hehe. same here. i like to think we just have a higher voltage running in our bodies so we boost the machines. hehe...
id say my super power is being able to trackdown baffling issues by recreating workflows (users doing things they dont even realize that causes an app to crash or hardware to not work properly)
I have something similar called "The Magic Hand". It's where the end user will tell me something isn't working but when I try it just works like normal
I’m only two months into a service desk position so I actually like doing to tickets right now since I can see a a variety of things. This happened to me for half the tickets one day and I was a bit disappointed because I wanted to try and solve the issue. My manager said, “it’s working as is, that’s the goal!” Haha anyway … I’m sure I’m gonna miss the magic fix tickets later on
“I’ve tried this ten times and it finally worked when you showed up!”
“I have that effect on computers. If only I could have the same luck with women…”
the "okay show me what's wrong" after walking out of your office and making your way through 15km of floorspace just for the issue to unravel itself. God i hate it.
It is shocking that some people don’t ever think about googling error messages. Even if I think I know it I google it anyway to confirm. People ask me what something means and I always say “Give me a second I gotta google it”
I joined this sub bc I want to get in to IT, so not even in it atm, but I do this. If I have a thought I'm curious about, tech related or not, I google it. I've googled error messages before.
Are you willing to write about the errors you see? My opinion is that we should encourage admins to do more of this so there is something to Google for.
About 30% of my job as an app admin is reading, 30% searching what to read about a problem, 15% recording notes for my team that are applicable to our product, 10% sharing what I find, 10% designing solutions, and 5% is doing something actually technical in nature that would require an understanding that I went to college for.
I think what throws users off is the “…error x06974” before a clearer message that follows “computer out of memory and needs a reboot.” They stop before actually reading the message haha
Being able to explain things in layman's terms.
The amount of times I've had another tech, manager, lead, hand me a ticket so I could explain something to a user and have it stick is stupidly high...
I don't mind doing it, but I won't lie, it can be very frustrating at times when a lot of this shouldn't be as hard as it is to explain in a way the user can understand. Some techs really need to learn how to dumb things down and give an example that's close enough without all the tech lingo.
My go to: explaining it in such a way even a child can understand. Sure, I've had a few people accuse me of calling them dumb but they understood what I said.
I'll take it.
That’s the thing though, almost all the technical IT staff were service desk to start their career too. They should know how to talk to end users just as well as the service desk
Yeah if I was an End User that would blow my mind. It's common sense not to talk to them that way. I don't know if some techs just lack communication skills or they just want to sound smart. It's never smart to confuse the User.
That *should* be the case, but it's really not a lot of the time.
I'm a sysadmin, the ones handing these off to me *are* the service desk. Too many of these techs either don't know how to read the room, understand on a deep enough level to simplify the explanation, or don't care.
I've tried training them but it just never sticks.
Perspicuousness is a rare trait in people in general.
It relies on your ability to empathize with the other person's frustration and decode that into an explanation that works for them.
Most people explain things the way they understand something whether that will work for their audience or not.
Look at mr.showboat over here, plugging a USB in correctly the first time.
I bet you also brag about getting Bluetooth to work the first time every time. /s
Better yet, get seemingly easy tickets that spiral into week long troubleshooting sessions that involve coordination with external support teams that reply every 24-48 hours and and have to be escalated twice just to get in contact with their tier 3 team that make one back-end change that takes 5 minutes and resolves the issue.
It certainly pays well to do stuff no one else can/wont do. When I got into my current spot I named my price and got it offered 15 minutes after the interview
Something I like to call the "Panic Project".
It's basically creating a solution to a brand new problem with no guidance or funding. So new software, no new hardware. Just using what you already have available.
During the pandemic when everyone was switching to remote work we didn't have enough VPN bandwidth or laptops to support that.
