IT Support Specialist Review

We have an early, late and night shift, if you are on the early shift, you are either carrying out similar duties to the late shift or you are on BAU. BAU is about checking system availability across the platform, monitoring batch on Control-M, looking up tables in bespoke applications and using Microsoft Outlook to look out for any errors. Logging incidents and carrying out data fixes, escalating where required. If you aren't on BAU and you are not on Night Shift, then your role is to provide support for BAU, help them out where needed, carry out investigations, run scripts, made predictions as to when Night Shift will finish. Night Shifts role is to monitor batch, escalating any failures, handing over if there is an overrun. Some times we provide cover for the Service Desk, this is about assigning tickets and completing user access and audit requests.

I have improved my soft skills such as being less likely to over react, my leadership skills have improved and my ability to document new processes. I've also gain new skills in how to use Service Now, Control-M, Objectstar and also developed my programming skills. I have also become very good at using SQL.

I am enjoying it, however the structure feels a bit like a little course work bundled in with external courses, which is fine but I wish there was more independent structure, something that makes it stand out more from a degree. I've enjoyed researching the subject matter and it has brought me and those also on the Apprentiship closer together as a team.

It is well structured, though the organization could be better, we have three people in total in our doing the programme and we were book on the same course date after a couple of times being told we could not do this. Also, we changed our instructor halfway through, though I know this can happen in any organization, it has resulted in my course work taking a long time to be marked.

I've been given the impression that the work we do on our Apprentiship is a low priority to our other duties. I agree that we need to find the time to work on it but there are no reviews on our progress and I know people are struggling. I am worried that they will fall too far behind before they are given support.

So far it's been okay, there a modules I'm definitely going to need help on in the future. I did get support regarding some IMPACT learning modules but wasn't too clear if it was okay for myself to complete all of them in one go. There hasn't been anything that has troubled me too much in this area.

It has made me more aware of what's available to me such as free eye tests, then there was modules that talked about problem solving that made me think more about thinking about other peoples needs when thinking of a solution. There was a lot that felt like more background theory, which though is interesting, it hasn't had too much of an impact on my role.

There is, I'm in a small team that is part of a larger team, our small team sometimes organizes things but I do think it is people from the wider team that do more in organizing social events which I try to attend. I think there needs to be more encouragement for all of us to do this.

Yes

My company is undergoing a great change and there will be lots of new opportunities and scope for learning. I have grown so much working here, I feel that even if I left I have enough skills to become self-employed and be confident enough to believe in my own ability.

As with any job, you need to ask yourself why do you want to work here, there are so many different areas. After I finished working as a Customer Support person on the phones with another company, I wanted to work somewhere that could further my IT Skills. It could be that you want to work on the more financial side, or you want to develop your testing skills. It's important to know what your purpose is, if you are coming to work here just to find a job, then that's when you need to ask yourself what is it that you really want to do.