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Maybe he was reporting the quantum unknown state of the server, and until you directly observed it they were both up and down Helpdesk_schrodinger01 Or is it 02? You won't know until you check!
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Apr 28, 2015 12:45
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Laserface posted:
This...I just...wow...am I reading this right? My 11 yr old and 14 yr old both understand rudimentary network connections at a high level. (And they aren't really interested in computers at all.) Pretty sure my mom does too. This is pretty high level stuff. Like REALLY high level stuff. It's like connecting a drat hose to spigot...or plugging something in for power. I was all ready to say "Don't pick on interns! Help them learn" But clearly you gave this guy a lot of chances. If he can't understand simple physical connections, and copy and paste, then goddamn...
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Apr 28, 2015 13:31
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metavisual posted:This...I just...wow...am I reading this right? I want a recorded conversation between intern and this guy to make sure he isn't like yelling at the intern and berating him. Maybe he just doesn't care.
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Apr 28, 2015 13:56
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Laserface posted:
Someone buy the intern an account...I'd love to chat with him based on this alone... I mean, is he just standing there like a dope when you explain something to him or ask him something? Or is he saying "okay great, thanks for the info", and noting it down or anything? I guess what I'm trying to ask is...is he even TRYING? If not, maybe he just doesn't even really want to be there...at which point you might want to sit him down and ask him what he intends and where he wants to be...maybe he needs a mentor, or maybe he really just doesn't give a gently caress. metavisual fucked around with this message at 14:28 on Apr 28, 2015 |
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Apr 28, 2015 14:25
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Laserface, did you interview this kid?
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Apr 28, 2015 14:32
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Roundboy posted:Maybe he was reporting the quantum unknown state of the server, and until you directly observed it they were both up and down Of course, checking the status of the server will change the state...
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Apr 28, 2015 14:43
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Inspector_666 posted:Of course, checking the status of the server will change the state...
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Apr 28, 2015 14:46
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He has a slew of social-based fouls (like, "on the spectrum" level) that Im not sure are really on-topic, but happy to share to paint a better picture of what I can only describe as the Mr. Magoo of IT.SlayVus posted:I want a recorded conversation between intern and this guy to make sure he isn't like yelling at the intern and berating him. Maybe he just doesn't care. he does care. he constantly asks for stuff to do. I said to him the other day 'after lunch, I will have a task for you to do for us' and he immediately jumped to 'answering the phone?!' so he does seem to want to be involved. Its just hes too dangerous to let him be involved. Im not yelling at him. I feel sorry for the guy getting all our poo poo kicker work or sitting there all day watching PRTG poo poo the bed over a win 8 box dropping ping for 5 minutes, but he cant be trusted to work on anything on his own. Actual paying customer work is being quoted and I cant run the tests required to quote accurate lead time because I am explaining what a Netgear Wifi Router is to a guy.. I want to help him, so I am testing his problem solving skills. I knew the Ethernet port on his laptop was dead - I wanted him to show me he could do the most basic of troubleshooting (check for static IP settings, reset the device, etc) he didnt even know how to do that! once he was connected I asked him to determine his IP and the IP of the sensor. he went into 'network' (the autodiscovered shares in explorer, not network and sharing center, or network adapters) and right clicks the netgear router, and then tells me his address is 192.168.1.1. I asked him what his gateway was and he didnt even know what I was referring to. Using our office network as an example, I asked him to answer the question again. Still didnt get it. metavisual posted:This...I just...wow...am I reading this right? yeah, I explained this to my friend who has no idea about computers or networking and even they knew what a router was and how to connect to it. I had to explain numerous times that he needed to copy and paste a UNC path to some software into WINDOWS EXPLORER: THE MY COMPUTER SCREEN, and not Google chrome. and that the software required to be run as administrator to work. and how to run things as administrator. KoRMaK posted:Laserface, did you interview this kid? I was given 2 resumes for potential interns from my manager. I reviewed them with one of my two peers, and we decided to get both in for an interview. The interview was conducted by my peer, who in all honesty is more knowledgeable than I am and our manager (who is a manager, not a technical person at all) The other candidate called in sick to the interview. metavisual posted:Someone buy the intern an account...I'd love to chat with him based on this alone... After the router-hour-of-power, I explained that this is the sort of thing you