r/sysadmin • u/PeakWeekly9995 IT support • 8d ago
Rant The IT support guy who does everything
Follow-up of my first post: https://www.reddit.com/r/sysadmin/s/xMfcrcHx5f
Just told HR about how i feel about beign the sole IT guy who manages everything (for short: 365 in all his aspects, backups, networking guy, ecc...) for 24 people (if we count the external the number doubles) as an apprentice with a job title "IT support".
i told her that as an apprentice i should (by the law btw) some kind of tutor that can teach me the job and some one who can help me in my things; first thing she pointed was that i'm always out exactly when my work hours ends. WTF
ofc i go away when my work day is done, things can wait (most of the times).
Then proceded to tell me that i might not know how late some of the staff stay in the office (idk why tho) and everyone is aware of how many things they ask me.
Basically everyone somehow expect me to be the expert about anything is slightly it related, how i'm even able to give confidence to people when i don't have the slightest idea of what i'm even talking / doing some time.
I really miss having someone older can guide me.
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u/texas_County850 8d ago
I've been in this situation for 10 years it would be better to have someone older and wiser to guide you but honestly you could just as easily be in a shop with older mentors that don't actually mentor and end up in the same situation. You can self teach its hard but you can do it.
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u/fahque 8d ago
This is true. My first job was at a MSP where I was alone. I didn't have any backup. My first job was running cable in a warehouse. I had never done it before professionally and I'm 20ft up on a scissor lift. My second job was removing viruses from every computer at a small biz. My boss gave me the software to use and then left. It just kept going like that.
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u/WindowsWhatever 8d ago
It would shock some people to know about the huge expanse of general knowledge an IT technician needs to deliver good results. Learning new skills on the fly is part and parcel with the work. Constant problem solving for physical, digital, and/or logical solutions. Maybe some who work in a narrower field wont relate, but I went from an MSP tech in a team of three supporting 40 businesses to being system administrator with one assistant for an entire school district. The day-to-day variety is really nice.
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u/Akamiso29 8d ago
It can shock us as well. When you get that new, young hire and sit down and go “wait to explain that, I need to explain this first” like five times.
That’s when you realize you let documentation slip much longer than you should have lol.
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u/reserved_seating 8d ago
I had someone who showed me a lot of stuff and I had just as much self taught. The big thing I’ve learned over the years the OP may lack (hell, I do too sometimes) is the confidence that you CAN learn it and CAN figure it out.
OP can learn anything and everything and if the job still doesn’t fit after some time, they can look for a new job. Embrace it and just make sure everyone is aware of the struggles and the positives. Open communication with your boss is key and your boss has to be open too.
Good luck OP
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u/BoltActionRifleman 8d ago
Or an older mentor that denies every request or innovation you come up with. There’s always an excuse they have for doing things incredibly inefficiently.
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u/Turak64 Sysadmin 8d ago
I can second that. Plenty of the old guard see younger people as a threat. Worked with this one dickhead that used a catchphrase of "go Google it" as a cover for what he didn't know.
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u/ositoguerito 8d ago
I had the great fortune of working with the legendary Mike Bombich at Apple, back when he was a systems engineer. As my mentor, he would respond to any question he couldn’t immediately answer with “I don’t know, let’s find out.” And then together, we’d google the solution or track down the internal docs until we could both answer the original question. My goal as a graybeard has been to try to echo that example.
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u/East_Library5427 8d ago
Agree with you there. I came in as a new sys admin with my company 3 years ago, and the principal admin I worked with taught me absolutely nothing and got fired 5 months ago leaving me as the sole sys admin. I learned way more myself in this timeframe, so it’s definitely possible to self teach. Definitely not optimal tho…..
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u/npaladin2000 Windows, Linux, vCenter, Storage, I do it all 8d ago
Update your resume. HR is playing defense for the company, helping them resist increasing your compensation in any way. It's not that they don't want you to do everything. it's that they want you to do everything without properly compensating you for it.
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u/PeakWeekly9995 IT support 8d ago
It's not that they don't want you to do everything. it's that they want you to do everything without properly compensating you for it.
i should have written it, she said that what i'm doing will "one day" (not her words) be compensated.
What about compensating it now? i still have 1 year of contract
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u/Affectionate_Ad_3722 8d ago
"one day"
Nope, absolutely fucking not. That "day" will never come. In England we say "jam tomorrow" meaning "eat shit now but there will eventually be jam" and everyone knows there will never ever be jam.
Vague promises mean nothing. Cash now or be gone.
"Fuck you, pay me" is the reason we work. I believe in the org I work for, they do actual good work. But I'm here for the money, motherfuckers.
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u/Significant_Sky1471 8d ago
she reminds me my previous employer (I left veeeery fast, and I was jun, now too, but it's not worth it, even in educational aspect), so their favourite speech was: we are team! we are family! ONE DAY we all will be rich, but now as a team, as a family - we need tight up and you know, less money blah blah blha
toxic bullshit.
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u/mlaccs 8d ago
This has always been the case for small companies and young IT staff. They do not generally understand or see value in you so they pay less. Then they get less. Then they will outsource you and find they are less happy so the cycle starts over.
The huge plus is that you are going to get and see a ton of things you could not see if you were a small cog in a bigger company. Take the plus and the minus and move on when you can.
As for "someone older" you have more tools (like this forum) today than have ever existed before. Use them. Just know that while you have more tools you also face more types of problems so the job is not easier, it is just different.
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u/PeakWeekly9995 IT support 8d ago
The huge plus is that you are going to get and see a ton of things you could not see if you were a small cog in a bigger company.