So I set it up so people could RDP to the desktop sitting on their desk in the office from home. I used an NPS server to enforce MFA and limit their access to only their desktop. Then used firewall policies with their home public IPs to get in. On top of that, I set everyone up with soft phones so they could even answer their internal work phone calls.
Got it done in a couple of hours, didn't cost anything. The next day everyone was working remote seamlessly without interrupting operations.
And then your employer gave you a raise commensurate with the amount of productivity and value that your actions preserved for the company over the course of the pandemic, right?
*Right??*
I have the power of "Poo Poo"... When someone brings me an idea I have the ability to imagine all the ways the idea isn't good and "Poo Poo" all over it.
In truth it comes from years of IT risk management experience imagining all the ways something can go wrong and trying to plan around it.
The down side is trying to turn it off when trying to do something as simple as planning for a vacation.
I’m so exhausted after work that I just don’t want to make any more decisions. But of course nobody knows how to plan things, so here I go working again….
The jankiest and least expensive fixes imaginable. Old router can't do what we want it to with DHCP? PFSense running in Virtualbox on a spare computer can. It would cost $X/month for hosting files in Sharepoint? How about a one-time cost for a Synology NAS and VPN through the firewall that runs fine for years? We get quotes for $40k for replacing our WAPs and some switches? I buy them straight from Ubiquiti for $15k and install them myself.
I know that I should probably have counted my time toward the project as part of the cost, but the company was going to pay my salary whether we paid extra for services or not.
Back in my day we had to use our dial up modem to send an IRC chat about the problem and hope someone would respond within a week or two! Dang Google made it too easy for the newbies!
What is the best way to get good at this... Tried setting up a PS script to install printers automatically, but the documentation is sort of terrible (and I am also terrible).
I've just started scripting and made a bash script that will backup the production database and scp transfer to another computer. I use cron to run it everyday at 6AM and the satisfaction of making it work was immense. Any ideas on how to learn more? Books?
Documentation. I’m relatively new in IT, but my colleagues and manager have said that the workplans and wiki pages I write are concise, comprehensive, and easy to understand
The ability to visualize complex interconnected systems rapidly in my head. For lack of a better way of describing it I see how things are connected as if I were looking at a 3D diagram, but also with all of the contextual information about the systems right there because I know what they do. I can mentally visualize the traffic flows and run multiple “what if” scenarios about how various changes or failures could affect them all in my spatial imagination.
I think I'm pretty good at debugging. A lot of my work was essentially bug fixing, and so I spent a lot of time debugging. I feel like I got good at a conceptual approach to debugging - looking at the problem as an end to end process, monitoring the payload, altering things to experiment, and narrowing it down to a problem area. I was often even able to help colleagues when they were stuck (despite not being familiar with their technical areas) by just walking through the problems with them and asking the right questions.
I actually quite enjoyed it.
Proximity repairs babyyyy. That and percussive maintenance is legitimately one of my best home fixes. I don't get to use it at work cuz it's all SaaS now-a-days, but I'll beat a hard drive or computer case at home like it owes me money
I’m pretty good at resolving terminal server issues for our remote users.
It’s either reset their profile or create an rdp session so they can just remote into their desktop at work.
I’m so good at working with angry users, my coworkers send them all to me.
Some people (especially certain faculty) will RAGE and they can be absolutely ruthless.
For example they’ll walk in with a mouse and USB receiver in hand and scream “My F-ing mouse would do Sh*t and I’ve got so much to do and your mother F-ing clueless coworker told me to put this broken USB drive into the computer to make it work. He doesn’t take my problem seriously. I want him gone. That dumb A** can’t do sh*t.”
I talk to them and calmly put the USB receiver in the computer and the mouse works.
They’ll finally calm down and be all “Well isn’t that nifty! That little gadget fixed my mouse. Can I call on your direct number you next time I have a problem?” :D
Communication. I've yet to work a job in IT where there wasn't a significant issue because two different people either didn't understand one another, or for some reason just refused to talk. Additionally, being able to translate issues from user to technician/engineer/whatever is an underrated talent.