would need to know and perform on a daily basis even troubleshooting home networks, to which he replied 'this is the first time i have done any of this' Another gem: we had recently relocated 6 staff to new desks in a new area of the office. this required cabling, PCs, conduit, the whole lot to be moved, installed, etc. we did it after hours while waited for the western states to close business so we could take the servers offline to install new UPS batteries and run our monthly UPS failover testing. The next day we Asked Intern: A) collect any left over NEW cables and put them in the plastic tubs and return the tubs to the store room B) get all the waste packaging and other mess and put it in the garbage C) check all the connections again to ensure everything will work before they start at 9am. he pulls off all three, surprisingly. Later the next day a staff member emails me to say there is a box of old cables on the floor behind her and her boss asked us to collect it. I tell Intern "hey theres a box on the floor in the new area, grab it and throw it out as its just old cables" he comes back about 10 minutes later and says it was done. I go in to check everyone is happy in their area and the box is still there. I ask him to go and get the box. he comes back again 10 minutes later, and says he cant find the box. I point to the wall and say 'its directly on the other side of this wall, behind <person>' he says 'who is <person>?' 'it doesnt matter who they are, there is one person, the box is on the floor behind them. its right there, on the other side of the wall, at that exact location' 20 minutes pass and he comes back. The box is still there when I leave that afternoon. Laserface fucked around with this message at 14:59 on Apr 28, 2015 |
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Apr 28, 2015 14:48
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Laserface posted:he comes back about 10 minutes later and says it was done. What did he throw away  Edit: If he didn't actually throw anything away and is just lying, holy poo poo. I see people like this all the time, and it always blows my mind that people can be this spoiled and apathetic about potential careers. Like, I didn't major in anything computer related; I'm actually a licensed high school social studies teacher. I've done a lot of different work, but IT always felt the most enjoyable. I studied my rear end off to get my A+ to find a job, and everything I'm doing now is a "learn by doing" situation. But still, I'd never just flounder around with simple tasks and straight up LIE when I can't accomplish a thing. I'd kill for an opportunity like that. Every time I read one of your posts, I'm just biting my nails and screaming internally, "No! You're wasting your chaaaaaance!" 
A Frosty Witch fucked around with this message at 15:06 on Apr 28, 2015 |
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Apr 28, 2015 14:57
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Laserface posted:I had to explain numerous times that he needed to copy and paste a UNC path to some software into WINDOWS EXPLORER: THE MY COMPUTER SCREEN, and not Google chrome. Take him out back and shoot him.
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Apr 28, 2015 14:58
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larchesdanrew posted:What did he throw away Twist: He disconnected and then threw away all the new cables that were just plugged in and set up!??!
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Apr 28, 2015 15:00
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spog posted:Take him out back and shoot him. Interns should be treated as a herd, not as pet.
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Apr 28, 2015 15:01
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KoRMaK posted:Interns should be treated as a herd, not as pet. FW: RE: A ticket came in.... Interns should be treated as a herd, not as a pet.
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Apr 28, 2015 15:21
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KoRMaK posted:Interns should be treated as a herd, not as pet. Will an Intel Xeon get hot enough for the branding iron, or should I fire up the old Athlon box in the back of the storage closet?
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Apr 28, 2015 15:22
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I have a B.Sc in Computer Science, and anyone going into computer science and expecting practical knowledge of IT doesn't really get what computer science is. If anything is practical, it's programming or DBA related, and the rest is theoretical like pretty much any academic field. CS and IT are pretty distinct fields. That said, I don't know why someone would go into CS without having a pretty decent passion for computers, and liken it to someone taking English who doesn't like reading. Still, a lot of former classmates could barely turn on a computer, so it's not exactly a rare thing. And in a lot of cases, the more overall interested students were the ones who really succeeded. And if they went into IT, they'd have the skills and foundation to learn it sufficiently, regardless of their CS degree. (Oh god, that was over 10 years ago.  )We picked up a couple of high school kids as interns a few years back. One was pretty skilled, but turned out to be kind of a bum. The other one worked out well enough, and still works for us part time while he's in college. Outside of some basic home PC troubleshooting skills, he was easy enough to train, and really eager to please. There are still a lot of tasks I won't leave up to him, but for the most part I can leave him with most of the jobs I don't want to do - desktop troubleshooting, imaging, cabling, installations, etc.
