Hi.

I've never had technical IT experience however I am looking forward to assuming a 1st level helpdesk post.Can somebody advise me on what some of the important things to learn beforehand or skills I need to practice more so Ill not be difficult to adjust at work?Thanks.

Hi, where do I start. Basic skills using comand prompt e.g. telnet, nslookup, ping, netstat. Also using remote desktop. Event viewer is very important to trouble shoot problems. If you use IE only at work make sure you know how it is set up so you feel comfortable using it. tUsing and understanding task manager. Find out what servers are used at your work e.g. 2003 SQL ect and read as much as you can.
Here are some usefull links:

Event viewer help: http://www.eventid.net/
Dos comands: http://www.computerhope.com/msdos.htm
Task manager: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/323527

You can use all the links above at home on your own PC to pactice.

Hi,I really appreciate your comments.
Im just curious about netstat,nslookup and telnet.In what particular occasions 1st tier techs need the use of these?
If active directory knowedge is required,how should I jump-start on this?If there will be no training at all, how will I go over with the basic understanding of active directory?
I do have 2 computers and win 2000 server installer to practice setting up AC and yet don't know if these will be enough to get me going.Can this skill be easily acquired as I go along with the work?Or it does take time and resources.
I have heard 1st tier sometimes turn out as just call loggers.What are the skills you need to focus into in order to be given a chance to be exposed to more technical level?Thanks.

I may be wrong here but from my eexperience, you might be stuck with a script that won't let you transfer calls to a higher level until the script is ready and the caller is annoyed.

If you have ever called a customer support line then you'll know exactly what I am talking about. I'd also find out what problem tracking software/script they use and get familiar with it. Also, try to make friends with the higher admins and try to hang around with them when not at work. Unfortunately, some admins still treat lower level people the same way that Nick Burns (Saturday Night Live, NBC), treated his users. Sometimes administrators tend to forget that at one tiime that they too were an end user.

Also, practice problem solving skills, if possible setup an extra computer at home just for this person and have an experiened admin mess the system up and then try to solve the problem. Also try to research and find the solution on your own and document your research if you do need to escalate the problem.

Always remember, you never get done learning, I just graduated from college and I just now found out that Windows also has symbolic links just like Linux (except for the \'s) so now I can do my program files directory like \usr\bin and my profile directory is \usr\home. (Symbolic links are directory names that simply point to the real directory)

Last but not least, practice good communication skills, spelling and grammar are important as well as speaking fluent and correct English (I don't mean to offend you if your actually in India but I have called support lines where the rep had a 12 syllable name that I could never pronounce and had a hard time understanding what he was trying to say).

I don't mean to discourage you but the company may have QA (Quality Assurance) and AHT (Average Handling Time) rules that need to be followed as well.

I'd also study for at least the A+ exam and try to get certified.

I hope this helps you,
Jeff

References:

Your Company's Computer Guy [Television sketch]. (1976). Saturday Night Live. National Broadcasting Company.
New York, NY.

Hi, imatehie has some very good points. The main points to remember is you are new to IT and your company knowes this so ask questions. AD is not something I can teach you from here, you just need to do it and learn from others. Here is a good podcast link to some basic PC skills http://www.grc.com/SecurityNow.htm
Get microsoft certified http://www.microsoft.com/Learning/mcp/default.mspx look at exams 271 & 272 (help desk) I will start 270 soon when I get time.
This is a great book to help, I have it http://www.amazon.com/Microsoft-Windows-Se...d/dp/0672321548
I set up 2003 at home so I connected the 4 home PCs to it so it was like my own little domain.....have you joined your PC to your domain yet?
Another thing I did and still do is run a VM http://www.vmware.com/ Good for practicing on XP in a vm as if you kill it who cares just start again.
Typing skills are very important if your on the phone and doing stuff on the PC you will need to touch type http://www.typefastertypingtutor.com/

One thing of note: Don't worry to much about breaking things just learn your windows environment so you know it well and if your work uses IE 7 use it at home and learn it well as most of the questions aimed at me are networking and online stuff.

Thanks to both of you.This is of much help to me ,someone who is wanting to succeed in IT field but not so sure if I know enough.

In messing around the system, do I have to go to each system file and try to delete one of them and restore the whole system without reinstallling back the OS?Or I have to do more than that.Thanks for more information.

Hi,

What were some of the few common questions that you asked during your first few days of your work in IT,that somehow made you start at ease, if I may ask?

I would imagine your first few days or weeks will be in training. They're not just going to give you a workbook and a phone and turn you loose. I also think you're going to find out that there is no such thing as a common question in Tech Support

You can say that again!

The best thing I could say is to get MS certified. But wait to you settle in.

"imatechie" gives very good info. Most tech support is scripted
at the first level.
"Did you reboot?"
"Have you cleared the internet cache?"
"Have you run virus/malware scan?"
If the problem goes deeper it is then escalated to level 2 techs.
A+ is usually the cert to get for tech support since it deals mostly
with hardware. Linux is good to know, but most supports do not offer
any kind of help with it, Period!
It will benefit you to have, at the least, working knowledge of all the mainstream
programs. (Browsers, IM clients, Antivirus, Graphics, Media...insert more here)
When you have shown that you can solve problems at this level with relative ease
you will possibly move to level 2 where the problems get harder.

Want an example? Call tech support for your ISP with some bogus problem and pay attention
to how they handle you as a customer.

As far as AHT is concerned, is it expected that level 1 technician must be able to reach a certain number of resolved incidents everyday so that they could stay longer otherwise they will be fired out?
Or they are not going to push you towards something you're unable to do?
I could imagine in level 1, one will be regularly tied out on his seats resolving phone-based issues.Kind of boring but I just hope it'll will mixed up with some challenging tasks. Happy to know some of the excitements you had that blew you up yet worth experiencing as well.