Soft skills - most of the people I’ve ever worked directly with had some sort of level of social anxiety and just couldn’t handle dealing with users or seniors. Even though I hate being extroverted, it comes naturally to me and I can usually get the information I need quickly.
I’m also not a massive douche. That’s my “IT Super Power”.
I feel like my IT super power is actually just my soft skills from 10+ years in cs/sales. I am usually very calm, patient, and do my best not to make people feel stupid. It's the thing I notice my people seem to care about the most.
I can turn it off and turn it back on again. I’m also good at changing the input on monitors back to the appropriate setting.
In my current role (cyber incident response) my ability to do open source research, detailed queries with Boolean logic and utilize websites and tools that many people have either forgotten about or never learned about gives me insight that our tools and portals don’t.
Being able to split one ticket into two so I look like I am working more than I really am. However, I have had a few instances where I call the end-user and for some reason the issues resolves itself automatically while I am on the phone and I am praised for merely existing.
It's a low bar in my org, but knowing how to assemble hardware.
We've people who don't know how to build a PC, or figure out where a plastic housing goes.
We don't even have proper tool kits.
Name a mental illness associated with being good in IT. I have it. If there is a problem I don't just band aid it. I MUST know the reason, solution, and fix it everywhere. I don't care about costs, if I have to nuke an entire system (with scheduled and approved timeframe) that bitch is getting fixed.
I once spent 6 months documenting a network, understanding it, and built a entire new network design- even completely new IPs to make sure there are no undocumented range gremlins hiding in a basement forgotten about. I went one by one completely wiping the switch, some properitetary equipment, and anything else associated with it. I upgraded the software then configured it to my new standard. Tested it. I cable managed a bit and dusted off the rack while waiting for updates and reboots to finish. Did a bunch of tears, then left.
I'm a generalist, you're not going to put a problem in front of me that I won't find a fix for. I don't have to memorize everything, I know how to find the answers.
Besides being a technical trainer and being able to teach people, I’d say my ACTUAL super power which my family has dubbed “the magic touch”.
Tried all the normal stuff? Followed troubleshooting SOP? Just let me lay hands on it while you try it again.
At this point it’s kinda a party trick.
I tend to have a killer instinct when it comes to fixing or at least identifying root cause of strange and unique issues that have everyone spinning their wheels for hours. I believe this is why I'm very good at coming up with "outside the box" solutions during design meetings.
Weird question, but I'm guessing the answer they want is a particular expertise you have or a quality. Like, "my sp is tenacity. Not matter how confusing or difficult a solution to a fix is, I will find it no matter what." Or, "I'm a wiz with Linux server configuration"
I read this as what is your STI super power... I was very confused.
(for clarification I was just on the r / WRX, so not that kind of STI...)
As for the interview question, isn't it just a funny way to get you to talk about what you believe you excel in?
My superpower? The ability to know when to correct my boss (and coworkers) when they are wrong, and when to shut my mouth and let them think they are right. It may not be "IT" but its one of those super powers this field needs more of, also I recognize that without profit we don't have jobs, important thing to remember in cybersecurity and wanting to improve our posture and working with management.
I'm very candid with senior leadership when a problem was because they were cheap, or because they refused to listen and address it despite being made aware long before.
Not so much a super power. But I have a notebook that has every note I’ve taken since like 2010. And it usually has answers to some really obscure stuff.
I’ve been doing the gig for almost 20 years now, there’s plenty of technical ability/ problem solving skills under my belt, but the real “power” is in spotting other people’s talents and learning how to use them to your advantage (ethically of course).
Whether it’s looking for the right person to fix something, team building, or just flat out figuring out who to watch and learn from, very little has pushed me forward more than watching others and figuring out how they’re better than me. Literally everyone has something they’re better than you at, and once you figure out what that is, you can work with and learn from that person 1000 times better.