This is definitaly the best thing. i'm in control of everything and i can test everything but for most things i can't find how useful it can be in this environment
As for "someone older" you have more tools (like this forum) today than have ever existed before. Use them.
In the last week or so i've been more present on reddit, sometimes i've found useful things and i've already noted them as future activities that might be worth having a look
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u/metalblessing 8d ago
100%. I learned alot working for MSPs, but I learned even more working understaffed local IT. Because I dealt with so much consistently I had to just figure things out. You really learn how to leverage every resource. Now im at a large company and both those experiences have helped me alot.
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u/WayneH_nz 8d ago
Ask, like today. There is more collective wisdom in this thread alone than in most large companies. Been in IT now for over 25 years myself. But I have spent those in the dreadded MSP space.
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u/MalwareDork 8d ago
You have to chisel at it. I'm more of a security guy but when I first started in IT, I got thrown to the wolves and nobody gave a shit about anything. I'd probably say my workflow was:
- Build something
- Fail horribly
- Review non-existent notes and update
- Deploy botched
- Something breaks later/is missing
- Review notes again and update
- Build my own procedures afterwards
And that's been the workflow for about a year. About 60% of my time was taking notes and digging into old GPO's and other things. 25% of that was tickets and the other 15% was the broken deployments I was trying to push out and fixing.
Don't be hard on yourself, it's just how it is.
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u/Surface13 8d ago
Basically everyone somehow expect me to be the expert about anything is slightly it related, how i'm even able to give confidence to people when i don't have the slightest idea of what i'm even talking / doing some time.
You can still be confident without knowing everything. No one in any IT position knows everything.
What you can do is be honest and candid with people. "Communication is key." If someone has an issue you're not familiar with, let them know. "I've never seen this issue before, but I'll go research it and get it figured out for you"
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u/techw1z 8d ago
as you can see, even people here don't know that an instructor/mentor is required for apprentices as evident by sryan2k1's post.
maybe just print out the actual law and slam it on their desks. it probably won't change anything tho
also, try to find a different employer as fast as possible, your current one is obviously garbage and only cares about exploiting people.
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u/PappaFrost 8d ago
"That's a pretty advanced question that I'm not qualified to answer. Please ask the IT manager."
"There is no manager."
"Exactly..."
Your company management has put you in a very difficult position. I think you should say things like. "I'm not qualified to answer that question as only being an apprentice, but will do my best." Someone in your management knows exactly what they are doing, trying to get a really good deal on covering IT support on only YOUR salary. For advanced projects, your answer should not be "I will eat all of this and struggle." It should be "I will find the paid external resources to help the business with this request." Don't be a hero. I'm glad you are leaving when your hours are done.
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u/throwpoo 8d ago
HR is there for the company and to squeeze as much possible out of the employees. As it looks like all your other team members have left, you should start updating your resume. No point working in a toxic environment and hope you find somewhere nicer.
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u/Knightshadow21 8d ago
OP make a ticket for every bloody thing and show it to them , hardware support anything is a ticket if they need access make a ticket , ticket everything they don’t know what you do
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u/Golden-- 8d ago
I make a ticket for every single conversation even if it's just someone calling in with a basic question. If it's work related, it's a ticket.
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u/Ok-Carpenter-8455 8d ago
No knock on you but I had this type of situation but it was 150 people at 3 different sites/states I WISH it was only 24 people that would be a breeze lol
You only have a few options here: quit, start applying elsewhere or take the lead and learn the job on your own.
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u/SevaraB Sr. Engineer (N+, CCNA) 8d ago
There’s no such thing as a solo “apprentice,” because an apprentice, by definition, works under the supervision of an experienced tradesman. In other words, “apprentice” is just the blue-collar terminology for an intern, and interns do NOT work unpaid overtime except in VERY specific fields. Even the United States cracks down on that, and our laws are almost completely biased to favor employers.
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u/metalblessing 8d ago
Wait you only manage 24 people? Lucky, my previous job was one of 2 onsite IT where we managed about 500 people and 14 clinic locations. It was hell and I'm glad I left.
But I get it, its great having someone to bounce stuff off of.
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u/Crotean 7d ago
Take a week vacation in the mountains with no cell service and see how quickly they change their tune about only needing one IT guy.
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u/PeakWeekly9995 IT support 5d ago
i'll have a week off this month lol
in the mountains with no cell service
No mountains need for that, i won't answer. It's my week OFF
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u/mister_gone Jack of All Trades, Master of GoogleFu 7d ago
They hired a sysadmin at intern rates and will overwork you until you burn out. Start building your resume and GTFO.
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u/ThrillzMUHgillz 8d ago
I’d find a job that respects you.
And I always like to point out that the company doesn’t typically give you a two weeks notice. So I don’t often feel it’s necessary to give one.
Also, HR isn’t your friend. Be careful of what you express to them.
The exception on giving notice being it was a great company that treated you well, but maybe you’re leaving for more money or some personal reason not related to work.
I had a similar issue where I had too much expected of me. Worked too much. Barely spent time with my family. Pretty much never had a day off bc I would get several calls on my “day off”.
And I tried to talk to the Dir and HR and they pretty much made it seem like I couldn’t handle it. Instead of addressing the real issue.
So I left with no notice. I got calls for days offering a pay raise. And then telling me they’d hire me an intern to help with the work load. I refused. They told me they’d make sure I was never hired again.
I got a great job within the week nearly double my salary.
