There is a demand for IT professionals in any industry, a demand that is destined to grow. Neural networks and artificial intelligence are evolving rapidly, but, if past experience is anything to go by, they are only auxiliary tools, not essential ones. For example, chatbots which are so popular now cannot answer all questions.
The robot does what it is taught and we must learn how to control robots. We already have plans to use AI at the monitoring and response centre where it will assist colleagues in every way possible to track network incidents and provide a quick response.
IT professionals are in demand right now and can choose a company and an employer. They care about where and who they work with. I was lucky. About three years ago, I got an offer from CSC and my life has been dedicated to the company ever since.
I am dealing with user problems. For example, I have find and fix disruptions and malfunctions when my colleagues cannot open their email client or bump into some Skype glitch. And I have to do it in a way that does not delay people in their work longer than necessary. Most importantly, you should not leave your colleagues hanging, you must address the problem assigned and avoid giving any questionable advice.
I am also in charge of server software, such as remote desktop, SAP, email server. Many things other employees do not see. Like any automobile, software needs regular maintenance, adjustments, protection from unauthorised access and patches to fix bugs inherited from previous versions.
I work from home, so I can start work earlier while everyone is still asleep, or I can leave later to finish urgent tasks. There are also force majeure cases when I have to join in even at night, but these things are very rare. In my line of business, work from home is a very convenient format. On the one hand, I am always in touch with my colleagues and users, and on the other hand, I no longer spend hours travelling to and from office and can devote my time to more pleasant things. For example, I discovered the gym. After a confining job, working out helps a lot to calm the mind and energize the body.
I've been passionate about computers since school. It all started when my parents bought a laptop for me to study. At first, I was happy, but then I decided to upgrade it. And so it went – the more I learned about hardware, the more exciting it got. So, I chose Management and Computer Technology in Technical Systems as my major at Lipetsk State Technical University. Upon graduation, I pursued my profession for a little while before I joined CSC. I wanted growth and this is what I found here.
At first, I worked as part of the first line technical support responding to user problems. Gradually, I gained more knowledge, experience and received more complex technical tasks. In addition to user tickets, I was in charge of handling system incidents. Today, I mainly deal with fixing bugs which require a deeper understanding of the company's infrastructure. I am always learning something new. This is very exciting!
I am getting used to my new position as a lead. There were more tasks before, but they were simple, now there are fewer tasks, but they take more time to handle and they are more complex. This is a great career move for me and an opportunity to keep on growing professionally.
I like maintaining the IT infrastructure all by myself. Even if I don't know right away how to deal with a problem, it becomes more interesting. The examples are all around us. I have recently got a ticket that a colleague could not send mail via Outlook. So, I had to look for a server bug. In the end, everything was quite simple, but the knowledge I gained in the process added to my expertise and experience.
Basically, I enjoy working with a system, seeing how things are changed from year to year. 10 years ago, computers were different. For some, this could have gone unnoticed, but it is important for me to stay on the cutting edge of technology, keep tabs on updates, try and test them. This is a huge knowledge and technology base which will not let you stop for a second, because in 5 minutes, you could fall behind for good. I don't get it when people only seek success and money. You've got to love what you do. Then you will certainly succeed no matter what.
CSC has its own things that you don't often see on the market. We offer support services for the infrastructure of several federal companies meaning that there are thousands of employees. As a result, we can compare the infrastructure of different companies and expand our experience almost indefinitely. We always have large-scale changes and you can offer your ideas and have impact on processes changing and improving things around. For example, there was a very inconvenient change request. But we streamlined the process, introduced a plan standard, and now everyone knows how it works. An opportunity to influence processes so quickly and easily is my drive, and I feel I'm being part of the company.