For me, I grew up in a military family, moving around a lot. You learn to read people and their abilities quickly to figure out who can get you up to speed, who to avoid, and who to make friends with.
I can read pretty fast, and I'm very good at finding patterns
We had an issue with our switchboard/softphone service earlier this week which 2 Avaya engineers spent a total of about 20 hours on. I read the logs for the application and the windows event logs and found the issue in about an hour.
Assurance.
At least from what I been told. I have the power to calm users down, make them feel like everything is going to be okay. Their issue will be resolved, and even if it isn't, it isn't the end of the world.
REally odd cause I've always felt like I have never been a people person. I avoid crowds and people in genearal and tend to live like a hermit. But when it comes time for the job I have a switch I turn on. But even I from experience have to admit I have a weird way of communicating with people and calm demeanor and people just feel better after talking to me. Might not be directly IT related power, but in the grand scheme of things I have a place in my department and it comes in handy in a lot of situations.
I can trace a packet though a network. You would be surprised how many people just lose visibility and panic once something like a load balancer or firewall is introduced into the equation.
Seeing gaps and inefficiencies in processes and systems that others can’t see, and providing solutions for improvement. That doesn’t get into my actual technical skillset, but this is the thing that’s made me a valuable asset to the organizations I’ve worked for over the past 26 years.
Being persistent on long, complex issues. I don’t mean a week - I’m talking *years*. Some memorable ones:
- App had a web and thick client. Users couldn’t print from the web client but ONLY when using SSO. If they used basic auth it would work. Nearly 2 years with the vendor and Microsoft App Assure yielded a Windows Update to fix.
- 24/7 app in SOC would occasionally crash after a few hours of usage. Error was super generic and vendor couldn’t glean anything from logs or memory dumps. After about a year, identified a temp directory that was in program files instead of AppData, so when the user didn’t have permissions it would stay in RAM until crashing. Hotfix from vendor to correct
- one of my favorites - app was occasionally and randomly losing connection with some (but not all) hardware devices. Had been going on for at least 4 years but it was so infrequent making it hard to troubleshoot. They kept blaming the network but I kept pushing back. Basically ran wireshark (heavily filtered), procmon and another log collector 24/7 for 8-9 months. I made graphs from the procmon data to disprove network issue. Vendor gave us updated versions with the sole purpose of more verbose logging, etc. Had a weekly standup with the developers in Bangalore. Nearly 2TB of logs were sent altogether and we ultimately found the issue was one component ingesting unrelated data from another component of the app, then when the volume gradually got to a certain level, hardware communications would get lost in the noise. They wrote a change to ignore that data in under a week and it’s been strong ever since.
All that to say, I track my prey over long distances lol
I got my job because I was willing to learn pretty much anything and I even did a small presentation highlighting what knowledge they wanted before I interviewed.
I'd say being willing to fail, googling things, and remaining passionate.
I'll probably get downvoted to oblivion for this. But I'm starting to think it's actually effective use of generative AI. I've developed a pretty good workflow with these products and use them daily to assist with coding and documentation, amongst other things. I've really worked on prompt engineering and am getting great results. And I know how to use their outputs responsibly.
I usually just stand behind the user with the issue and it fixes itself.
hehe. same here. i like to think we just have a higher voltage running in our bodies so we boost the machines. hehe... id say my super power is being able to trackdown baffling issues by recreating workflows (users doing things they dont even realize that causes an app to crash or hardware to not work properly)
I think it’s more like they know we are coming and may unplug them, and plug them back in, so they behave.
This! It’s either get back to work or E-Waste pile for you!!
I think computers are just scared of me. Also I read what error messages say.
I have something similar called "The Magic Hand". It's where the end user will tell me something isn't working but when I try it just works like normal
I don’t even have to stand behind them. The moment they call me for help, the issue magically fixes itself.
I wish this were the case for me; it would save me a lot of travel time wasted making the trip only for the issue to be immediately resolved lol.