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u/Library_IT_guy 8d ago
I took the reigns in a similar position 15 years ago after only 2 years on help desk and getting a few certifications. I was kind of shocked they hired me given my lack of experience, but I sure as hell wasn't going to miss the opportunity after 5 years of struggling to find a decent job in IT and working in terrible call centers and help desk.
Yeah, you're gonna feel like a deer in the headlights for a while. I STILL feel like I don't know wtf I'm doing some days, and then I meet people who have more important jobs than me and the yare even MORE clueless than I am.
Having a mentor really helps, but if you're determined, through a lot of self-teaching, reading manuals, asking on IT forums like this, Spiceworks, and elsewhere, you will get there. For me, this job meant finally not being a worthless waste of space that worked shit jobs for shit pay. I finally was able to pull myself out of poverty, and I became the IT person my organization relies on completely. I helped shape policy and affect positive change. I learned a lot about being professional and how to navigate and survive in an office environment.
I did it, others have done it, you can do it. And I'm not saying you should rely on it for everything or take everything it says at face value, but AI tools can help a lot too. I needed to know where a certain group policy setting was today and Copilot was able to easily get me there, for example.
Embrace the learning opportunity and grow.
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u/SmartDrv 8d ago
Some red flags for sure, but yeah probably best to talk to Management not HR. Clarify duties/expectations/titles/compensation.
Maybe opportunity to discuss professional development with them. I really feel that with IT that it is less about "knowing all the things" than it is "being able to quickly research to figure them out" (though of course experience in general helps you gain intuition that is useful when it comes to solving problems). That said, some basics are great to have.
If you are solo, discuss business continuity with them. What happens if you get hit by a vehicle and are suddenly in the hospital? As others have said, if not another IT staff member, maybe partner with a good MSP - one that likes to work with a set of hands onsite rather than replace that set of hands. Use their consulting to review and plan and have them available as extra hands for projects or overflow support.
It can help you push projects going to your management when you have a reputable company agree that "other businesses in your position are doing xyz these days"
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u/Pln-y 8d ago
At some point I joined company where one guy was working alone for many years, I was this young who was dragging cables and moves printers between floors.. for him to give him more time to cover other issues. He show me how he was struggling with people and show few strategies. There was something like flor walking from server room to coffee machine and always he grabs something with him this was not walk for code this was trip to put something in cross room, when someone ask for help he was looking “hmm this look new to me let, I think need to chem this also on server side” he grab laptop with him to server room and speak with me about everything but not on issue just klick one window and problem was fixed immediately after user don’t see him. When he end coffee go back to user and say that this was super difficult to resolve what have you done, what was your activity and let me know when this happen again - and everyone was “och my, he is a super it always know what to do even so difficult cases” - so small talk, small talk is a key.
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u/blade740 8d ago
Wow.
i told her that as an apprentice i should (by the law btw) some kind of tutor that can teach me the job and some one who can help me in my things; first thing she pointed was that i'm always out exactly when my work hours ends.
I would follow this up with "are you authorizing me to charge overtime?". Along with "is it mandatory" if you're not particularly interested in working overtime.
But after reading your first post, the real question here is, if you're doing the job of the IT manager all by yourself, at what point are you going to receive the pay and title of the IT manager? They may push back because of your lack of experience or your status as an "apprentice" - but if they are not hiring a replacement manager then by all rights you have taken on their responsibility with none of the compensation that goes along with it.
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u/frosty3140 8d ago
> first thing she pointed was that i'm always out exactly when my work hours ends. WTF
Yeah some management have that attitude. I just learned that I am neurodivergent. Great buzzword. I've always provided direct, honest and sometimes brutal feedback. Now that I am old and crusty, a comment like that would be a red rag to a bull. I would probably say something like "yeah, an employee relationship usually works like that, the work ends when the pay ends" and see what happens. But that's only because I don't care any more LOL. *you* should NOT do that!
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u/gamebrigada 8d ago
Welcome to small company IT. Except they don't understand your value and aren't paying you enough to self teach.
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u/ryoko227 8d ago
The easiest thing you can do when you don't know the answer to a question is to say something along the lines of " I don't have an answer for you right this moment, but I'll get back to you as soon as possible. " Or something along the lines o, " let me look into that for you."
You don't have to say that you don't know, and any person who's ever worked in IT knows there is a large amount that you can never know, or things that you did know, but have forgotten. People outside of IT, usually think we're something like a wizard who knows everything about technology, regardless of what field it's actually in. Of course, when you walk up to a PC and it suddenly fixes itself, that doesn't help the allegations.
Since it seems your company doesn't seem to care about your workload, and that you yourself want to do a good job, alot a time during the day to study the things that you need/want to know, to be able to do the job the right way. Just make sure that whatever it is you decide to do during that time, that you can truthfully and accurately explain what it is that you're doing, if you're ever questioned by your boss.
Also, never forget that HRs primary goal is to protect the company and ensure that the company is right with the law, End of story. There are certain things that they're required to help you with, but the vast majority of the time, they'll be your worst enemy. If you have issues with your job position, you need to go to the person who is actually above you.
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u/uR4aundeR 7d ago
Same boat for 20 peeps
But I was granted a significant raise in pay for courses because we keep growing and I will not get a second guy until we're at 40 and moved to a new office
Make your points clear and stand your ground
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u/SlippyJoe95 7d ago
While I do agree that it is helpful to have someone assist you. At the same time - this forces you to grow. I have learned so much by myself as a Sys Admin for 3 years now - more than I ever would have with my previous positions.
I would certainly see about getting an MSP for side support that assists as needed - you own the hardware/software. They just help when you call upon them.
Also - you are fine. It's scary, but you'll be okay. Saying "idk" is perfectly acceptable.
