Last time we had a position I posted here and got a lot of positive feedback, so I’m posting our newest position. Here is a link to that thread in case you want to see the answers to any questions that were asked.
I am the supervisor of the UF Health IT helpdesk and we have an L1 position to fill. As an L1, your responsibility is to answer phones and remotely help our customers (other UF Health employees). We are a helpdesk, not a call center, so our goal is not to answer as many calls as possible, go through a basic script, and create a ticket for someone else to deal with. We have a centralized support model, so every single IT request is funneled through us to either resolve or route to the team that can resolve it. This means as an L1, you need to have good troubleshooting skills and customer service skills.
This is a Shands position (about 60% of the team are Shands employees and 40% UF employees) and the advertised pay rate is $20.65 - $26.11 per hour. This is an excellent way to get your foot in the door in IT at Shands.
If you are interested, please apply here. Let me know if you have any questions.
#Job Opening Summary
Answer and resolve inbound technical calls at a Help Desk. Troubleshoot corporate applications with the use of a knowledge base and assign issues to the appropriate support groups as needed. Solves basic problems; escalates complex problems to next level analyst. Follows all escalation procedures according to service-level commitments. Use remote control tools to assist end user when needed. Provides an accurate record of each call in an incident management tracking tool.
#Job Opening Qualifications
Minimum Education and Experience Requirements:
- Minimum 1 year of technical support experience.
- College graduate with AA or AS degree in computer science or relative field preferred.
- Degree(s) may be substituted for experience.
- Excellent communication and customer service skills.
- Proficient in support of desktop hardware, software and peripherals in a networked environment.
- Experience with Microsoft Office products and VPN.
- Familiarity with health care information system is preferred.
- Industry standard technical certification (A+, Microsoft or Apple) or a Support Center Analyst certification is required.
Oh man, I just started ITProTV and Udemy Mike myers courses for a+ but I have no experience besides doing call center dell tech support in 2005 which was reading through a script. I’m assuming I shouldn’t even bother with this until I have my a+ cert? I’m 36 and looking for a career change. Thanks for any input!
A+ cert requirements are so dumb. For anyone that knows anything about computers it’s a waste of time/money imposed by bad management.
I hate how as an L1 position, you still have to have 1 year experience. This is an ENTRY level position. It is all trained based on YOUR system, so why is 1 year at another IT desk and pre-requisite?
I don’t have a certification, but could run circles around just about any IT issue and yet, my application wont even be looked at because I don’t have relevant experience.
There are also level 2 UNIX sysadmin and level 3 DBA positions available. Experience and skills necessary, but the teams are full of great people and WFH opportunity is there.
Oh the days when we had an mp3 farm on those computers… (Also after we used circa computers to script fill surveys for cash). (Worked IT at both)
We also desperately need help in CDC. We’ve been severely short staffed going on 2 years now. Definitely doesn’t pay as well as this position though, but you pretty much just need a GED and a semi functional muscular structure.
I personally love giving the “underdog” candidates a chance, but if you don’t currently have a certification then the application would likely never get past the HR screening phase and to me to review. My advice would be work on getting a few certifications, experience when you can manage it, and keep applying. Lower level analyst positions are posted all the time by both UF and Shands.
My brother took the A+ cert and I still knew more than he did after he took the test. Most help desk people use google to solve their problems like with OP’s “Experience with Microsoft Office products and VPN.”
I hate how as an L1 position, you still have to have 1 year experience.
Certifications and education can substitute for experience. One of the analysts I hired last year had no formal experience. He was working as a manager at a restaurant, but had gotten several certifications and was working on his AS in IT. I can also sometimes make the case that certain customer service experience is relevant to the job as well.
This is an ENTRY level position.
Also, this is slightly above entry level. There is actually a position underneath a Shands L1 called PC Technician. That position does not require any certificates or experience I believe. I think it’s just preferred. We do not have of those positions in the Helpdesk though so I’m not super familiar with it.
I appreciate your honest feedback. I’ll keep studying and hope to get in the door next year
Hard requirements for a certificate in todays world means you miss out on a large pool of qualified people and I suggest working with your management to remove that.
I wrote software 10 years for a fortune 500 aerospace company and didn’t need A+ (pitched in a lot on the hardware side as well)
It’s unneeded gatekeeping is what it is.
Well thats good. I have 15+ years in Customer Service and I am working towards my A+ cert. I applied last year and never went past the online application. It’s just so frustrating to get a foot in the door when every ENTRY level position requires 1 or more years of experience. I have RELEVENT experience, but it doesn’t look like when I put in experience. I included it in a Cover Letter, but doubt that ever got seen.
Full time WFH. Though there may be a period of in the office during probation.
Edit: Even though you’re incorrect, it’s good to clarify this part. Thanks!
I used to work at UF and they have the same problem. A bunch of mid-senior level system admin/engineer roles posted with “remote” listed as a location, then it’s noted that “remote” to UF means 2 days at home and 3 in the office, so really you still have to live within a reasonable commute.
Then they wonder why the positions just repost over and over again.
The requirement was actually added within the last couple of years by management so it’s probably not going away. I have voiced my concern on the matter in the past, but the decision is above my pay grade.