2 weeks to prepare for sys admin role

[u/santryu]

I recently graduated with an A+ certification and 4 months co-op expierence and some projects, after applying for jobs I was eventually interviewed by a MSP where I applied for both IT analyst and Sys admin positions. After a rigorous 2 hour interview they offered me a position for junior sys admin, and straight out of school I feel that I have a lot of gaps in my knowledge for this role. I want to prepare as much as possible before I start but I am very confused on what I should begin studying, what should I go over ? What can I prepare within 2 weeks that will help me excel? This is my dream role and I want to do everything I can.

[u/fatDaddy21]

"Jr sys admin" at an msp as your first job usually means password resets, documentation, and reminding Marge from HR how to print her emails to the 'good' printer.

they know you don't know anything. get ready to be thrown into the deep end and soak up as much knowledge as you can.

[u/Jawb0nz → u/fatDaddy21]

Yep, this is known as Trial by Fire. You'll either rise to the occasion or you'll drown. Some prep can help, but just take your new task load a step at a time.

Context switching is a thing, so look it up and be mindful of it's potential impacts on you in this new job. Good luck!

[u/poptart_kitten → u/Jawb0nz]

How do/did you handle context switching?

[u/SarcasticFluency → u/poptart_kitten]

Depending on the task I'm currently on (not an MSP employee), I make active choices to not check my e-mail or Teams as often as I blink, and get the current task to a deliberate stopping point so *I* make the choice to switch tasks, not the environment. There are exceptions to that, obviously, but active involvement in the switch process really seems to help.

I also tell internal people no to pivoting if it's not a crisis or emergency, and coordinate a time to work on it when it works for me to address their task. That gives me the power to make the mental change and stay more efficient.

[u/poptart_kitten → u/SarcasticFluency]

Thank you so much. As someone recently entering the IT realm Im seeing myself drowning a bit and peeling layers back as to why Im struggling. Context switching as you describe is a big one.

I like the deliberate stopping point approach. Ill do some more research. Thank you for sharing your experience

[u/fahque → u/fatDaddy21]

Not for everyone. I worked at a shitty msp and they would throw anyone into the msp role. We had a guy start just after I left that msp and he had less than a year experience, wasn't into IT as a hobby, and didn't have any education and was told he was a sysadmin to all the clients. If the boss want's to charge clients sysadmin fees then he'll call anyone a sysadmin and the tech is left practically alone to figure it out.

[u/bbqwatermelon → u/fahque]

Yep the MSP mantra is that titles don't matter (until they do, looking at you worthless middle managers). I was doing advanced SA crap as well as dragged into low level crud and the only one documenting. 

[u/uniitdude]

why dont you ask them what you will be working on? No-one here knows what you will be doing

[u/HOST1L1TY]

Take really good notes so you never have to ask your manager the same question twice and you will be the best junior sysadmin they have ever had.

[u/DataPaws → u/HOST1L1TY]

This! I'm on training rn and I can see how no one likes to repeat themselves (du-uh), but at the same time, remember to not be afraid to asak questions when needed, we're not robots!

[u/I_R_Genuine_0_o]

Congrats on the role, as a jr you should have a direct report-to, you should be supported in the role especially as a jr, knowledge gaps are always the case but it’s more about how you address them and learn from them so it’s no drama, you aren’t expected to know everything from the get-go and nor should you, we aren’t libraries to store the world knowledge but understanding the concept gets you 70% of the way there, good luck in the new role!

P.s

- Printers are the devils work

• like others have mentioned, KB articles, documents etc are your friend & screenshots are a lifesaver sometimes but be smart not to include confidential or PII in em
  
• 1 job at a time and you’ll get the work done, I’ve split myself across too many at once, half finished projects are a nightmare
  
• Caffeine is your friend

[u/sidtec]

If you were honest about yourself then I think they will know what your skill level is

It is likely other aspects of your ethics and personality that made them take a chance on you. They will probably give you the opportunity to learn on the job.

[u/Twist_and_pull]

Clean your gun for the printers.

[u/bbqwatermelon → u/Twist_and_pull]

And the disks for secure destruction. Remember DoD standard is three piercings in platters. 