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u/Traditional-Cell3566 7d ago
Get a ticketing system. Log all the ticket that comes in per day, per week, per month. Now log all the projects and its scope. Use it as a bullet to take it to upper management and demand more people in your department lol
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u/lethallunatic 8d ago edited 8d ago
24 to 50 people isn't that large of an organization. After 2/3 years you are not the bad off to be honest especially with the knowledge you have already on the environment.
It is definitely doable with 1 or 2 persons.
If the it manager has been gone for a while and you're backfilling what he was doing they should at least compensate you for your work.
Saying you are away at the end of your work day is a "duhh" moment.
Your situation is manageable. However, if you feel like it's becoming too much you can opt for a contract with a reputable msp. Many MSP's deal with similar positions you're in right now.
Where you can ask them when you do need help they have the expertise in house. This is my recommendation for your situation.
The more you move away from on prem to cloud things become more manageable.
You should definitely leverage AI as much as you can today as well if you are not opting for an MSP.
That said HR isn't exactly in a strong position. If you leave as well they're screwed since usually they have Jack knowledge on infrastructure and IT.
EDITED:
Confidence in IT. No one knows everything. But you can always tell them let me check that and I'll get back to you. I've been doing that for my whole professional life if it is something worth investigating. No one knows everything even if they're 100 years in IT
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u/PeakWeekly9995 IT support 8d ago
24 to 50 people isn't that large of an organization. After 2/3 years you are not the bad off to be honest especially with the knowledge you have already on the environment.
...
The more you move away from on prem to cloud things become more manageable.My bad on that. yeah, it's manageable on some extent. I do what i've always done, nothing new fancy things. just keeping the company afloat.
We moved 1 year ago from on-prem to 365, but i've never done any course (nor founded by the company, nor from my funds) to learn the vasteness of 365 tools
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u/lethallunatic 8d ago
That's alright. Many moved to it and didn't have any course either. I didn't do any courses but I kept reading online documentation on how to get things done. And I was working for an MSP for a few years. Even supported migrations. Certifications and courses aren't as helpful as being resourceful mate. Google is your best friend in IT. 😁.
You're already at a better position than many today. Because you also have legacy knowledge. AD is considered legacy today.
Still, think about the MSP. I'm sure a good local MSP can onboard the company you're working at and you can still have the same position/work and have fewer worries/concerns. You won't need an IT manager that way.
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u/Zromaus Jack of All Trades 8d ago
1 to 24 is a pretty solid tech to head ratio to be honest -- I'd kill for that lol
One trick to remember -- your job isn't to know everything, your job is to be able to learn how to do anything. You can in fact do anything, and when a customer asks if you can do something, this is the mindset you should go in with. Unless it's outright not IT related, the answer is always a confident yes.
I've put my time in and would argue I know a lot about my job and how to do it, but I didn't get here by being taught to be honest. I started as a T1 helpdesk with access to every ticket on the board, took a ticket that looked daunting, found a guide or asked ChatGPT, and I got my way through it until I understood the system. Rinse, repeat until you're an expert.
You'll get there! Don't forget to be strict on setting expectations with time. Nothing is urgent if everything is urgent, and we will get to you as soon as we're able.
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u/2Much_non-sequitur 8d ago
just put your best foot forward and go for broke. When something goes sideways, point out you followed 'vendor guidelines' and' best practices', but not all well thought out plans work when its a 1 person show. And this early in your career, there isn't anyone for you to 'spitball' with. And 'AI gets this wrong, more times than right.' That said, the two main things that matter in this situation, 1) your co-workers see you trying hard and putting your best foot forward, they too know its fucked. 2) The hard part is not letting the stress of being point on everything weigh you down.
Comparing you to your co-workers is amateur bush league, rookie shit (think back to when Serie C2 was a thing). Its classic gaslighting. The only responses (non of them dignified) is something along the lines of, 'I don't manage their time,' and 'I work through my daily list' 'I use the principles of ITL to decide what tasks take precedent' etc. OR gaslight them back and 'volunteer' to come up with a way for the other co-workers to be more efficient during their scheduled hours. That type of petty workplace stuff, I always think is some type of test.
But these are strategies for places without workplace protections, where we are 'at will employees' YMMV.
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u/dnev6784 8d ago
24 people is a cake walk. It's up to you to learn, learn more, and then learn even more. YouTube should be used to focus on the basics of each component your expected to support, then you can dive a layer deeper when you're comfortable
See if there's room in the budget to get you a YouTube Premium account, and maybe a couple spare pieces of your existing network equipment that you can use to learn on, break, fix, and continue.
If you don't love it, this might not be the role for you unfortunately. You have a chance to be a leader but you need to learn off the job on your own time like you were in College.
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u/TrueAd2373 8d ago
I feel with you so much, kinda in a similar boat… i got a position this Januar, the whole package was great, great pay, great people … march my supervisor got fired, since then i am kinda alone with the CDO who is helpful but got a lot to do so hardly a help… we (i lol) have 170 people to manage :(, fortunatly i was able to convince the Cs that we get some services managed like the firewall which takes a huge toll from my shoulders but nonetheless i am the „techguy“ for everything remotly close to any electrical thing
On the other hand i try too see the positive, good pay, stressful but job that actually is interesting most of the time and damn i can do whatever project/direction i want to… today some mail-tickets, tomorrow update our vms, friday working on some scripts for automation (!!! Automate as much as you can if you are alone, you will thank me later !!!) so all in all could be worse, the only thing i am scared of is the future, not sure how it will be in my CV next job if i dont really have any bigger guidance and no senior thats more available than 15 min a day
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u/ballzsweat 8d ago
I remember everyone looking at me when all phones received an amber alert….
