Job Shadowing Question

[smittytech]

I've only been in the IT field for about 3yrs & I'm the helpdesk for a small company (less than 50 people). The helpdesk position didn't exist prior to me so my job duties have been created "on the fly" so to speak.

A+ is the only certification that I currently hold. (I have a study guide for Network+, I don't have the money for formal training right now & my employer won't pay for any additional training.)

I would like to learn how "the helpdesk" operates in a larger company so that I can get a better view of "the big picture." My view of IT is very narrow as it's based on my current duties.

How can I ask a stranger (CIO, HDesk Mgr.) if I can job shadow for an hour or two just to see how they run their helpdesk and get 'Yes' for the answer?


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"Life without chocolate is too terrible to contemplate!"

 

[bdjb]

Hello,
I've worked at several large Help Desks, and they are all similar. Do you know anyone who works at a company with an IT Help Desk? They may be able to introduce you. If you have specific questions, I would be happy to try and answer them.


What happens if you get scared half to death twice?

Bob

 

[smittytech]

Unfortunately I know very few IT people....I know 2 other than myself.

******************************************
"Life without chocolate is too terrible to contemplate!"

 

[LesleyW]

...then you need to network! Are there any local IT groups in your area? If not you may need to look at joining some more general business forums (such as the Round Table in the UK)... at least some of the people attending will have companies with IT departments. I've not done much networking myself as I don't feel the need in the same way as I work for a large corporation, but maybe others on the list can give you better pointers on how to go about it.

 

[smittytech]

I asked computer repair shops, ISP's, local computer vendors & tech spt companies and so far every one of them said they were not aware of any IT groups locally. The only thing I could find were user groups for ISP's and if you don't have them as your ISP provider you aren't supposed to attend. My ISP provider is an hour away and no user group locally.

I was thinking of calling or emailing the CIO of the hospital and asking if I could "shadow" for an hour or two in order to learn how things are done on a grander scale. I would be willing to sign a confidentiality agreement....
I just don't know HOW to ask without sounding stupid or breaking some unwritten rule that I don't know about.



******************************************
"Life without chocolate is too terrible to contemplate!"

 

[bdjb]

I don't know of any "unwritten rules", but I think the best way to ask would be to be honest. Tell them you are trying to learn more about the field, and would like to know if you could shadow someone. Most people are glad to "show off" their skills.

What happens if you get scared half to death twice?

Bob

 

[Ragnarox]

How does one go about locating IT groups? I live in the Dallas area and have been programming for less than one year and know that I still have a lot to learn.

How would I go about searching on the internet for one of these groups? Or would the university that I attended be a better source of information?

Any help, as always, is greatly appreciated.

Brian

 

[kcongdon]

A few groups to try:

the Association for Computing Machinery

http://www.acm.org

IEEE Computing Society

http://www.computer.org

System Administrators Guild (mostly UNIX)

http://www.sage.org

Search for user groups by OS: Linux, Windows NT, Windows 2000, Pocket PC (basically search by OSes used to run the programming application)

Check the bulletin boards at any local university---even if it's not your alma mater.

 

[SF0751]

I ran a Google search with the following words - computer groups dallas - and came up with the following links:

http://www.computeruser.com/resources/usergroups/dallas.html

This has about a dozen links for groups in Dallas.

http://cdb.apcug.org/locdtst.asp?LCID=TX

More Dallas user groups.

And

http://www.ntpcug.org/

- this is for the North Texas PC Users Group.

These types of groups usually have a large percentage of their membership that are in the IT profession.

I think that both college groups and independant user groups have a lot to offer. Don't exclude one in favor of the other; check out both.



Susan
_{You have all the characteristics of a popular politician: a horrible voice, bad breeding, and a vulgar manner.}
^{Aristophanes, 424 B.C.
Lex clavatoris designati rescindenda est.}