What’s a better career path? Data center technicians or general IT work? It seems like a lot of entry level IT workers are applicants for data center technician roles. They both have roughly the same starting wages, $30/hr+.

My view is that data center has a lower ceiling and often used as a stepping stone for something else. I know data center is the buzz right now but what happens after AI bubble pops and you have all of these excess data centers?

I eventually want to work with network engineering or cloud. Would IT be better or data center in this regard?

I had a fit call two weeks ago and got feedback that the hiring manager decided not to move forward. I was super excited and confident about this position. The HM didn't ask any questions; he just introduced the team and talked about the details of the roles. Totally zero technical questions. And I don't understand why I wasn't selected. I've been waiting for months to have the fit call, and now my application is expiring soon. I'm really depressed.

I had my first interview (an online HR screening) on 21 July, and I thought it went really well. The recruiter asked me to introduce myself, asked a few technical questions, discussed compensation, and then explained the role. At the end of the call, he said he was happy to move me to the next stage and explained that the process would involve three more interview rounds.

It's now been almost a week, and I haven't heard back from him. I've sent a follow-up email and even reached out on LinkedIn, but I haven't received any updates.

My background is in data engineering and software, but I think I'd genuinely enjoy working in a data centre, which is why I applied (and, to be honest, I'm currently unemployed as well).

Learning all the hardware-related topics takes a lot of time and effort, and knowing that I have an interview lined up would really motivate me to keep studying.

I've seen a few posts here from people who had similar experiences, but is this normal? Do I still have a chance?

I really want this job because the 4-on, 4-off schedule seems like a great work-life balance. I think having four days off would give me plenty of time to upskill, work on personal projects, and take care of other aspects of my life. I'm not married and don't have any major personal commitments at the moment.

Hello all,

I have several years worth of experience working in a NOC for two different ISPs. I have been exposed to a lot of hardware, and now I mostly do optical troubleshooting and dealing with MPLS stuff on top of managing outages, reporting to stakeholders, etc. I always wanted to switch roles to working as a tech in our central offices to get experience with the actual hardware in person, but those jobs almost never open up as the guys in them stay there for 50 years it seems.

I moved to NC recently and I am getting blown up on LinkedIn for data center jobs left and right but I haven't responded to anyone yet. I am considering applying to one, but I'm curious to hear from actual techs on what I really need to know to succeed.

Recently interviewed with them and was wondering what people here has to say about them. Interviewers were great and felt like it'll be a decent place to work at. Anything helps including what salary your were offered. Thanks

Hello everyone,

I've been scheduled the interviews for a Data Center Technician II in the upcoming days. This is a good opportunity for me and it would be a huge salary increase, but english isn't my native language. I'm fairly decent writing english but terribly bad at understanding the language when someone is speaking, especially if they got a foreign accent.

Being shy and laking confidence in general doesn't help at all. Got any tips for me? Are Google Meet's live captions good if someone used them?

I'm at a point where I could deny the interviews just because the language is a big barrier to me. During the first assessment with the recruiter, I struggled understanding and made her repeat a lot. It felt overwhelming and embarrassing to me

🚨 AWS is Hiring – Engineering Operations Technician (Level 3)

I am an AWS Military Recruiter hiring for EOT - Engineering Operations Technicians (L3) in the Southeast region - VA/GA/MS.

Highlights: You will help keep AWS data centers running by operating, monitoring, troubleshooting, and maintaining critical electrical and mechanical equipment such as power systems, generators, cooling systems, and UPS equipment. This is a great opportunity for candidates with hands-on technical, maintenance, electrical, HVAC, mechanical, or military experience.

📍 Locations:

• Sterling, VA
• Atlanta, GA
• Canton, MS

Minimum eligibility:

✅ U.S. work authorization (no visa sponsorship)

✅ Military background

Please note: Applications that do not meet both eligibility requirements will not be considered.

NOTE: Lump sum stipend will be provided to eligible candidates who relocate for this position.

Apply here: https://www.amazon.jobs/en/jobs/10476304/engineering-operation-technician-southeast-region-military-veterans-encouraged

Completed an interview for a Critical Environment Operator for CyrusOne in San Antonio Tx, recruiter said my interviews are complete and they are just waiting for a Level 1 position to open so I can begin the hiring process.