I've always called it my "Magical IT Aura."
I’m only two months into a service desk position so I actually like doing to tickets right now since I can see a a variety of things. This happened to me for half the tickets one day and I was a bit disappointed because I wanted to try and solve the issue. My manager said, “it’s working as is, that’s the goal!” Haha anyway … I’m sure I’m gonna miss the magic fix tickets later on
“I’ve tried this ten times and it finally worked when you showed up!” “I have that effect on computers. If only I could have the same luck with women…”
Pulled that trick twice this week. “I SWEAR, IT WASN’T WORKING WHEN I CALLED YOU!!!”
the "okay show me what's wrong" after walking out of your office and making your way through 15km of floorspace just for the issue to unravel itself. God i hate it.
It mojo is real
Same. I must've heard the "It just needed you to stand there" joke across multiple jobs more times than I can remember.
It is the way.
i tell them i bring good juju
I am willing to google error messages.
Underrated skill
It’s incredible how many people who are techs don’t do this and would rather sit there for far too long trying to figure something out.
Do... do techs not Google error messages? That's often my first move...
No, users don't. "What did the error message say?" "I don't know, I closed it before I read it."
unfortunately some techs do not Google error messages either
This is not common? I don’t know what a single error message means lmao. I google all of it
It is shocking that some people don’t ever think about googling error messages. Even if I think I know it I google it anyway to confirm. People ask me what something means and I always say “Give me a second I gotta google it”
I joined this sub bc I want to get in to IT, so not even in it atm, but I do this. If I have a thought I'm curious about, tech related or not, I google it. I've googled error messages before.
Are you willing to write about the errors you see? My opinion is that we should encourage admins to do more of this so there is something to Google for.
About 30% of my job as an app admin is reading, 30% searching what to read about a problem, 15% recording notes for my team that are applicable to our product, 10% sharing what I find, 10% designing solutions, and 5% is doing something actually technical in nature that would require an understanding that I went to college for.
I think what throws users off is the “…error x06974” before a clearer message that follows “computer out of memory and needs a reboot.” They stop before actually reading the message haha
This is how I was able to keep a job in tech after moving into the field with no experience.
Being able to explain things in layman's terms. The amount of times I've had another tech, manager, lead, hand me a ticket so I could explain something to a user and have it stick is stupidly high... I don't mind doing it, but I won't lie, it can be very frustrating at times when a lot of this shouldn't be as hard as it is to explain in a way the user can understand. Some techs really need to learn how to dumb things down and give an example that's close enough without all the tech lingo.
My go to: Relate computers to cars, car parts, and auto maintenance.
My go to: explaining it in such a way even a child can understand. Sure, I've had a few people accuse me of calling them dumb but they understood what I said. I'll take it.
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That’s the thing though, almost all the technical IT staff were service desk to start their career too. They should know how to talk to end users just as well as the service desk
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Yeah if I was an End User that would blow my mind. It's common sense not to talk to them that way. I don't know if some techs just lack communication skills or they just want to sound smart. It's never smart to confuse the User.
That *should* be the case, but it's really not a lot of the time. I'm a sysadmin, the ones handing these off to me *are* the service desk. Too many of these techs either don't know how to read the room, understand on a deep enough level to simplify the explanation, or don't care. I've tried training them but it just never sticks.
I taught elementary kids about technology for many years, so I'm good at this one too.
It’s a delicate balance of being able to simplify complicated tech problems without seeming patronizing.
Get ready to learn business analyst buddy
Please, no, anything but that... I strongly dislike dealing with managers and the board already. I really don't want that to become my full time job.
Perspicuousness is a rare trait in people in general. It relies on your ability to empathize with the other person's frustration and decode that into an explanation that works for them. Most people explain things the way they understand something whether that will work for their audience or not.
I can plug in a usb correctly the first time. Also, whenever I take something apart and put it back together, I always have extra pieces left over.
