Member Avatar for Borzoi

I just had a problem with my computer here at work and I knew the problem and solution straight away but I do not have sufficient privileges to fix the error on my account so I had to contact IT to get it done.

It's taken the guy who came up to fix it over an hour to find the solution. I tried to tell him what to do but each time he just said "that won't work" and, you guessed it, his final solution what what I had been telling him all along.

It just frustrates me how I constantly get turned down for IT jobs because I "don't have enough experience" yet these people who obviously don't know solutions to the simplest of problems seem to get jobs in IT so easily.

I have even made a list for myself of problems with the IT system here which can be solved very easily. Probably not even a days work and the results would also mean their workload is reduced. I'm only on a 6 month contract with this job so I think I'm going to go down there on my last day and just list all the problems I've found which I have a solution to.

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Situations like 's are extremely common in corporate IT. Technicians often follow ticketing, change-control and least-privilege rules; a suggested fix from a non-admin account can be resisted not because the tech is incompetent but because of risk, rollback concerns, or policy. ’s joke about job protection captures the frustration, but the practical barrier is usually process and accountability rather than pure skill.

A small change to how the problem is handed off makes a big difference. Include a concise symptom, exact reproduction steps, evidence (logs/screenshots), what was tried, a tested fix (step-by-step), a rollback plan, and an estimated effort. A simple ticket/email template that contains those elements saves time and reduces debate:

Subject: [Ticket #] Repro: <short symptom> — Proposed fix (low-risk, 1 hr)

Symptom:
- <one-line observed failure, host, time>

Repro steps:
1. <step>
2. <step>

Evidence:
- <small log excerpt>
- <screenshot attached>

Proposed fix (tested on DEV):
1. <action>
2. <action>
Verification: <how to confirm>

Rollback:
- <how to revert>

Estimated effort: <time>, Risk: <low/medium/high>
Attachments: logs, screenshots, test notes

If planning to hand over a list of “easy wins” on the last day, prioritize by impact/effort, mark true quick-wins (5–60 minutes), and attach runnable runbooks or scripts plus test notes. Frame recommendations as risk-reducing improvements and offer to write the KB article or runbook. That tone reduces defensiveness and increases the chance changes will be accepted.

To counter “not enough experience” on job applications, capture hands-on work as concrete artifacts: lab builds, GitHub repos, runbooks, quantified improvements (time saved, incidents reduced), and short before/after notes. Those tangible items often outweigh a vague “lack of experience” line on a resume.

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Member Avatar for AndreRet

Welcome to the world of IT, especially tech support. They must have the best jobs in the world I'm sure. Not too much knowledge required (no pun intended to any techies!):), easy hours, own time on solving a problem etc.:)

I've been down that road as well. They will insist on using their own solution (which is eventually your own).

Member Avatar for Borzoi

The thing is, this problem could have been prevented if they had the systems and network set up properly in the first place.

Member Avatar for AndreRet

Correct, but then they would have been out of jobs don't you think? ....LOL

Member Avatar for Borzoi

No, because there would still be a need for people to maintain the system. Upgrades and such.

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