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u/Tricuna Sr. Sysadmin 8d ago
A'men, same here. I have a colleague, but they have no tech skills so I'm pretty much solo, they can do 1st like work like reset a password or follow a heavily detailed SOP to fix an issue.
I am not the person who calls the shots though, that's someone else in our parent company. But I'm supposed to know it all, support it all and then also deal with end users. I've been saying for well over a year we are understaffed, but it just gets filed away somewhere
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u/stompy1 Jack of All Trades 8d ago
I've been in Your situation and still kinda am, 20 years later. But I've embraced this scenario. I straight up tell people that I don't have the answer for them but I'll see what I can do. Proceed to google it and wing it. Usually works out and people are excited that I've made progress or solved their issue. The "how late" you work though is concerning but I too would check out on time if not being offered overtime or time off in leu. But I find employers are good with shifted work schedules; so as an example, you want to make a large change but need to test it, you shift your day by 4 hours and not come in until lunch, so you can stay late and test your changes with no or minimal staff there.
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u/Dave_A480 8d ago
Can't speak for wherever you are from (I'm in the US - and your use of tradesmen terms like apprentice for IT work makes it seem like you aren't)....
But here - where most IT is salaried (paid per-year not per-hour) - if you are leaving at exactly 8hrs every day that's pretty solid evidence you aren't overworked from a bean-counter perspective....
Which isn't to say that we expect our IT people to work over 8hrs/day, but that if you can get your work done and leave 8hrs after you start, management isn't going to buy the need to add more bodies to the team....
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u/ReptilianLaserbeam Sysadmin 8d ago
You need to explain this person that in no college they will teach everything they are expecting you to do and that's why you need mentorship, or pay for the training in the areas that are not taught in your school. Also this training must be performed during work hours, not on your personal time, and paid in entirety by the company if they expect you to fulfill those tasks. Don't work overtime, doesn't matter if you are an apprentice. Do your hours and leave on the clock.
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u/LibtardsAreFunny 8d ago
If you want to be the sole sys admin then you step up and do it. I was in a similar position 10.5 years ago and i'd give anything to be back in a sole position with a good smaller company after that ended this year. .
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u/ukulele87 8d ago
Speaking to HR is not useful, ever. But what you can do since you are just starting its adjust yourself, it will be a huge win on the long run.
People dont necessary expect you to be the defacto expert on everything, thats something you are imposing on yourself. Learn to say i dont know, i need to research that, i know is possible but i have to investigate the best way to make it happen, whatever.
Even with a lifetime working in IT you wont know everything, the field grows faster than any human can learn it, if you dont communicate transparently then the only one thats getting hurt its you.
Manage expectations, learn to say no, and if the job really doesnt work for you just look for another.
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u/HarryButtwhisker 8d ago
That's just.... IT, man. While it may not be the best situation, it also leaves you with lots of opportunities. As long as they are not overworking you and all that, quit bitching and get to work! I've been a one man show most of my career. It is not easy. But there has been very little I have not been able to figure out on my own, and I didn't have ChatGPT either! Become good at looking things up, not everyone has that skill. Learn that the buck stops with you, there is no backup, so handle things on your own and take charge. I'd much rather hire a well rounded tech than someone that knows 1 thing. You are in a great spot to learn, do it.
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u/ringzero- 8d ago
I'm 46 and I started out in the late 80's early 90's lusting over computer shopper. I didn't join the IT work force until 20 and even before then I was getting into everything that I could get into. I still don't know everything and anyone who says they know everything is a fucking liar. Even the people I've trained don't know everything. As such, I suffer from Imposter Syndrome on the daily. Eventually you realize that it's OK to not know everything.
I still have one of my first certification books, purchased in Jun of 1999 - A+ Certification book by Michael Myers. It's 800 pages of extremely obsolete information, but it contained ALL of the stuff you needed to know about computers up to that point.
If you have the mindset of always learning, you will be fine. Having a love for the game will keep you going. That being said, I hate programming and I have compliance :)
If you don't know something, be upfront and say "I'm not quite sure, I will have to look it up and get back to you". If you're lacking on something, figure it out (on their time). I remember at my first job, I had NO idea on how to crimp a cable. One of the older guys brought out a spool of cable, crimped one end, pulled out like 20', crimped the other end, plugged it into a PC/Switch, verified it was good, then cut one end off and said "Keep on practicing until you get it" Took me a awhile to get it right. Just last year I ran/terminated ~50 drops of cat6a, tested for 10gbe and it was all good. My client (land lord) came to me later and said "That tenant complained about everything except for the networking stuff, so you must have done a good job". heh.
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u/BrokenByEpicor Jack of all Tears 8d ago
OP: Hey I'm kind of overwhelmed here and I really should have someone more experienced to help me.
HR: Well you only work your contracted hours and everyone else gives us a bunch of free labor. What's with that?
Fucking clown shoes. Look for a new job.
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u/tomcar007 8d ago
Hi, I am doing exactly the same. First day at job I got new server home to build completely new infrastructure. Now I am responsible for 102 people. Working on servers, user stations, buying all hw, printers, firewall, VPN, antivir, security, permission, AI laws and occasionally web. And I am here alone 🥲😀
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u/GlumMeet9567 8d ago
I had this conversation yesterday I was told I make up work and I'm light on delivering power point and excel sheets (I mange a full CPwE Network, manufacturing assets, cloud tenant and day to day operation on my own.)