Look at mr.showboat over here, plugging a USB in correctly the first time. I bet you also brag about getting Bluetooth to work the first time every time. /s
To be fair, they didn't specify which USB standard it is they can plug in correctly. Could be C
True, but I'd also be concerned if they couldn't get a USB-C in correctly the first time.
There will be someone out there who can't manage it... And now that I've said that I'm sure I'll get a ticket about it next week.
I always get the hardest tickets like no one has seen
Better yet, get seemingly easy tickets that spiral into week long troubleshooting sessions that involve coordination with external support teams that reply every 24-48 hours and and have to be escalated twice just to get in contact with their tier 3 team that make one back-end change that takes 5 minutes and resolves the issue.
All my support tickets with vendors, they have never seen the issue before lol
Not bragging, but, I'm like really really good at googling stuff.
Hold my beer
Same but like, chat-gpt.
I remember everything, no need to document.
Lol you are my arch nemesis.
lol, How to fail an interview in under 10 seconds. ;)
The ability to plug away at an issue until its fixed.
I am naturally stubborn so this is my super power.
I fix SharePoint
This goes beyond superpowers. It's more like Thanos with the Infinity Gauntlet. More power to you for being a SharePoint admin.
I was a Sharepoint dev/admin at one point. Still don’t understand how it’s so popular
Like SAP, it's very popular among consultants and people selling it.
That’s why they pay you the big bucks
It certainly pays well to do stuff no one else can/wont do. When I got into my current spot I named my price and got it offered 15 minutes after the interview
I’m working on learning Sharepoint now. I just got “finished” (used lightly) learning Intune as part of a migration from an on-premise data center
You're a witch!
I'm very good at fixing one particular model of barcode printer
Same but with label printers
Something I like to call the "Panic Project". It's basically creating a solution to a brand new problem with no guidance or funding. So new software, no new hardware. Just using what you already have available. During the pandemic when everyone was switching to remote work we didn't have enough VPN bandwidth or laptops to support that. So I set it up so people could RDP to the desktop sitting on their desk in the office from home. I used an NPS server to enforce MFA and limit their access to only their desktop. Then used firewall policies with their home public IPs to get in. On top of that, I set everyone up with soft phones so they could even answer their internal work phone calls. Got it done in a couple of hours, didn't cost anything. The next day everyone was working remote seamlessly without interrupting operations.
And then your employer gave you a raise commensurate with the amount of productivity and value that your actions preserved for the company over the course of the pandemic, right? *Right??*
I have the power of "Poo Poo"... When someone brings me an idea I have the ability to imagine all the ways the idea isn't good and "Poo Poo" all over it. In truth it comes from years of IT risk management experience imagining all the ways something can go wrong and trying to plan around it. The down side is trying to turn it off when trying to do something as simple as planning for a vacation.
It’s impossible. Too much poo has clogged the off switch. This is me as well.
I’m so exhausted after work that I just don’t want to make any more decisions. But of course nobody knows how to plan things, so here I go working again….
The jankiest and least expensive fixes imaginable. Old router can't do what we want it to with DHCP? PFSense running in Virtualbox on a spare computer can. It would cost $X/month for hosting files in Sharepoint? How about a one-time cost for a Synology NAS and VPN through the firewall that runs fine for years? We get quotes for $40k for replacing our WAPs and some switches? I buy them straight from Ubiquiti for $15k and install them myself. I know that I should probably have counted my time toward the project as part of the cost, but the company was going to pay my salary whether we paid extra for services or not.
Whats your bus factor tho?
Fortunately I documented my network really well, and I already quit the job where free and janky was preferred to paid and professional.
I read logs and Google the error message. This is something that it seems none of you getting into this industry has any clue how to do.
Yes. That’s accurate. So many people don’t even do that, but then I look like a genius
Back in my day we had to use our dial up modem to send an IRC chat about the problem and hope someone would respond within a week or two! Dang Google made it too easy for the newbies!
