I am now at my 100 hour mark in my internship with Apple Federal Credit Union. To start, I have completed my main objective from my last entry. My goal was to start working on help desk tickets and I have now begun doing so. I have learned a plethora of troubleshooting techniques to use for common issues. As well as procedures to solve company specific problems that arise.
I have gotten used to their ticket system and how to interact with the users. Of course there are some problem users that you run into on the help desk. However, I feel like those tickets are the ones that you can learn the most from. It teaches you how to conduct yourself for better customer service and to control your emotions.
I have also learned how to complete inventory audits and meeting room technology maintenance within the office. I have even been able to have the opportunity to work on tickets for some people in upper management. The IT department has been extraordinarily helpful and supportive of me as I try to tackle more complex and specific problems. The entire service desk team only has about 12 people including me. So everyone collaborates and works together in order to stay on top of tickets and complete projects for the company.
From my observations I noticed that the IT service desk here probably does a lot more than what another helpdesk department would. We do not focus entirely on just reactive ticket work. As a team we also conduct branch visits for upgrades and decommissioning of equipment. We collaborate with the other IT Ops teams in order to proactively plan new and improved projects that benefit the entire organization.
We also have a couple of tier 2 service desk engineers. I will interview one of my tier 2 co-workers, Nick Botz.
Q: What do you think is the most important skill to have as a service desk engineer?
A: By far Troubleshooting skills is the most important ability you can have. It applies to any role in IT from service desk to an administrative role.
Q:What made you decide to have a career in IT?
A: I’m good at it but aside from that it’s a constantly evolving industry. It allows me to continue to learn and never get bored with my day to day tasks. What worked yesterday may not work today.
Q: What do you think Apple as an organization does well with its IT Ops teams?
A: Firstly, the CEO heavily invests in IT. So, he understands that for the organization to maintain a competitive edge, IT must be enabled and empowered with the necessary tools, funding, and talent required. This improves Apple’s critical systems and services to provide the best member experience. As well as, to generate revenue even though we are technically not for-profit.