An Insight Into The Life Of a Service Desk Technician

We had a chat with one of Asta’s Service Desk Technicians, Ethan Souleles, to find out what life is like with a career in IT. 

What does a Service Desk Technician do on a day-to-day basis? 

"My typical day begins with checking my emails and my calendar to ensure I’m up to date with everything. I then check our ticket management system to see what new tickets our clients have sent in overnight and assign them accordingly. We then have our morning team meeting to check how everyone is tracking and see if there is anything that needs be raised or escalated. Most of my day revolves around calling users and troubleshooting their technical problems, which can involve resetting passwords, reconnecting a printer, remapping a Network Drive and VPN connectivity issues, just to name a few! Then I could build and configure computers that need to be shipped to our clients. Towards the end of the day, I check and overview technical documentation to see if there is anything that needs to be updated, because technology is forever changing.”

What has been the most complex ticket you’ve ever worked on? 

“The most difficult ticket I have worked on was a computer not connecting to a client’s domain server even though it had been added and was on the same network. After some troubleshooting, testing, and communication with the team, we found out that the DNS settings on the user’s internet connection were not configured correctly – so we applied and correct settings and it was able to connect.”

What are some common questions you get asked as a support technician? 

"As a support technician, the most common question I get asked by my friends and relatives is “Can you hack this person’s Facebook?” which I find quite humorous. Another question I typically get asked is why I like working as a support technician. I like it because I love problem solving and using logical thought processes – which exactly computers are based on. I also enjoy talking and interacting with people as I thrive off social energy, and the appreciation from users when I resolve their technical issues isn’t bad either!”

What interests you about IT? 

“The thing that interests me the most about IT is that it is such a big field. There are so many different things to do and learn about IT and it is constantly evolving, meaning you have to stay on top of it all. I've always had a passion for IT. I've owned my first computer since I was about 10 years old and I used to run into a lot of technical issues myself and, since I didn't know anyone else who was tech savvy, I had to teach myself how to resolve them."

What problems do you hope emerging technology will be able to solve in the future? 

"I’m hoping that one day technology can help find cures for currently uncurable diseases. Technology can potentially use data to simulate creation of new medication and test its effectiveness without having to use real people. ”

What are some highlights from working at Asta? 

“One of the biggest highlights of working at Asta is, because we use and have access to so many different technologies, that there is so much to learn. I don’t think there has been a day at Asta where I haven’t learnt at least one new thing. The Asta team are all friendly and easy to talk to, and I always feel like I’m supported when I approach someone for help."

Thanks for chatting with us Ethan! Its's great to get some insight into what it's like to work in IT. If you're interested in a career at Asta, you can check out careers page for our current job openings or to introduce us to your skills.