Β #NewToIT #FeelingIncompetent #NeedAdvice
Hey everyone π,
I am just about to hit my 3-month mark in the IT field, and I have to confess… I feel like I have no clue what I’m doing half the time! π Is it normal to feel this stupid, or have I made a huge mistake in choosing this career path?
Any veterans out there who can offer some wisdom? Any personal experiences to share? I would love to hear how you overcame this feeling of incompetence.
Here are a few possible solutions that I have gathered so far:
– Seek out a mentor within the company who can guide you
– Take online courses or tutorials to brush up on your skills
– Don’t be afraid to ask questions or for help when needed
I am eager to hear your thoughts and suggestions! Let’s navigate through this together. πͺ #SupportingEachOther #ITCommunity
As long as you’re not failing to understand the same tickets you’re doing fine.Β
I’m 2 1/2 years in and I still feel stupid on some days. It happens.
Honestly the moment you start feeling like there’s nothing left to learn is where I would be concerned.
Everything you do will always have a first time. Even 15 years in this is the case for me.
I’ve been in IT for a fuckin long time, you always feel like that, but you just get better at realizing it doesn’t matter because everyone feels the same way
it doesn’t go away. The higher up you go, the more esoteric the problems become. Rarely will I hit an issue that I immediately know the answer to. Moreover, you will see issues that are unique to the company and doesn’t exist in an obvious way in public.
Work the problem. Figure it out. Decompose it to base issues until you can ask a cogent question that can be answered somehow. Rinse and repeat.
It’s 1000% normal. I wasn’t “comfortable” in my position until about 6 months in, and even then.. I’ve been here for a year now and sometimes I run into a problem where I am just *lost*
It’s all about *finding* the answers, don’t let the inanimate objects win, and remember that *nobody* knows *everything*.
You’ll never truly know what’s going on until you’ve seen quite a bit of tickets and can learn how to do things WHILE working the tickets. Never be afraid to Google or to research an issue to understand it better. The only thing holding us back in the IT field is our own desire to learn more.
I always tell people that at your first job you shouldn’t expect to feel fully independent for at least a year, and you should expect to ask questions every single day.
Thatβs how everyone learn. It is totally normal. You probably donβt want to work at the job that repeats the exact same tickets everyday. Learn from each new tickets that you got and take notes on how you resolved.
Yes.
I’m a year in and still am learning new things and asking questions sometimes. You’re fine.
Coming up on my 4th or 5th year and still feel stupid as all hell.
It’s probably DNS.
Iβve been in IT for almost two years and as best as I can figure, feeling stupid is normal and even good as long as youβre learning over time AND the office culture is conducive to asking questions and being forthright about not knowing things
One thing that might help you is to establish and stick to regular troubleshooting routine. It helps you to avoid that ‘staring at a brick wall’ feeling when you are supposed to figure out something brand new you’ve never done because you *ALWAYS* have a step one to start at.
I think 3 years in and I still feel like “how the fuck you do that”
No one has all that answers, just google
You don’t always need to solve every ticket in order to be an asset. Do what you can regarding basic troubleshooting and take good notes for the tier 2 that your issue gets escalated to.
When the tier 2 picks up your ticket, they can skip all the stuff you did and get right into the more advanced fixes. They will appreciate it.
Yep. Just look back after 1yr and ask if you still feel the same kind of stupid. You probably won’t. Then you get promoted, and you’ll feel a world more stupid in a hurry. Plus if you get promoted within the same system, you’ll get to facepalm at artifacts from when your past dumber self did stuff your current self is flabbergasted by!
You’ve signed up to be a career student. It’s awful and it’s wonderful.
3 months of experience and you are just that stupid, not in an offensive way just honestly. You’ll continue to find new things in your position for plenty of time to come, some things just don’t happen that often so even people with years of experience might not have seen them before. I feel like an idiot at least once a week at this point.
If you’re learning these things you don’t know so you’re able to handle it next time, you’ll probably be fine. If you’re not understanding anything you’re doing and have to ask the same question time after time again, then maybe it’s worth looking elsewhere if you’re not enjoying it overall. I wouldn’t jump to that conclusion for at least another year or so though.
Google is your friend, knowing how to search and decipher results is the real skill.
30 Years in and I still get things that make you go: What the fuck??? Like others have said if you don’t encounter things that make you question then you are going to be bored soon.
Just keep learning, this job requires constant upskilling since tech changes so much. What was true 30 years ago is much different than today.
Youβre not learning if you already know what to do. If you know what to do for every single ticket, you should be looking for a better job.
Aw yeah totally is. Even after 15 years of this industry I still get that feeling. Its normal, because you can never know everything.
Google is your friend.
You’re doing fine bro\sis. Google is your friend, get error codes if possible and feed them into google. There is no ticket you will encounter that hasn’t been asked sometime in the past 20 years, especially if you’re a Win enviornment since it seems like some issue are just as legacy as the base code itself.
normal for being new imo. as long as you are trying to learn and solve the tickets overtime youll gain knowledge and things become routine (see the same tickets or same resolutions)
This is good advice only if the ones before you did a good note taking job. I will find tickets that just say resolved with no other context. I guess treat others how you want to be treated and leave good notes
5 years as sys admin and common help desk tickets still fool me once and a while. No ones perfect or knows it all.
My first ticket was for a printer not working. All I did was re add it and then didnβt know what else to do so I asked for some tips and got it fixed. It is completely normal.
Iβm 3 years in and Iβm learning new stuff everyday..I continuously find stuff that I have no idea how it works. Keep a one note of things you completed or notes on how to fix stuff youβve come across.
This has helped me a lot. Ie would be adding printers to a print server and how to store drivers for them etc..
Search the system for old tickets that are similar or from the same customer, search emails, search internal documentation, search your notes that hopefully youβre taking, search Google. Ask your teammates if you have to and take notes on everything. Youβll be fine, it takes time.
Iβm a little over a year in my position as a βsupport specialistβ and feel over my head constantly- but behind that problem is the continuous inclination to constantly learn. I think thatβs just the realm of IT. So in all Iβd say itβs completely normal.
What you are experiencing is “Imposter Syndrome” it typically goes away after 5 to 10 years.
Jokes aside, it is normal to feel that way in a new position and some people it can really take a few years for it to wear off.
Yes, it is normal. You can’t just start something and be a pro immediately. You have to know how to solve problems and search the internet, but also understand the environment you are working in which comes with time.. you will look back fondly on this time in the future once you’ve stuck through and learned more. Don’t be discouraged. Use your access to the internet to get as far as you can and then ask questions when you can not progress. The more you learn, the more you will know what questions to ask and how to find anwsers π