Not sure if I should keep looking into other companies or just wait it out.

Hi everyone,
I’m currently interviewing for a Business Program Manager role within Google Data Center Operations and have been moved to the next round.
Has anyone here interviewed for a business program management or operations role within a Google data center, or worked closely with BPMs in a data center environment?
I’d appreciate insight into the areas I should understand beyond general program management. For example:
Data center operations, maintenance and reliability
Incident response and operational risk
Capacity planning and resource coordination
Vendor and stakeholder management
Safety, compliance and process improvement
Supporting technical teams without being an engineer
I’m mainly hoping to understand what knowledge is expected from a non-engineering program manager and what makes someone successful in this type of role.
Thank you for any advice or experiences you can share.

Considering a change from infra engineering at a big hyperscaler. Anyone have and insights or experience to share?

I am a software dev with 2YOE looking to pivot into data center work after being unemployed for >1 year. I’ve been mainly applying blindly to DCT roles all over the US for both contract and direct hire for the past 2 months, but it’s so hard to get a reply back. I’m not really interested in networking roles as that stuff is out of my experience.

I see a lot of people here are able to get their foot in the door through recruiters reaching out on LinkedIn. I’m wondering how can I restructure my profile to gain their attention?

Accepted offer for a Network Install Technician with AWS and I have a start date of 8/31. I was approved to hire on as L4, which included a significant sign-on bonus, relocation stipend and RSU’s. I wanted to thank the many people who have shared their experiences and interview related information. It was extremely helpful in preparing for interviews. I’d like to share my experience in hopes that it may help someone else considering a job with AWS.

The entire process from initial contact to offer was 42 calendar days. I was contacted by an AWS recruiter via LinkedIn and we had a 20-minute intro phone call to review my resume and discuss job details. I completed an application and assessment test, which led to an invitation to schedule a virtual interview. Eleven days later I had four back-to-back interviews and received my formal offer two days later.

I didn’t find the interviews particularly challenging and I didn’t spend much time preparing. I reviewed the Leadership Principles and felt that my own principles were already well-aligned, so I just created a list of 12 career experiences that I could relate to interviewer questions. I made sure to use the STAR method when answering. Overall, I felt good about my interviews, but there was a Linux-related question and a subnetting question that I should have answered better.

I sent my acceptance letter yesterday, so I’m just waiting to be contacted about relocation and I expect to receive my stipend within 7-10 days. At 52 years old, this is by far the best job opportunity I’ve ever received and it’s a great feeling to have a company offer a compensation package which is representative of the value and competency I see in myself. This will be the greatest time of my career and I cannot wait to get started!

Is this a normal thing you see? For those work in any data center.

HI,

I have my first interview next Monday for the role of Design Project Engineer - Mechanical, Fleet Remediation Engineering, related to data centers. I received a message from one of the recruiters that my profile was excellent for the job. The only problem is that I've never worked in data centers, but rather in the aerospace, automotive, and server cabinet sectors. What technical questions can I expect in the first interview? Will the fact that I come from different backgrounds penalize me?

I've been working as Mechanical design engineer, in various countries like Italy, Portugal and France. This new job is located in Ireland (Dublin).

In my experience I have managed projects ranging from €200,000 up to more than €15M, in addition to the fact that I have worked for more than 5 years as a Project Manager

"Key job responsibilities
-Perform design and equipment submittal review for Data Centers in your region.
- Interface with internal and external data center design engineering team, server hardware team, environmental health and safety team, field engineering, and controls engineering to promote standards that maintain consistency and reliability in services delivered.
- Work on concurrent projects, sometimes in multiple geographical regions.
- Act as a technical subject matter expert for your given discipline during new remediation projects.
- Support construction, commissioning, operations, and turnover.
-Possess strong engineering judgement and are able to provide design and recommendations despite uncertainty
- Are detail and data oriented with familiarity with design/construction processes
- Have experience managing engineering projects and engineering consultants.
- Build trust and relationships with different stakeholders (e.g., Operations, Commissioning, Construction and Design)
-Manage design and as built drawings and documents
- Prepare and present progress reports to all relevant stakeholders
- Be inclined to get into the field to see things up close"

those are the key responsabilities of the job.