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Apr 28, 2015 15:48
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Orcs and Ostriches posted:I have a B.Sc in Computer Science, and anyone going into computer science and expecting practical knowledge of IT doesn't really get what computer science is. If anything is practical, it's programming or DBA related, and the rest is theoretical like pretty much any academic field. CS and IT are pretty distinct fields. Laserface posted:So it gets better. Hes not doing computer science. hes doing IT and communications. so its not a matter of him not understanding things because hes good at math and programming, hes actually supposed to be studying this poo poo.
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Apr 28, 2015 15:51
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anthonypants posted:A correction was made: Haha, drat. That makes it even worse.
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Apr 28, 2015 15:53
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I feel like this comes up every 5 pages but couldn't find anything more recent. Any recommendations for quick, limited ticketing systems? I dont need a user portal or anything like that and I'd like to avoid Spiceworks. Just something for myself that I can use to enter in tickets and track time for reporting on my end.
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Apr 28, 2015 16:16
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BaseballPCHiker posted:I feel like this comes up every 5 pages but couldn't find anything more recent. Any recommendations for quick, limited ticketing systems? I dont need a user portal or anything like that and I'd like to avoid Spiceworks. Just something for myself that I can use to enter in tickets and track time for reporting on my end. Zendesk will do that for about 2 bucks a month.
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Apr 28, 2015 16:31
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BaseballPCHiker posted:I feel like this comes up every 5 pages but couldn't find anything more recent. Any recommendations for quick, limited ticketing systems? I dont need a user portal or anything like that and I'd like to avoid Spiceworks. Just something for myself that I can use to enter in tickets and track time for reporting on my end. Zendesk?
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Apr 28, 2015 16:32
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I'll throw in another recommendation for Zendesk. Like Sickening said their lower tier is super cheap.
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Apr 28, 2015 17:34
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pr0digal posted:I'll throw in another recommendation for Zendesk. Like Sickening said their lower tier is super cheap. Yeah just got it installed and am running it right now. Looks perfect for me. I just need to be able to submit tickets myself for tracking. Didnt see anyway to assign time spent working on tickets though. Might just estimate that and add it in as an internal note. I'm an idiot just found it as an app. Literally the first app they show on the app page. BaseballPCHiker fucked around with this message at 17:44 on Apr 28, 2015 |
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Apr 28, 2015 17:40
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Anybody get tickets because of the Baltimore riots?
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Apr 28, 2015 17:51
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When I was in highschool back in the 90's we had IT & Communications GCSE classes. They were basically "This is how to draw a table in MS Office, set up a signature in hotmail and how do you program turtle bot in pseudo code to navigate this maze?" It was utter poo poo. Note the teacher called everything, including Windows NT "MS Office" and had constant problems with Sub7 infections causing Mexican waves with the CD drives every day at 3:45pm. Not to mention every day someone would stick their hand up and say "Sir my mouse only has one ball!" and half the class would fall over themselves giggling. Maybe your intern is having a similar experience but updated to licking the 9V batteries supposed to be used with Arduinos, trying to download the correct version of Java and how not to click on every single banner ad? Trick question with the Java of course, there is never a correct version.
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Apr 28, 2015 20:09
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I got a few years into a Computer Science degree before I realized it's bascially just a programming degree and not what I wanted. My real wake-up-call moment was on the first day of an advanced programming class when the professor plugged his laptop into a projector, and his system tray was full of Kazaa and Bonsai Buddy-level bloatware. Then I transferred out and got a degree in History, because gently caress it.
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Apr 28, 2015 20:42
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Knormal posted:I got a few years into a Computer Science degree before I realized it's bascially just a programming degree and not what I wanted. My real wake-up-call moment was on the first day of an advanced programming class when the professor plugged his laptop into a projector, and his system tray was full of Kazaa and Bonsai Buddy-level bloatware. Then I transferred out and got a degree in History, because gently caress it. I basically exchanged high level math courses for more programming and networking classes. I didn't realize this while I was in the program though. But I'm glad my advisers put me in the right bucket.
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Apr 28, 2015 20:53
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My degree's in mathematics and computer science, which is generally a good combination because CS as taught is basically sufficiently advanced mathematics. Did a lot of cognitive science work, so I'm equally happy with lambda calculus, compiler design, and PROLOG, but it didn't do jack poo poo for getting a job when companies wanted people who could write decent code in C or Java. I ended up parlaying it into a risk analysis job in a bank, and fell into a sysadmin role by being the one who replaced half his job with a script.
