto an airplane to hold hands with a client - I just do it. I've got to be in instant resolve mode.

Maybe all of this was TMI.

[Nomander]

Originally Posted by NeilVA

Its a useless cert. Most of the information in it has no current usage. Its a cheap foundation cert that looks good on resume for low level work. The main goal, as in any career, is to get the most pay for the least amount of work. The only way to stay alive in our field is to job jump every few years until you hit your goal salary. At my level I get certs to keep my job rather than expand my knowledge. Most of the new stuff coming out I've already hit and resolved. So by the time the conference happens (like the Oracle conference in NV last April) its a waste of my time. My company didnt give me the option of saying I dont want to go. They said here are your hotel reservations have a nice trip.

So here is my bit. Job jump to gain experience. A better job comes up, jump. Take as many certs as they will pay for. Always resolve, dont explain how it was resolved. This includes answering the phone 24/7. Do the parts others are unwilling to do. If they offer you an Indian counterpart, its time to jump (your position is about to be outsourced no matter what they tell you).

Now you may think I sit in my office all the time. Nope. My office is my celly. I haven't been in my building in three(ish) years and I dont go to company holiday functions. I meet an office friend once every few months to get the office politics update. I used to carry a notebook and now carry an IPad. Its a dream job for the freedom I have. But when a certain number comes up on the celly Its root canal time w/o the drugs. Or when I have to jump onto an airplane to hold hands with a client - I just do it. I've got to be in instant resolve mode.

Maybe all of this was TMI.

How is that? The A+ isn't a guide, it is simple a knowledge base. To claim that most of its content has no current usage is rather odd. It isn't a job description or a daily duty of tasks, nor a focus of application, it is just a basis for understanding basic technology.

Don't look at it from a veteran who has seen the ins out and outs of everything in the industry, think of it as something that should already be known by those working in it. Personally, if someone doesn't know at least in basic theory the aspects discussed in the A+, they shouldn't even be working in the field.

[mensaguy]

Originally Posted by Nomander

How is that? The A+ isn't a guide, it is simple a knowledge base. To claim that most of its content has no current usage is rather odd. It isn't a job description or a daily duty of tasks, nor a focus of application, it is just a basis for understanding basic technology.

Don't look at it from a veteran who has seen the ins out and outs of everything in the industry, think of it as something that should already be known by those working in it. Personally, if someone doesn't know at least in basic theory the aspects discussed in the A+, they shouldn't even be working in the field.

I agree. If you don't know the things covered on the A+ test, you probably shouldn't be doing any more than answering the phone at the Help Desk. Of course, I haven't seen the current version of the test, but I'll guess my comments still apply. I needed the cert over a dozen years ago, so I went and took the test. That was when I decided that this stuff was basic but fundamental to tech support work.

[Nomander]

Originally Posted by mensaguy

I agree. If you don't know the things covered on the A+ test, you probably shouldn't be doing any more than answering the phone at the Help Desk. Of course, I haven't seen the current version of the test, but I'll guess my comments still apply. I needed the cert over a dozen years ago, so I went and took the test. That was when I decided that this stuff was basic but fundamental to tech support work.

Well, the 220-300 tests were far more technical and honestly, I would consider them to be a superior test over most of the newer ones, though I haven't seen the new 220-700 tests. The 220-600 tests were a bit... well... weak, though they did cover functional basics, they spent time on subjects I thought odd, such as basically how a tech should communicate to non-tech people.

Agreed, one of the problems (not so much a problem, but a comfort factor) is that those of us who have been in the field for a long time, we come to think of a lot of concepts as second to breathing, that these things should be known as a matter of fact. Maybe that is why the 600 series of the A+ tests spent time on tech to "average Joe" relations. /shrug

Regardless, I still think the tests are a good foundation for someones knowledge of the subjects (And this is coming from a person who absolutely despises tests and their attempt to "judge" a person). Experience is nothing more than dealing with reality of a topic outside of an academic world, yet this does not invalidate academics, it merely is the issue of "in a vacuum" doesn't represent actuality, but academic is ALWAYS the basis for reality in its simplest form. That is, while things may not always work like they are explained in a text book, the text book is rarely wrong in its working according to its explanation in its described environment. Its the additions outside of that description to which "experience" is obtained.

Ive done the school, the certs, etc... and while I may joke about education in its limitations as being nothing more than a rough piece of toilet paper, that comment is more concerning the loop holes of those who pass such institutions, not the concept and purpose of them.

The problem with certifications is more so those who are able to surpass the purpose of them (brain dump, cheat sheet, etc...) rather than it is that of the core aspect of them itself.

Though some certification institutions are trying to alleviate this problem. Cisco's new CCNP apparently was derived from the concept of practical application and their new tests can't be brain dumped (apparently).