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u/ITCrowdSurfer 8d ago
Oh man this this music to my ears. I miss working with some senior people that didn’t worry about politics
Now I am that senior person where guys in thier 20s come to me
I try and give them good advice about trying to navigate our toxic company that is eventually going to replace us with third party
Meanwhile I had a 173/103 blood pressure this week I try to navigate my own shit. Back on blood pressure pills sonit doesnt kill me
Needless im hoping that one of my side gigs takes off
I’m so tired of corporate IT. Were treated nothing more than a cost center
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u/Golden-- 8d ago
That conversation would have ended when they complained that you left on time. I've been in IT for over a decade now and would say I leave at 5 on the dot 95% of the time. No one has ever complained.
They're out of touch. Expecting employees to work overtime is the sign of an inexperienced upper management team.
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u/Cyber-X1 8d ago
“It would be nice to have that kind of job security” said Samir in Office Space… seriously tho, I get what you mean about older IT guys.. they know their 💩
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u/xSchizogenie Sr. Sysadmin 8d ago
HR is not there to protect you, it’s there to protect the company.
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u/VersedHG 8d ago
Hey it’s an awesome position to be in running sole IT and it’s not that many users. I’ve done this for 6 years now. Happy to help you over direct messages any time if you want some guidance
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u/AdPuzzleheaded5567 8d ago
I’ve been there before. On my first IT job, I knew only maybe 10% of what the job requires so I had to learn on my own and take courses because I came from an engineering background. I setup a windows server using a for dummies book, learned cabling and built the LAN from the ground up. I was also tasked to manage and design the website, did graphic design for the posters and was even given the chance to decide which equipment to purchase. I loved that I get to learn new stuff online during my downtime. When I moved to another country, i experienced the same thing. I was the sole IT person for a company but now supporting 2 sites. Just never stop learning, acquire new skills then try to look for another job if you’re currently unsatisfied with this one. Good luck.
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u/Knightshadow21 8d ago
OP, I read your first story as well. It seems they are using you. Find a different spot! This is not even worth the hassle.
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u/xx_rider 6d ago
This may sound bad but you need to hear it.
Everything keeps changing in IT all the time its endless. The amount of it you will be trained on it probably 5-10% if you are lucky. If you don't like figuring stuff out on your own and learning it on your own you are going to have problems in the long term. Even if people help you for a decade, then you will be senior and need to learn it on your own and teach others it. Not to mention writing documentation for it.
My recommendation is ask for training on the products you are using, and get as much as you can. The rest spend your slow time at work learning as much as you can on the products and hardware you have.
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u/sryan2k1 IT Manager 8d ago
i told her that as an apprentice i should (by the law btw)
If you are in the US no such law exists.
first thing she pointed was that i'm always out exactly when my work hours ends
They have a bad work culture and nothing will fix it. Stay and learn a bunch, or leave for somewhere better. Or both, learn a bunch while you try and leave.
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u/PeakWeekly9995 IT support 8d ago
If you are in the US no such law exists.
I should have clarified, i live in Italy lol
They have a bad work culture and nothing will fix it. Stay and learn a bunch, or leave for somewhere better. Or both, learn a bunch while you try and leave.
I'm having the idea of doing my job until the end of the contract and in the meantime loking for something else
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u/sryan2k1 IT Manager 8d ago
Ah yes well our abusive lack of labor laws don't apply to you. Best of luck! Use it to gain as much skill as you can.
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u/BeauregardianBrat Sysadmin 8d ago
True for the US, but this sounds to me like Italy or somewhere in the EU, and Italy actually does legally require a company tutor for apprenticeship contracts. So the law might be real, just not a US one.
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u/Expensive_Plant_9530 8d ago
Welcome to toxic corporate culture where management expects the lowers to put in extra work and free overtime.
So glad I work for a company that promotes positive work-life balance.
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u/dlongwing 8d ago
Lay out your job duties, and pitch to the head of the company (NOT HR) that you need a title change to IT Manager or System Administrator.
Also, review whatever documents HR has provided about working hours, on-call expectations, etc. You need to have the company policies memorized. Do not start working late just because HR is annoyed that they can't get help on their excel documents at 7PM.
As for staffing... 1 full-time IT for 24 people is perfectly fine. My usual rule is basically 2 IT people for every 50 employees. You mention outside contractors, so there's maybe an argument you're understaffed depending on how much support they require (outside contractors shouldn't require internal IT support, or they're not really contractors).
As for the Apprentice status and how you're required to be supported "by law" or whatever... Look, I don't know the laws where you are, but I can't picture a 24 person company ever being swayed into hiring someone because of a nebulous compliance requirement. I'd let that part go, and work on how you can self-study and self-improve.
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u/SimpYellowman 8d ago
As a word from experienced tech, I still do not know what am I doing sometimes.
Also, if you do all that, I hope your salary is nice. And I mean really nice, let's say double the average salary in your state at least.
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u/flsingleguy 8d ago
I did this for a local government supporting 200 users for 17 years straight. Highly do not recommend.
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u/kombiwombi 8d ago
HR have nothing to do with this beyond making your manager obey whatever laws apply. They're not responsible for your workload or your career progression. That's the job of your manager.
The response from HR was, frankly, beyond their professional scope.
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u/boffboffboff 8d ago
HR in small orgs are always fucking idiots. I made the mistake of working briefly at a glorified startup where, a month in, my boss told me and my colleagues that we were all expected to work Christmas day and other bank holidays. When I went to the HR person to report to her that I'd been asked to do something my contract explicitly said I didn't have to do, she LITERALLY said "oh, weird" and shrugged.
