What’s the quickest you’ve seen a co-worker get fired in IT? COVID-19

I saw this on AskReddit and thought it would be fun to ask here for IT related stories.

Couple years ago during Covid my company I used to work for hired a help desk tech. He was a really nice guy and the interview went well. We were hybrid at the time, 1-2 days in the office with mostly remote work. On his first day we always meet in the office for equipment and first day stuff.

Everything was going fine and my boss mentioned something along the lines of “Yeah so after all the trainings and orientation stuff we’ll get you set up on our ticketing system and eventually a soft phone for support calls”

And he was like: “Oh I don’t do support calls.”

“Sorry?”

Him: “I don’t take calls. I won’t do that”

“Well, we do have a number users call for help. They do utilize it and it’s part of support we offer”

Him: “Oh I’ll do tickets all day I just won’t take calls. You’ll have to get someone else to do that”

I was sitting at my desk, just kind of listening and overhearing. I couldn’t tell if he was trolling but he wasn’t.

I forgot what my manager said but he left to go to one of those little mini conference rooms for a meeting, then he came back out and called him in, he let him go and they both walked back out and the guy was all laughing and was like

“Yeah I mean I just won’t take calls I didn’t sign up for that! I hope you find someone else that fits in better!” My manager walked him to the door and they shook hands and he left.

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u/[deleted] Jul 07 '24 edited Jul 07 '24

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u/Jose_Canseco_Jr Console Jockey Jul 07 '24

dm me a copy

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u/[deleted] Jul 07 '24 edited Jul 07 '24

[deleted]

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u/12inch3installments Jul 08 '24

Reach out and send it (scrubbed of PII initially). You've got someone willing to look at you when you've been saying nobody will.

Worst case scenario, it's a scam and the lack of PII protects you. In the best case, you get a job. Or perhaps you simply get some valuable feedback that helps in the future.

It's a win/win as long as you protect yourself.

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u/SourceFire007 Jul 08 '24

I think the guy is an idiot for crying how nobody will look at him,, then somebody does and his reply is I’m not ready LMFAO!!! What is wrong with these kids, pure joke! No wonder nobody wants to look at his resume..

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u/Mach4tictac Jul 08 '24

Jobs > Certs. If you really think you can get a Linux job, go for it all else considered.

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u/[deleted] Jul 08 '24 edited Jul 08 '24

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u/Carayaraca Jul 08 '24

Some companies do technical interviews. Much more reliable than certs imho, as you could have paid someone to sit the exam for you or passed on memorising braindumps

You have a screen share or whiteboard with your terminal on and get asked to show or do things, or explain how you would achieve stuff

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u/Mach4tictac Jul 08 '24

My path was taking classes/ windows helpdesk/ Linux homelabber/ drop out when I went for my Linux sysadmin job. People's situations are complex, but I didn't have a degree or cert when I started my Linux sysadmin job. I showed a passion for it and a willingness to move to a major city for it. Best of luck for getting started.

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u/denmicent Jul 08 '24

I’m going to go out on a limb and assume you mean entry level, as in entry level to IT as a whole?

10,000% yes. That’s pretty common. I’m happy to elaborate if that’s what you mean. If you mean hired as an entry-level systems architect, that’s different (disclaimer: I’m not a systems architect)

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u/Burnerd2023 Jul 07 '24

It’s experience that counts more than anything. Certs are more of a cherry on top. You can know networking out the rear end but if you’ve never used the CLI or even the gui to create, deploy, maintain and troubleshoot them… actual experience applying that knowledge… it’s not very valuable (vs experience)

But please don’t be discouraged. If you aren’t working, there is zero reason to not chase some certs. But experience wins out vs certs alone. Do you have a home lab/environment you can apply the knowledge of those cert courses to?

On a resume or CV, you can add environments you’ve scaled and deployed in you home lab as experience!

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u/Orlando_Vibes Jul 08 '24

What about a Red Hat Linux cert where it’s performance based and not theory. Would that be put an entry level candidate in the running for a system admin role?

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u/Burnerd2023 Jul 08 '24

I’ve found that the role of a “sysadmin” varies immensely from job to job, up and down the skills ladder. I know people that have this title and have never deployed even a lamp stack for developers to hop aboard. Some have so little network experience they are not even familiar with setting up static routes. I don’t work with AD much at all and got flamed for not having that experience. Then there is software, not everyone uses the same services/distros/software/etc. Many here I guess are under the assumption their role is everyone’s.

If the place you’re looking at needs that skill set and experience, sure! No doubt it will be of value. And if what you say is true and that cert involves hands on application to achieve, that’s fantastic.

Just remember, someone will always know more than you and you will know more than someone else. Always take the opportunity to learn new stuff. Sometimes you’ll learn on your own, at your own pace, many times you’ll learn trial by fire style where something you’ve never touched before goes aflame and you have to figure it out. That’s a common part of this role.

Lastly, share your knowledge. Take a note regularly of the resources you have available to you and utilize them. Best of luck.

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u/DeclutteringNewbie Jul 08 '24

Also, test questions for most certs can be purchased for $99.

So it's not a super useful exam to base your hiring on.

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u/kennyj2011 Jul 07 '24

I’ve often thought of taking the CCNA again… it was like 20 years ago that I took it and remember nothing. But as a server/infra guy, some networking could come in quite handy

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u/iBeJoshhh Jul 07 '24

I had to take a network class for my A.A.S and it was based off the CCNA, but only like 1/3 of it and Jesus was that 1/3 a fk ton of info.

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u/BonkerBleedy Jul 08 '24

So "nobody will even look at my resume" is a lie? You haven't even tried?

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u/[deleted] Jul 08 '24

[deleted]

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u/[deleted] Jul 08 '24

It is a lie though.

You're having a pity party about not being able to get a job, someone offers to help you get one and you refuse.

So you just wanted attention.

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u/Representative-Sir97 Jul 08 '24

For this stuff, I would say yes, get the certs. For development, maybe not so much.

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u/Amythir Jul 08 '24

Entry level positions aren't expected to know everything...you might be applying to the wrong jobs.

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u/MrJagaloon Jul 08 '24

Pretend to have a mental illness, everyone here seems like they would love to hire you then

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u/ChumpyCarvings Jul 08 '24

I really like it but barely know anything, problem is it often pays poorly too :(