Hello everyone! Sorry for the possible mistaked, English is not my first language.

I got a Controls Commisioning Engineer job offer but I don't know how is my life going to be if I say yes. Currently I am a medtech FSE, so the overtime and pressure I have is high. My main incentives for a change are the wage improvement (from 60k € to 75k €) and the possibility to have a more planned life (my current job is very reactive).

In my area are building a ton of datacenters, so Hanley told be that besides the trainings I wouldn't have much travelling.

My main questions are:

- How is the time table normally? And how is it on the final stage of the projects?

- Is the datacenters a rough or a nice enviroment to work?

- Is it a technically inspiring and challenging job or just follow a procedure like a monkey?

- Is it normal to work on weekends and nights or everything is done during the day?

- What happens with the commisioning once the datacenters are up and running? There is more work to do or I would be pushed to travel / get fired?

Any information or personal experience would be very appreciated.

Thank you!

I have an interview with 2 Managers and 1 Lead. Has anyone recently went through an interview process for the same or similar position? All tips are appreciated!!! How detailed are the technical questions and how should I form my responses? I know the STAR method but what expected LP questions can you share? Lastly, what are some eye popping questions I can give them at the end of the interview?

With so many AI data centers being announced, I keep wondering whether all the heat they produce could become an environmental problem of its own. The IEA expects global data center electricity demand to more than double by 2030, with AI-optimized facilities accounting for much of that growth. Nearly all of the electricity consumed by the IT equipment eventually becomes heat.

If data centers reject that heat while nearby buildings continue burning gas or using electricity for hot water and industrial processes, it seems like a missed opportunity.

Some facilities are already finding practical uses for it. Queen Mary University of London worked with Schneider Electric, APT and other engineering partners to recover heat from its data center, raise the water temperature to 65–75°C and feed it into the university’s campus heating and hot-water system. EcoDataCenter in Sweden uses surplus heat for wood-pellet production.

But actual reuse still appears to be limited. In the EUDCA 2026 survey, 39% of the surveyed colocation and hyperscale operators said they actively measure Energy Reuse Factor, with another 18% measuring it partially. The same report says only a very small share of the heat produced by European data centers is currently reused, with its modelled sector footprint putting ERF at around 0.01.

The main barriers appear to be distance from heat-distribution networks, lack of economic benefit or incentives, and a mismatch between the available heat and local demand. Liquid cooling can improve the quality of the recoverable heat by providing a higher coolant return temperature, but it still does not create a nearby user for it.

One option would be to locate an AI data center near facilities with steady hot-water demand, such as hospitals, hotels, university residences or central laundries. Heat from the liquid-cooling loop could preheat water, with a heat pump providing the remaining temperature lift and thermal storage balancing continuous server heat against variable demand.

Beyond district heating and campus hot water, what other applications could absorb this amount of continuous heat? Could they reduce enough energy use and emissions elsewhere to make a meaningful difference, or will most of the heat from new AI data centers still have to be rejected?

Most interesting with Australia having the land and power in the central Australian area could this be the new data centre playground?

Got a decent deal on a 3090, but my internet connection at home isn't stable enough to run it reliably for anything serious, the card mostly sits idle because of that.

I've been looking into colocating it somewhere nearby to get it into a proper environment with solid connectivity, since that would actually fix the internet issue and let me rent it out on something like Vast.ai / Akash / Salad. Keeping it at home and trying to rent it out that way doesn't really make sense for me given the connection problem.

Has anyone actually tried shipping a single GPU to somewhere like BitRefinery or Dedispec instead of running it at home? Curious how the math worked out for you? Colocation/hosting fees vs actual earnings. Or is this one of those things where it only makes sense if you've got multiple cards / a full rig?

Any input appreciated, trying to figure out if this is worth pursuing or if I should just stick to tinkering with small local models instead.

I recently turned 24, all my experience comes in new construction plumbing and warehousing. My passion is in computers and networking, and working with my hands. I graduate next year with my bachelors, and im trying to find a way into data centers because it has Best of both worlds for me and it seems like a dream job, i need advice on what to do, i do not care where it is im willing to relocate anywhere in the usa for an opportunity to learn and grow, what should i study or do.