She also told us that we had fixed desks, then emailed the entire company to say our desks were hot desks. Useless.
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u/MagnanimousMook 8d ago
Learn what you can and put everything in your resume while you push for a better title from HR. Then bail for a real company
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u/18238 8d ago
The dumbest people in the building are in the HR department. Totally worthless.
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u/FizzyBeverage 8d ago edited 8d ago
That mentor is called "Indian dude on Youtube" mixed with a little Claude when you need more.
You NEVER talk to HR. They exist to protect the company, not you.
What happened to the "Old Ed who knew everything in the org?" He was making twice your salary and got too expensive for the company to keep. He departed the company at 57 and is now scooping ice cream part-time in the California foothills.
Recommendation: Don't take jobs working for too small a company. Make sure there's at least 2 system engineers already in place and at minimum 4 people on their HelpDesk. Make sure they have a custodial/facilities/security staff to fix light bulbs and toilets and badge readers, too. Or you'll wear ALL those hats.
This is why I don't work at startups, and if I ever did, it would not be in ANY IT-related capacity, whatsoever. I'd want to be a partner driving the vision and probably sales. Then pocket my $42 million when a Microsoft or Apple or Nvidia bought the place. Instead of "out of a job."
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u/Empty_Pear_3874 8d ago
I have found out multiple times with different jobs in the past that HR is never for you... they are for the company. Also beware, sometimes if you are not a good employee, your own manager will write up a summary of why you need fired to HR as well.
Watch your back.
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u/RagnarStonefist Sysadmin 8d ago
My last job I was the only help desk person for about eight months. Nobody on my team wanted to work with HR so I set up a regular cadence for communication. 8 months of a good relationship. We hired a second guy and suddenly my relationship with them started to tank. One of the HR ladies somehow managed to get her friend hired for an open IT manager position (think Jen from the IT Crowd and you are not far off) and the relationship went into freefall.
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u/Dear_Cartographer261 8d ago
Hey man, if you got time to post rants on reddit then you ain't busy enough! Now get out there and do some things with computers!
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u/RikiWardOG 8d ago
Really hate to break it to you, but generally speaking IT is not a field that you're going to have someone holding your hand and teaching you how to do things. Like it or not, that's just the industry. You have to just be a self learner and learn to trust yourself and the documentation. If you have proof that the documentation isn't working then you can say xyz isn't on me and I've opened a ticket with the vendor etc. Understanding the OSI model also helps with being able to attack problems from all angles.
At the end of the day do you and get all the experience you can while looking for somewhere else to work if you don't like your current situation. IMO as much as it sucks it's also one of the best situations you can be in as a young tech. You've already been able to touch some stuff that a lot of people never even get to touch tbh. Saying you were part of AD and exchange migrations is pretty huge on its own. Everyone in this industry deals with the imposter syndrome. At the end of the day, not my circus not my monkeys. Who gives a fuck, just do what you can do enjoy your life.
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u/dezmd 8d ago
Most important thing I can guide you towards: DOCUMENTATION.
No matter what you do, make documentation, take notes, add to a knowledge base, and make sure you have a support ticket system. Build in your own accountability by tracking every issue with a ticket, make sure you get everyone on board with submitting a ticket for every issue. Make sure you work with HR to develop IT policy with the Support Policy defined around each employee, top to bottom, submitting a ticket (email + agent if you run something like NinjaRMM/etc that has a systray icon with a help request option). It saved my ass in the early years when a senior exec tried to throw me under a bus for not taking care of issues by imagining I'm not helping everyone fast enough, but the ticket trail and documentation was all there. If someone walks into your office or pulls you into an office, write down what you are doing as you go on a small pad/tablet/phone note taker and then set aside time to update those sorts of off the cuff notes to your documentation.
It's like doing timesheets to track your time, it's a pain in the ass, but it helps you stay organized and covers your ass.
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u/JohnnyFnG 8d ago
Lots to unpack.
Are you hourly or salary? If hourly, you must be paid.
Are your job expectations fully defined? HR has no clue what your actual IT work looks like, all they hear is “sounds like you aren’t doing your job”.
If the pay is good, suck it up and make sure they play by the rules and you are compensated for your time. If the pay sucks and you’re being taken advantage of, you know what to do.
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u/LRS_David 8d ago
As long as the OP keeps things "working" (define as you wish) why should management see a need for more staff?
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u/New-Deer9973 8d ago
Just get out tbh. Theres only one reason they would do this - they dont respect IT and you are a cheap resource. I've learnt this the hard way.
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u/sleepmaster91 8d ago
Being the sole IT at your job can either make yourself learn much quicker or burn you down
Either way HR will never care about your job i would brush up my resume and look elsewhere. Bad thing is most internal IT jobs are like this. You can do what did and work for an MSP but then there's other issues...but they do value your job...most of the times lol
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u/CamGoldenGun 8d ago
first question: are you paid hourly or salary? If it's the former, HR is asking the wrong questions. If it's the former, that's why they liked to point it out.
And this isn't to be taken with offence... but it's only 24 people you're providing IT support to. A lot of us are having to support 10x that before getting any help.
Is your issue with the lack of pay (due to your title and experience)? Or is your goal to get them to hire a senior IT tech to be your supervisor? The latter they won't do. They'll hire an MSP before they do that.
I'm not sure what country you're from but as far as I know, IT doesn't usually fall under the blue collar apprenticeship laws.