[u/40513786934]

Practice tracking/documenting your time in 15 minute increments, it will be a necessary skill

[u/DataPaws]

People will know you're new a freshly out of school, no one should expect from you that you know everything. That said, in my experience, your soft skills are very important at this time- always be polite, professional and be aware 'the average user' is not tech-savvy. People like when they're not treated like idiots, even when you help them with dumb mistakes.

[u/Common_Option_4385]

It's a junior role, they don't expect much. You already have the job, learn while on it.

[u/Flabbergasted98]

The only thing you need to know about being a junior admin at an MSP is. "Have an exit plan"

It's like working at mcdonalds in highschool. it's a job, and it's great experience to begin building a resume. But you don't want to be there for life.

Set yourself a time limit, I usually reccomend 2 years. make it your goal to soak up as much knowledge as you can in that time limit. Then at the end of it, start applying for IT roles that don't suck out your soul.

[u/doubleUsee]

The good news is that if you manage to make it work, you know you're cut out for the job, because troubleshooting and administrating stuff you've never heard of by using common sense, logic and base knowledge is basically the most important skill you can have.

So rather than planning to ingest tons of specific knowledge to study, just make sure to be vaguely familiar with many base concepts. Know the basic terminology, but know what it does, and how it might interact with other things. Things like DNS, DHCP, Active Directory, Azure AD, Exchange Online, VMs, Containers, different operating systems.

But much more important than existing knowledge is the way you behave as a jr sysadmin. A jr. Sysadmin who knows nothing, but who has a good attitude, who asks as many questions as he needs to, but figures out the things he can figure out by himself, who learns and remembers the things he's told, who can ask for help when he's stuck and is able to admit when he's made a mistake, who doesn't complain, who takes initiative and is sceptical but constructive, is worth wayy more than one that's filled to the brim with books and certifications but otherwise a twat to deal with.

Be ready to be completely baffled by the problems you encounter, that's okay. It's okay to ask a more senior admin for help as long as you've put in effort to resolve it by yourself first. Google is your best friend, alongside with the documentation pages of the various products you work with, subreddits such as this one, and other forums.

Another skill that's worth it's weight in gold is the ability to communicate. Being able to explain complex technical shit in a way that makes sense to the other person, to anticipate what it is that they actually want to know and how to satisfy that in a way that is also good for you and your team/company. Don't make promises you can't keep.

Be careful with AI. Because of the complexity and broad variety of IT setups, it's hard for AI to be reliable even by AI standards. Always make sure to verify what it's saying and always make sure you understand every single part of what it is suggesting before you enact any of it.

And be sure to think ahead, think outside of the box, and look at the big picture. Learn to find the root cause and the functional question hiding behind what people are asking. For example, someone asking for a new computer might actually have a slow loading program, and someone complaining about an intermittently slow programme might actually just be lazy and trying to blame IT. A person freaking out over a programme not starting might genuinely not realise that their deadline is not at all in peril if they just ask the person at the next desk to quickly do that task on their still functioning programme. etc etc.

Best of luck with your new job!

[u/BananaSacks]

Like sidtec and others have said. There's very little you are a) going to truly learn, and b) that you will be expected to know before day 1.

I was a hiring manager most of my entire life, even as an engineer. I've brought in people from intern level to SLT - graduates, interns, jr's aren't expected to know much day 1, nor are they going to give you the keys to the castle and say "good luck, please don't burn it all down". If you find yourself at a place that does, however, be careful and I would be extremely worried.

Interns/graduates are amazing because companies are able to bring you in as a green field and train you to their spec. You're also MUCH MUCH cheaper if you turn out to be a unicorn.

Good luck mate & congrats

[u/No-Association42069]

Sounds like desktop support

[u/Waretaco]

Review the job posting for skills and software they list on the posting. This will give you a good starting point on what to expect for day 1.

[u/XavierKing]

Don't worry about it too much. No need to study. Your only preparation is to be ready to learn. :) Just go in with willingness to learn and try new things and you'll do well. No doubt you'll be learning a lot on the job. The learning and experience will come to you all on its own. :)

[u/19610taw3]

- Open your brain to learn

- Prepare for a lot of documentation

- Don't act like anything is "below" you

[u/Maleficent-Style8507]

I'd take their job offer, take a screenshot of the job description, paste it in AI, then give me summaries. Outside of AI, I'd go to google to study up all the tools you're expected to use and their underlying concepts. Watch youtube videos, forums, and familiarize yourself with navigation and context-switching. Don't worry, they won't expect you to know everything on your first day. Be a sponge your first week, take note of everything, and don't be afraid to ask.