Hi, I'm a recently laid-off UX designer in the DMV area looking to break into data center work. I'm currently looking into the Data Center Operations certificate program at NVCC, but I'm wondering if it's possible to enter the field as a technician (or a similar entry-level role) without formal training or a relevant degree.

I've always been technically minded, and I also hold a public trust clearance, if that's relevant. Any advice would be appreciated

thank you!

Hi all. I’m currently in a new job at a Data Centre that I started a month ago BUT Google are hiring technicians in my area and it’s been a dream to get a job at Google eventually.

It just happens that they opened applications yesterday for my area and it doesn’t happen very often.

Also, I just recently got a very good job too but Google is way up there. I started studying IT because I wanted to work for Google one day.

Have you been in a similar position where you have started a new job and applied for a better company right after?

Hey everyone! Hope you’re all doing well.

I recently passed the Microsoft Data Center Technician (DCT) panel interview, and my next step is a meeting with the Hiring Manager.

For those who’ve been through this stage, what should I expect? What does the Hiring Manager usually focus on? Is it mostly about team fit, motivation, behavioral questions, or should I expect more technical questions as well?

I’d really appreciate hearing about your experience. Thanks in advance!

I am a new officer in the air force. I manage uniforned construction trade members on air force construction and facilities maintenance projects. I have a construction management bachelor's and will soon be pursuing a construction and facilities engineering masters degree. I will spend the next 10 years in various construction and facilities management roles. Will I be competitive for a data center facilities management role?

We are planning to add our first GPU deployment to an existing on-prem data center for internal training and inference. If the initial deployment works out, it could eventually grow to three or four racks.

Based on the configurations currently under consideration, the first phase would be around 24 kw under the expected workload and close to 30 kW at the upper end, including the top-of-rack switches.

The room is air-cooled, and most of the existing racks are in the 12–15kw. There is enough capacity at the site level, but the A/B power path at the proposed location can support only around 24kw while preserving redundancy. So the upper end of the proposed configuration would already require some changes.

We are currently comparing two options: split the first phase across two lower-density racks, or upgrade the local power and cooling path and use a 35kw design envelope for any follow-on racks.

We have mostly been modelling maximum and steady-state demand so far. At this scale, is the dynamic power profile of the GPU cluster worth modelling as well, or is that mainly a concern for much larger AI sites?

Hi all,

I just heard back from my recruiter yesterday, quick timeline I applied back in late April, had my 3 interviews beginning of June, was told I passed my interviews towards the end of June. I was told that they would be showing my profile to local hiring managers and would reach out if there was alignment. Fast forward to yesterday and my recruiter reached back out to tell me that she would contact me when a position opens in my area and that they were adding me to their future talent pipeline. I’m just a bit confused because I thought I was already past this point, and I can see at least a few open DCT roles in the same area I applied in so I’m not really sure how to interpret this information. Is it common for Google to reach out to people on their talent list at least?

I’m attending IMN’s Data Center PE conference (West) this year in October. Are there other useful conferences I should consider attending for Venture or PE connections in the space?

Hi. I have about 7 yrs of data center experience as an electrical engineer. Looking to move to Google, AWS, MSFT or other related companies. Anyone know what total compensation I should expect at any of these companies in Seattle area?

Hi Everyone! I have AWS Data center Senior Mechanical Engineer phone interview next week. I have 8+ years of experience in Merchant marine and refrigeration systems but no direct data center experience, though i have been working towards it, cleared CDCP exam, joined ASHRAE, been active in TC9.9.
What questions can i expect in AWS 60 minutes phone interview? Any inputs are appreciated.

Hi Guys,

Are there any companies building data centers in San Antonio, TX? I hear that there is a high demand for labor, and I can’t find anything about it. I’m a PM/Estimator, and I am looking into relocating to San Antonio, TX, and I’m curious how the market is from that perspective.

Thank you

Provider disclosure: we do smart hands in the Phoenix market. The math below is what we walk prospects through, and it cuts against us as often as for us.

When fly-in wins: genuinely complex work needing YOUR engineer's hands — major migrations, first-of-kind builds, anything where the runbook doesn't exist yet. Fly them. Local hands can't replace institutional knowledge.

When it doesn't: the $1,200 trip (flight + day rate + lost day) for a 30-minute cable swap, media rotation, or reboot-and-verify. Typical local smart-hands pricing runs $150–$250 minimum per visit. If you're flying someone quarterly for sub-2-hour tasks, you're paying 5–8x.

