Helpdesk Burnout

May 12, 2004 10:50 AM

Maybe this is midweek frustration speaking, but I am wondering if anyone knows what the average burnout/turnaround time is for helpdesk these days? Back in the day I remember hearing that it was about 6 weeks, but I wonder if other geeks like myself are putting up with more abuse for longer periods than we used to, as jobs are harder to come by these days. Google shows a lot of percentages, but I want to know how long people are sticking with the job before they run screaming from the building.
posted by Watsonne to work & money (9 comments total)

Extra points if anyone can tell us all how to stay at a job without feeling like screaming.
posted by agregoli at 11:47 AM on May 12, 2004

I used to work for these guys. I lasted a little longer than 4 weeks, including 2 weeks of training. I noticed their slogan is "We think like a customer" which from my experience there means not very often and usually in the wrong direction.

I did bellsouth dsl tech support. Fucking nightmare. Even getting high and loaded every lunch break did not make it bearable. I came back from lunch one day, logged back into my phone, realized what I was doing, then calmly got up and walked out permanently. No goodbye, no I've had enough of this shit. I didn't even log out of the phone or computer. WORST FUCKING JOB EVER.
posted by headless at 12:11 PM on May 12, 2004

Outsourced computer tech support? "Hi, this is the LoserTech Assistance Center, your case number is 1152689, what may I help you with?" Got that job around 1997. The figure I'd heard then was 3-6 months. Stayed there a YEAR. (Initially, the conditions were pretty cushy.) Total agreement with headless.
posted by furiousthought at 12:38 PM on May 12, 2004

2 years.

Drink heavily.
posted by ecrivain at 12:50 PM on May 12, 2004

I lasted two months before my nervous breakdown.
posted by deborah at 1:45 PM on May 12, 2004

3 years. Took a vacation to England. Went back to work the day after I came home and walked out 45 minutes later. Nothing else lined up. Saving my sanity was priority number one. Had I stayed there longer, I would have drank myself to death.
posted by pieoverdone at 2:06 PM on May 12, 2004

4 years part time at my college supporting the teacher's computers. I enjoyed it -- it taught me how to insult users without angering them. Worked at it full time during the summers.

Best tech support call ever:

"I forgot my password, had it reset, and still can't get in"
"We have reset your password to [name of college here], all lower case"
"Oh, but I tried that. It didn't work."
(I reset it again)
"Try again"
"No, still not working."

I went down there, and watched her type it in again. Still, no go. Maybe her keybaord was busted?

So I tried it myself on her hardware... Success! It turned out that the teacher didn't know how to spell the name of the college she had been working at for the past decade or two.
posted by shepd at 4:13 PM on May 12, 2004

I think I'd have a good time working tech support. I'd get to treat a bunch of people like little kids, tell them unplausible lies they'd actually believe, and write my own BoFH stories. It'd be cool.

But it'd also have to pay really well.
posted by five fresh fish at 5:32 PM on May 12, 2004

2 days.
posted by Hildago at 6:24 PM on May 12, 2004