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Apr 28, 2015 21:26
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DigitalRaven posted:My degree's in mathematics and computer science, which is generally a good combination because CS as taught is basically sufficiently advanced mathematics. Did a lot of cognitive science work, so I'm equally happy with lambda calculus, compiler design, and PROLOG, but it didn't do jack poo poo for getting a job when companies wanted people who could write decent code in C or Java. I ended up parlaying it into a risk analysis job in a bank, and fell into a sysadmin role by being the one who replaced half his job with a script. 
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Apr 28, 2015 21:31
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KoRMaK posted:See, all the stuff you said, I wish I got the exposure. I don't know how to write my own compiler nor do I understand what PROLOG is or lambda calculus It's stuff that has no application in anything other than research. I honestly remember more of it when blackout drunk than I do sober.
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Apr 28, 2015 21:43
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KoRMaK posted:Interns should be treated as a herd, not as pet. This isn't getting nearly enough love.
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Apr 28, 2015 22:46
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So far today he has pointed out an actual outage in another branch due to an internet connectivity issue and also correctly identified that Servicedesk hasnt raised any tickets since 4pm yesterday. I was hopeful for him but then he set up a new PC for a new user and logged them on as local admin and couldnt figure out why outlook wasnt auto-filling their details.
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Apr 29, 2015 01:51
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Laserface posted:So far today he has pointed out an actual outage in another branch due to an internet connectivity issue and also correctly identified that Servicedesk hasnt raised any tickets since 4pm yesterday. I think we here in this thread should help you by getting creative about how to make the best use of his and your time. For instance, and I'm just brainstorming here so forgive me for any bad ideas, give him a usb printer to install to a machine that nobody is using and supply him with three USB cords. Only one of the cords is proven to work.
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Apr 29, 2015 02:00
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KoRMaK posted:How old is this person, and how many years experience do they already have? I could ask him, but Im frightened of what the answer might be. Either way I knew basic networking and problem solving skills well before 20 and even before I was working in IT.
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Apr 29, 2015 02:24
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metavisual posted:This...I just...wow...am I reading this right? Maybe he was trying to boost the router signal by making a rudimentary aerial out of cat5 cable? It's weird that a university student wouldn't have any understanding of it because that was AS level computing for me. I was terrible at it, but it was taught in what I think would be the end of school for American students.
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Apr 29, 2015 02:34
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KoRMaK posted:For instance, and I'm just brainstorming here so forgive me for any bad ideas, give him a usb printer to install to a machine that nobody is using and supply him with three USB cords. Only one of the cords is proven to work. I don't remember if it's this thread or the other one that had the assholes with the gender-flipping chrome extension and bad RAM pranks, but if this were my intern I'd be highly inclined to hand him something like that on an old poo poo box just to keep him busy somewhere so I could get some actual work done.
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Apr 29, 2015 02:37
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Me: Don't reinstall this software unless you see this *lays out parameters, documents the gently caress out of it* Everyone at the helpdesk: OK! *for the past 1 1/2 years* Me: WHY DID YOU DO THIS FOR ISSUES NOT RELATED TO *document*?!? Helpdesk: Hurf durf  I swear to christ at least twice a week. I'm escalating all these to their managers and I'm making sure they're taking action because I've had enough of having to remind people about this.
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Apr 29, 2015 03:17
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KoRMaK posted:I think we here in this thread should help you by getting creative about how to make the best use of his and your time. For instance, and I'm just brainstorming here so forgive me for any bad ideas, give him a usb printer to install to a machine that nobody is using and supply him with three USB cords. Only one of the cords is proven to work. Laserface posted:I want to help him, so I am testing his problem solving skills. I knew the Ethernet port on his laptop was dead - I wanted him to show me he could do the most basic of troubleshooting (check for static IP settings, reset the device, etc) he didnt even know how to do that!
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Apr 29, 2015 04:45
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The real question: If you give him a known good computer and all necessary cords can he attach them correctly so the machine boots and connects to network/accessories?
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Apr 29, 2015 05:54
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We'll let's just load up this database and... oh.. oh my; these passwords are all in plain text..... I asked the current dev why the passes weren't hashed and salted and his reply was: what does salting a password do?
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Apr 29, 2015 06:16
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ratbert90 posted:
Makes it taste better when it's served up somewhere.
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Apr 29, 2015 06:21
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