A Day in the Life of IT

8:00 - 8:30 am
In the IT office, I check the Help Desk answering machine for phone messages about Help Desk problems. Luckily there are none, so I sit at my desk and logon.
First tasks include checking that the backups have run successfully and logging this and the initial number of calls in the Help Desk log.
Now to clear a little paper work before checking the Help Desk log.

8:30 - midday As I am rostered onto helpdesk today, I respond to a call in the log on the need to transfer a file from a CD to the network for the presentation in the lecture theatre. Since this person is not working on a PC with a CD drive, I ask if they would rather use one of the Resource PCs available or bring the CD up to the IT office so that we can copy the files here. They are glad to be reminded that the Resource PCs are available so that problem is solved. The use of the lecture theatre PC is fully documented for use but I offer help if it is needed.

5 additional help desk calls arrive and are dealt with. These are fairly standard requests for help- editing a template, changing options in MS Outlook, making a data change in the database, inducting a new employee in the basics of using VIFM computer systems and sending a faulty network card back to the retailer.
I update the anti-virus software and prepare some documentation of such.

Midday - 12:30pm
Database maintenance which necessitates some reminder emails and phone calls. This is a weekly maintenance task.

12:30 - 1 pm

Lunch and a walk around The Tan.

1pm - 2pm
Two new PCs have arrived which need configuring so I start on the first of these. Two phone calls on the Help Desk phone arrive but I ask that these are logged as Help Desk calls on the intranet.

2pm - 3pm
I was minute taker at the last IT meeting and I need to get these around to the other IT staff. After I have written these up and published them on the intranet, I also start some documentation about the scanner which has been installed. I am glad when the Help Desk phone rings. There seems to be a problem with one of the servers and I will need to reboot it tonight before going home.

3pm - 4pm
On the way downstairs to upgrade software on a number of PCs, I give a colleague an answer about duplex printing. The upgrade takes most of an hour but someone in that office asks me to iron out some email problems. These are quick to fix and I remind him that there are hints on the intranet if he wants to do it himself next time.

4pm - 5pm
More help desk problems, a demonstration of the scanner to some Tox staff and some phone calls to get some quotes on new laptops.

5-5:30pm
Assign any outstanding help desk calls, change the backup tapes where necessary and finalise the help desk log for the day. Reboot the server having problems and then goodbye to the two IT staff still in the office.So ends another day of being rostered onto help desk. Tomorrow, it will be someone else's turn and I will be able to complete some project work