When did you work in IT support at the Department of Chemistry?
2022 - 2023, as part of my placement year during my undergraduate degree.
What were your main duties?
- Handling front-line IT support tickets
- Setting up new PCs and laptops as department-managed machines
- Replacing failing hard drives and assisting with data migration
- Contributing to a range of Python-based projects
What did you most enjoy when you worked in the IT team?
There is a huge amount of technical knowledge and expertise across the IT team and I enjoyed learning how the team used automation to simplify day-to-day tasks and processes. I also enjoyed the variety of IT queries and issues, and the opportunity to solve new problems each day.
What did you find the greatest challenge?
The greatest challenge for me was deciding which tickets to prioritise. I had to consider the urgency of each ticket whilst ensuring users were kept updated on the progress of their requests. Getting experience with the IT team's ticketing system has certainly helped improve my organisational skills.
What did you learn working in the IT team?
I learned how to troubleshoot and resolve a wide range of IT issues, as well as how to use GitLab for managing code repositories and contributing to coding projects. The role also taught me how to ask for help when I wasn't sure how to handle something. I've enjoyed being part of such a friendly and supportive team who are always happy to share their knowledge.
What are you up to now?
I currently mainly provide front-line IT support for the Scott Polar Research Institute but also work part-time in the Department of Chemistry with the IT team on various IT projects. A project I'm currently working on is obtaining departmental accreditation for a sustainability certification scheme called Green DiSC, working with both the IT team and research groups in the department to achieve this.
