1

Our pres gave us an intern today. Kinda out of the blue.

we are rather basic, run our own email, have a fun citrix deployment. hes more interested in networking but hes all gun ho about whatever.

i dont like just giving grunt work but hes taken some of that today too

leads to the question, if you were interested in learning anything and had no real background on any particular tech, what would you like to learn?

27 Spice ups
2

As long as it was not mind numbing I’d love to learn programming. I find that no coffee in the world can keep me away when someone starts talking about methods :frowning:

2 Spice ups
3

well well well… you just got yourself an intern.

Technically this can mean more free time for you- ie, learning/expanding/project work while putting the intern to the grindstone. While there’s nothing wrong with giving them just basic grunt work, you can also take side projects that you just haven’t had time to get to, and have him start on them.

First, I’d assess his skills, primarily his ability to research without getting distracted, as well as his ability to return to said work between interruptions. If he can be a self-starter/manager, you might’ve just gotten a great resource to help you finish out anything you may be behind on or just wanting to get out of the way.

7 Spice ups
4

Virtualization was the thing that I was most interested in when I was an intern, and my manager let me get my hands dirty with it to an extent. Then I moved on to manage a much larger virtual infrastructure and apply a lot of my new-found knowledge. It’s such a powerful technology, and I’m grateful for the opportunities that I’ve had.

2 Spice ups
5

  • Good troubleshooting practice

  • the OSI model

  • basic TCP/IP, subnetting

  • Good documentation practice

6 Spice ups
6

I always forget the OSI model but this always helped me…

All

Porn

Stars

Tag

Nasty

Dirty

Physical Layer… :wink: (Trying to keep it clean for SW)

Crap… Quote didn’t work. Nothing but issues with IE 11 and spiceworks.

Anywho I wouldn’t care to learn programming on a internship but more on troubleshooting and how to translate geek to user English.

2 Spice ups
7

Active IDS systems. Oh, and digital forensics.

1 Spice up
8

As another IT co-op/intern (though I do have a bit of previous experience and am more server-oriented), I’ve found PowerShell to be a great thing to learn, and am working on building my knowledge of virtualization. I’ve also programmed some switches, something that I would imagine he would be interested in, since he’s going for a networking focus. In general, throw stuff at us that we don’t already know, give us a lead on where to look/ how to learn it and send us to it.

I know in my case, I also handle a lot of the user issues (X program isn’t working right, new user/ user termination…stuff like that).

1 Spice up
9

SQL is what I hear allot of C levels talking about. They need more highly certified/ knowledgeable SQL administrators.

10

Ruby on Rails

11

Forensics

A couple of programming languages

Powershell

Networking

12

SQL?

SQL Server?

Two quite different job roles. I’ve never heard of anyone too concerned about SQL. Nearly any developer can write SQL, that a “side” language that everyone knows.

SQL DBAs? The need for those is rising as SQL Server becomes more and more dominant, but I’ve not seen any real demand, just know that it is on the rise.

13

I am an intern at the moment, my daily duties consist of “grunt work” to fill time. Thing like reformatting old xp machines. Clean the supply closet when it gets out of hand and track assets. More often than not, i find myself filling the help desk role. This allows me to encounter many learning experiences and get a better working knowledge of how computers are used in the work place and how to fix the more commonly occurring issues efficiently. I’m also the one who takes care of setting up for new hires. I also implemented our spiceworks installation after we moved to virtual servers.

The boss gives me the “special projects” that would other wise take him away from his typical job.

If I can give you some advice on helping your intern, take up an emphasis on communication. Our company is growing so fast that just the 2 of us can’t handle all the work, therefore we don’t have much time to talk about what needs to be done and how to do it. I have wasted so much time researching all of my questions because he is too busy to help me with the answers.

7 Spice ups
14

I try to let any interns that we might have do as much as possible to help them find what they might be interested in. I let them shadow me on stuff that i know they wont be able to touch and sometimes let them identify a problem (where ever it may be), research, fix and document. At the end of the internship i have them fill out a survey on what they liked the best, least and how i can improve their success.

15

Sounds like you have all the tools to make your Internship a success Mike. Keep up the great work. This is exactly what I use to do with my entry-level employees/interns at my previous company. IMHO - there is nothing like “grunt work” to test an employee in the beginning to see how they will handle themselves for later on in their career.

Again - keep it up. :slight_smile:

1 Spice up
16

Not sure if you are already managing people. But if you are not. then learn how to utilize this person to the edge of their ability and then have them learn to go beyond it.

and the mantras

Google is the friend that you get to use and abuse.

Document everything you do. because 3 weeks down the line there may be a test! (no seriously there will be a test)

and my favorite

Good night, Westley. Good work. Sleep well. I’ll most likely kill you in the morning.

17

“leads to the question, if you were interested in learning anything and had no real background on any particular tech, what would you like to learn?” Wow - take me back 16-17 years why don’t you. LOL.

Well - my first foray into computers was at a Mac only company and I had been a complete *nix/PC guy until then. I had never even TOUCHED a Mac before, but that was the job I got. For the first week I was forced to “prove” myself everyday: between troubleshooting hardware, software, and application issues; to documenting what/why/how I fixed or didn’t fix an issue or issues; and lastly to just spending time learning everything I could about Mac’s themselves (including my mgr sending me home with 2 $4000 MacPro laptops in 1996 my 2nd day there saying “Don’t break these, but learn what you can”). My manager and senior tech were there to answer questions whenever I needed them, but as the days went on I needed them less and less.

So - If I could do it all again, as a pure newbie, I would love to have that chance all over again. To be “dropped in the $h*t” again and allowed to learn “the hard way”, but knowing that I had the support behind me when I needed it. Both of them always made sure I remembered 1 thing though…“Write it down!! Write it down!! Write it down!!”

Basically because just because it worked this time, doesn’t mean it will work next time. Because of them I have learned that documentation is the easiest way remember how you fixed a problem once, so you can fix it easier the next time. Because, Troubleshooting is like being crazy; You do the same thing over and over expecting a different result…until finally it works. :slight_smile:

Hope this helps you with your intern, this has helped me train between 10-15 successful IT members over the years. It has also helped me recognize some IT members that were not worth my time. shrug.

Yours

2 Spice ups
18

Teach him to document things. I have learned that a dificult problem will arise more then once. If I already tackled it, it is always good to look at my notes and see what I did to resolve it. Plus always have a flash drive with your goodie bag of tools for troubleshooting and AV. And don’t forget backups. Test and restest backups. It may be boring but with all enviroments if the backup fails, you will not have time to feel bored making sure everything is up and running.

19

Be sure to feed him, keep him in deodorant, and make sure he gets at least two walks a day.

Have him make a network cable or two. Just don’t ship them to an office 2000 miles away when he’s done, even if you tested them yourself…

6 Spice ups
20

Show him the ropes with Microsoft products and their consequent roles. Things like Windows Server, Exchange, Sharepoint, and any roles you might be running (WSUS, NAP, WDS) etc, anything you can teach him about these will benefit him when he gets a permanent job.