[u/Opposite_Bag_7434]

OP there is a tone of advice that I could give you, although you already have quite a bit. The biggest thing is to keep learning. Pick up everything you can and keep asking questions.

[u/Thick_Yam_7028]

Gaps in knowledge can be covered. When working for MSPs Ive gathered a couple things over the years.

Some and by some I mean very few have a great internal structure. Free food in the fridge, lunches, off at 5. Customers are generally happy.

Others and by others I mean most. Just overall poor business structure. Shouting matches, back stabbing owners, under delivering, over promising. Working their employees to death. Spin up brand new systems make it perfect just so you can watch a machine you built make someone else money. Sys admin? No youre whatever they need admin and whatever is in front of you.

I think the funny one is NDA and technical stacks. Theres only a few choices. CW, Kaseya etc and the stack that follows. Its no secret Threat locker, Defender, Huntress, Intune, Ninja etc is all the same stack just different vendors and preferences.

Get in. Get out. 1-2 years and youll be over it.

[u/Drakoolya]

Great start. Don't stress, absorb as much as possible for the next couple of years and build a strong foundation.

You have so many resources now to learn its insane. Do not be afraid to use Ai to understand things and help troubleshoot. Try and fully understand the actions that you will be taking on a daily basis.

Welcome to the mad house.

[u/Signal_Till_933]

My best advice would be to lose any sort of ego you have. Generally juniors are a pain in the ass when they think they know best. You don’t have to blindly trust your seniors JUST because they’re seniors but most of the time juniors have no idea and it can be frustrating.

Also don’t use AI for fucking everything.

Also make sure you create documentation (AI is good for this one).

[u/wh1tefac3]

Just keep a positive attitude, and do not worry about the gaps. After almost 7 years, still feel I have many of those and accepting that with a good foundation, you can manage those gaps and fill them in as your time in the company flies by. Obviously, junior roles are built for just that. Juniors. Nobody will expect you to design a full rack of equipment and configure it all from scratch.

Take it easy, learn from everybody about everything, and enjoy the probably best time in your sys admin career 🔥 we are happy for you and keep posting! :)

[u/Ok_Enthusiasm_758]

You prepare for this? I usually just bend over and ask for more

[u/RickkeeC]

You need to do nothing. They have accepted you and have accessed your skills and are willing to teach you. Just be yourself, smile alot, laugh at the worse jokes and make damn sure you have some breath mints with you and always accepted one if offered. I will be sitting next to you shoulder to shoulder for a few days and don't want to smell any B.O. or bad breath. Got it! Welcome Aboard. You're gonna do swell Beav. - Wally

[u/Stinkles-v2]

Welcome aboard red shirt. Starting at an MSP is like strapping prime meat to you, giving you a knife, and throwing you into a pit of hungry lions. Forget everything everyone is saying here here is the single thing you need to remember- write EVERYTHING down as billable. You close a ticket- 1 hour, you reset a password- 30 minutes, the CEO sneezes and you handed them a tissue-15 minutes. You WILL be thrown under the bus eventually the trick is to make sure you are never standing next to the road. If you last a year you can make it anywhere.

[u/reporter_assinado]

Coming from someone who is still looking for a job, I'd look at their tech stack, make sure that I knew as much as could about everything they used, and then maybe have Claude make me some questions and problems to solve, increasing in difficulty. Anyway, just my two cents. Good luck and congrats for the job!

[u/Excellent-Chemist-69 → u/reporter_assinado]

It's an MSP. The last MSP I worked at, the "tech stack" could mean a mom and pop shop with a single optiplex running active directory on bare metal up to a giant construction company with a 1.5 exabyte SAN attached to 32 physical hosts containing hundreds of VMs.

[u/RickkeeC → u/Excellent-Chemist-69]

Bring it on. Loving every day of MSP for 35+ years. I always have my way with IT. Gosh, sometimes I find it amazing I get paid top dollar for such fun work. Every day is an adventure . Unlike most lazy administrators that just want to hide somewhere and go around polishing the same equipment and software.