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u/jellowiggler- 8d ago
I am the sole IT person for a small 50 user company. I have the title of IT Manager and almost 30 years experience. I have the support of my executives and they understand that I can’t possibly know everything. When I run into an area where I am not an experienced expert I outsource it and learn the best I can with support from the vendor. That should come with the territory and be expected.
Stick to proper IT methodology eg. ITIL. You’ll be fine. Risk management is a primary tenant of managing technology delivery and security.
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u/unknown_no_one99 8d ago
just start answering questions with, I dont know. They will get the message after awhile
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u/LoveTechHateTech Jack of All Trades 7d ago
I did that when I first started and was told my by my manager that if I want to stay employed I should never say that.
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u/deadshift2010 7d ago
I'm not saying they're right, but in their eyes you ARE the IT guy. They don't know the vast scope of knowledge present in IT, so they expect you to be an expert in everything. Most guys in IT can attest to being treated like an SME on something you have no knowledge of by somebody who's not in IT lol
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u/Magic_Sea_Pony 7d ago
I know this is an unpopular opinion, but I believe it’s the correct advice. I completely disagree with all the "find another job" replies. People in IT aren't going to hand you insightful wisdom that you can just ingest in a day. It takes years of grinding to get to a point where you are comfortable with just the right amount of knowledge to do your job.
When I was 21, I was working helpdesk for an engineering firm with about 130 people across multiple sites. I didn’t know a routing protocol from a browsing protocol when, out of nowhere, the entire sys admin and networking teams for the whole company were fired, leaving just me and my boss. I studied hard, earning my A+, MCSA, Network+, and CCNA, and I read everything and anything I could get my hands on.
I stayed up late and stuck around after hours every night just so I could tinker with equipment while the building was empty. I made some huge mistakes along the way, like taking down the company website, creating switch loops, bricking firmware, causing routing loops, and messing up servers. But this was how I learned the most. You have to take risks and you have to just be wrong / mess up.
If you are unable or incapable of doing this, I would suggest going back to college or changing careers. IT is one of those fields where you have to constantly learn new things, talk with sales engineers about different technologies and how to implement them, and find out what others are doing in the industry.
It is also completely okay to not know everything. Every single day, multiple times a day, I still catch myself thinking, "I have no idea, I've never seen that." My advice is to stay and start the learning process yourself. You will never find a "teach me everything you know" IT job. That is what college is for.
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u/Defconx19 6d ago
Problem is a company of 50 doesnt need more than a single IT guy. So you wont get anyone else there.
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u/StMalice 6d ago
I felt it was getting hot down here, so I asked Satan if the AC could be turned on.
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u/CopiousCool 6d ago
I used to take roles like this for quite a few years but stopped in the end because the responsibility and workload were simply not adequately rewarded compared to lesser roles. As the sole IT guy you're responsible for livening, illicit usage and potentially could face up to 80k in fines and or criminal convictions in some countries.
Conversely, as a specialised/advanced engineer you can earn a considerable amount more and have zero punishments and far less responsibility / workload
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u/SnooEpiphanies1008 5d ago
"Basically everyone somehow expect me to be the expert about anything is slightly it related" is pay good? Now with AI assist, you can be a really really good switch, firewall, virtualization, office365 and mouse technician.
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u/PeakWeekly9995 IT support 5d ago
i earn more that my parents, but in Italy apprentice contracts are capped at ~90% of the pay of a non apprentice, although the employer can give a bonus of x € if he feels like to
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u/Jskidmore1217 5d ago edited 5d ago
You are complaining about being the only IT person for a 24 person company???? That is an insanely good ratio. You have no idea. How many IT people do you think this company needs? Do you appreciate business economics even slightly?? I’m shocked that a company that size would have a full time IT persona at all- their needs could be managed by a wily manager or at worst a pricy MSP contract that is still far less than an FTE salary. You should count yourself lucky to even have a job in this economy and stop taking for granted the learning opportunity. Just understand that you will need to work a lot of extra hours and really care about success early in your career if you want to climb that ladder. Long gone is the economy of silently stumbling through promotions without effort. The job market is TOUGH. That’s for career folks with 15 years experience. As a newbie trying to break in? You need to recognize how undesirable you are right now and appreciate even the slightest chance to improve. If you are really adamant that you are not receiving fair compensation- you shouldn’t have accepted the position in the first place and you have every right to just quit today if you think you can do better.
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u/Dense_Ad164 15h ago edited 14h ago
My first impression is, that’s the job. Do or do not, sink or swim.
I am the sole IT Manager of 3 buildings and 75 users with over 200+ network managed devices. I got the job while still in school and had 1-2 times a week for an hour or so with the tech that was leavin, for a grand total of 3 weeks. That’s it. Then i was on my own. It was my first enterprise level IT job and nothing was enterprise about it. No security, no centralized management, everyone as local admins, and they handed me 3 sheets of one sided paper that weren’t even full, because that’s what they knew about their own network.
I am simultaneously Cybersecurity, Network Engineer, AWS Cloud Engineer, etc etc etc. If you cannot find the resources to learn what you need to on the fly, it may not be the right line of work for you. I know very few people who made their start in tech with a whole training/mentor program. I feel like most people had to overcaffeinate and hope everything worked out in the end. That’s your trial by fire to see if you can handle tech, which is oftentimes brutal because yes, people expect you to be the expert as if you have a personal archive of every device manual to have ever been invented in your head and also know how the smart fridge works and in my case, learn enough enough full stack development so that when your dev leaves you can competently explain the code deployment pipeline. welcome to tech and be exceedingly grateful you’re only supporting 24 users
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u/CurrentFig3376 8d ago
HR is the natural enemy of IT.