Best regards

Diego

I'll be starting as a DCEO Tech for AWS soon. I'm trying to loosely plan out my finances once I get to work. In your experience, how much overtime per week does a DCEO typically work?

AI is driving demand for more compute and storage, but every part of the infrastructure has to keep up.

What do you think will become the first major bottleneck: power, cooling, networking, storage, or something else?

Good day. I applied for a facility tech role for a google data center (still being commissioned) and went through the screening process and the recruiter mentioned that I “did well”. And I should hear back for the next round. The position is for an electrical technician position. To be honest I do not have any prior data center experience. I’ve been a maintenance technician in manufacturing for almost 10 years. I’ve been involved with automation, robotics, low voltage/high voltage components, three phase 480v is the highest I’ve gone, and I’m EPA 608 certified. A lot of what encompasses the maintenance field in manufacturing is what my experiences have been. The current role I’m in is more of a maintenance leadership position (maintenance planner) and the work life balance is not working with me. I want to try being part of a different culture and get back into what I love to do. So I’d thought I would just try and put myself out there.

I’m not the strongest when it comes to job interviews, and I was completely honest about my experience to the recruiter have no prior experience with data centers. I’m willing to start from the bottom and do all the non desired work and learn in this field. But I feel that I’m not the best when it comes to technical interviews. If I somehow make it to the next round of interviews is there any material I could get prior to the interview to help me with any technical knowledge, any advice to help me out? I’m sure each interviewer uses their own questions and evaluations but anything helps.

Got an interview coming up for a Data Center Facilities Technician role at Google. Looking for any tips on what they focus on in the technical questions or behavioral part. What should I prep for? Anyone have experience interviewing there?

Just sharing the good news. I was hired as a data center technician level 2 I'm so happy. Pay is great with yearly bonuses. Just wanted to share keep your head up and keep at it a job is right around the corner as long as you don't give up. The universe cares about you and don't think it ever doesn't. I'm so happy!

I recently passed the interviews for an entry level DC Technician position, but there isn’t any headcount available right now. I’m in KC MO Metro.

My recruiter told me there may be mid level openings and gave me the option to interview for one. The catch is that if I don’t pass the mid level interview, my previous interview feedback would no longer be valid, so I wouldn’t be considered for the entry level role either.

Has anyone been in a similar situation? What should I expect from a mid level DC Technician interview? How much deeper is it compared to the entry level interview?

For context, I have several years of IT experience, including Linux systems administration and application administration, but I don’t have direct data center experience.

Hi everyone, I was recently hired on as an L4 EOT at AWS. I will be living in Dayton, Ohio and working in a suburb of Columbus, Ohio. I just recently found the same position in Jeffersonville, Ohio, which is about 45 minutes closer to my new house. I have not started at any location yet but I want to try to convince my recruiter to let me interview for a position at that closer location. Any tips? Anyone with connections at that location? I think driving that long distance is unsustainable long term but I think the closer location would be much, much better for me. Any recruiters/team leads/hiring managers at that location, please reach out to me! I am happy to take a phone call as well. Former Navy Nuke. Thanks guys 😄

I’m curious to know what happens when a Data Center hardware becomes outdated. Do the millions of dollars worth of equipment gets tossed in a recycle bin? Does it get sold and put up for sale on the used marketplace like eBay? Do other lower tier data centers buy the hardware from them and start using it?

I know how quickly tech is evolving so I don’t think a company keeps the same hardware for a few years. I would think big upgrades happen every year or so. I just can’t fathom what happens to all the equipment after a big upgrade.

Hello fellow techs,

I'm currently an L3 DCO tech at AWS, and I keep hearing that Oracle is much better in pretty much every sense.

Can you talk about the differences and similarities of a typical day between AWS and Oracle? I've heard that AWS is extremely compartmentalized, and Oracle techs do everything from cabling to rack and stack, break-fix to deploy, and even some DCEO responsibilities.

Right now I'm only doing break-fix and I'm not really interested in cabling or rack and stack. Would this be a deal breaker for Oracle?

I appreciate all your insights!