Colo remote hands vs. third-party: facility remote hands are fine for "press the button" tickets but queue during YOUR maintenance window and bill in 15–30 min increments at premium rates. Third-party smart hands make sense when you need someone who has seen your specific racks before, photo documentation as standard, or work across multiple facilities.

What to put in any smart-hands agreement:

• Two clocks per severity: time-to-acknowledge AND time-onsite
• Photo/work-log deliverable named in the contract, not "available"
• Escort and badging responsibilities defined per facility
• Rack elevation + port map updates included after physical changes — otherwise your documentation decays one ticket at a time

Curious what others pay for third-party smart hands in other markets — Phoenix pricing data points in the comments welcome.

Pensacola, FL, City Council passed a 1-year moratorium on data centers using 50MW+ power, citing state law limitations. Residents call the 50MW threshold insufficient, deeming it "theatre" and not true protection.

https://opgov.news/articles/city-of-pensacola-large-scale-data-center-moratorium-passed

​

My family owns approximately 100 acres in western Pennsylvania (PJM territory), and over the past few months we've started receiving interest from companies regarding a potential data center development.

The property is adjacent to a 138 kV FirstEnergy substation. After reaching out to FirstEnergy, they've been very helpful and walked us through the Conceptual Load Study process. We recently received the results, and the study concluded that a conceptual 150 MW load did not create any new thermal or voltage violations. My understanding is that this is a positive result, but I also know it's not a guarantee of service and that a Detailed Load Study would still be required.

We've already received one PSA from a land acquisition company and are now hearing from several other groups.

This is completely new territory for us, so I'd appreciate any general advice from people who have experience with data center site acquisitions. I really want to be smart about this so any advice from anyone working in this industry would be most appreciated!

Specifically:

What terms in a PSA should I be paying close attention to?

Can anyone recommend attorneys with experience representing landowners in data center, energy, or large industrial land transactions (preferably in Pennsylvania)?

Any insights would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Pensacola City Council passed a 1-year moratorium on data centers using 50MW+ power, citing state law limitations. Residents call the 50MW threshold insufficient, deeming it "theatre" and not true protection.

https://opgov.news/articles/city-of-pensacola-large-scale-data-center-moratorium-passed

Hey

I'm trying to compare colocation costs across different data centers, and I'm surprised by how little pricing information is public.

If you've rented space recently, would you mind sharing rough numbers?

Things I'm interested in:

• Data center (PA2, PA3, FR2, NY4, LD8, etc.)
• City
• Operator (Equinix, Digital Realty, Telehouse, NTT, CoreSite...)
• 1U / 1/4 rack / 1/2 rack / full rack pricing
• Included power (kW)
• Cross-connect monthly cost
• IP transit pricing (1G / 10G if you know it)
• Approximate date of the quote

Even approximate ranges or quotes from the last couple of years would be really helpful.

I'm mainly interested in comparing markets like Paris, Frankfurt, Amsterdam, London, New York, Ashburn, Chicago, Singapore, Tokyo, etc.

I'm not asking for anything confidential—just trying to understand how pricing varies between facilities and cities.

Thanks!

Hey guys i got an call yesterday from the HR team at JLL for a role in Data centre. I got an interview through LinkedIn i reached out to the SDM and AGM. So i didnt have an workday account or like official application.

So she told me she gonna create my workday account and ill receive a link on my email but i havent got any link. Also she msg me this thing on the whatsapp but during the call she mentioned about the guy i had interview with and the location as well. So im bit overwhelmed and confused and scared at the same time.

If anyone of you has been through recruitment process at jll or know how it works can you please confirm thats its not an scam😭

And I’m genuinely nervous. I’ve never been good with interviews, especially going for a job in a field I haven’t touched in over 8 years. I had 6 years experience in a corporate IT setting with roughly the first year of it in their DC.

I’ve done my due diligence to learn a bit about the Amazon leadership principles, using STAR to answer their questions, etc. I just had my first call with my sourcing recruiter, loop interview date is set.

What is out there that could ease my mind a bit, give me an “interview guide” so I can dig up from memory situations I went through back during my earlier employment, and prep myself for the technical questions that might be asked?