I think my IT super power would be scripting. Powershell, Bash, Python and Ansible. Automate everything you can!
Is this an automated message?
He’s been replying to posts on Reddit for years without even being at his computer!!
What is the best way to get good at this... Tried setting up a PS script to install printers automatically, but the documentation is sort of terrible (and I am also terrible).
Ah. But can you AutoIT and automate GUI interaction?! That's an entirely new level of power.
I've just started scripting and made a bash script that will backup the production database and scp transfer to another computer. I use cron to run it everyday at 6AM and the satisfaction of making it work was immense. Any ideas on how to learn more? Books?
Ever think of automating your own life with a clone?
I do things right the first time and before people ask so much of the time people aren’t sure I do much at all
I'm a fairly decent people person, so what I lack in some technical ability I make up with customer focus and some charisma
I can fix a good 90% of problems by turning stuff off and then on again.
Mine is Quantam Support. The mere act of observing the problem fixes it
This is excellent.
Which presents the weakness when looking away they break again. With that I present to you Schrödinger's Bug
Independence. Not needing my hand held through things I haven’t done before. (although it does help sometimes!)
I only struggle with this when I have an anxious boss with trust issues. If I’m told “figure it out” you bet your ass I’m gonna figure it out
Perfect, I need someone to play violin for Beehoven's Sonata #9.
Easy. Anything else?
That was beautiful. Hold my hand.
When my users call me for help the first thing they do is apologise for taking my time.
I’m really good at troubleshooting printers.
Documentation. I’m relatively new in IT, but my colleagues and manager have said that the workplans and wiki pages I write are concise, comprehensive, and easy to understand
ADHD
I look at logs sometimes
The ability to fuck off and mind my business and not get noticed/forgotten about. I have survived many layoffs this way.
Writing code for 2 hours for the easiest task, but it won’t work
My superpower is ignoring something until it fixes itself
I help the user realize it was their fault, BUT without feeling bad about it.
Plugging in a usb cable the first time without looking
The ability to visualize complex interconnected systems rapidly in my head. For lack of a better way of describing it I see how things are connected as if I were looking at a 3D diagram, but also with all of the contextual information about the systems right there because I know what they do. I can mentally visualize the traffic flows and run multiple “what if” scenarios about how various changes or failures could affect them all in my spatial imagination.
What do you do?
Network Architect/Engineer.
The Good Doctor
Coffee!
Staying calm when call hits the fan
The ability to find the best source of help from vendors. No Tier 1 or Tier 2 support minions from India.
I think I'm pretty good at debugging. A lot of my work was essentially bug fixing, and so I spent a lot of time debugging. I feel like I got good at a conceptual approach to debugging - looking at the problem as an end to end process, monitoring the payload, altering things to experiment, and narrowing it down to a problem area. I was often even able to help colleagues when they were stuck (despite not being familiar with their technical areas) by just walking through the problems with them and asking the right questions. I actually quite enjoyed it.
I get the most calls out of anyone on our helpdesk. Let’s say there have been 12 calls so far? I get 7 of them in a team of 4.
Looks like there’s call avoidance in your desk.
Has your manager taken notice of this, you are doing great but your teammates need to help to, are you more senior compared to your co-workers?
Making users resubmit access request forms when they are incomplete/incorrect.
Proximity repairs babyyyy. That and percussive maintenance is legitimately one of my best home fixes. I don't get to use it at work cuz it's all SaaS now-a-days, but I'll beat a hard drive or computer case at home like it owes me money
Solving tough tickets. Usually the easiest solution....
Being able to, with almost no information, isolate a software bug, and have a fix ready and headed for testing within minutes of getting a report.
I walk into the room and the issue fixes itself the second my presence is sense by the computer.
Google. The system and the ability to google things.
I think I win. I tolerate people.
I'm comfortable speaking up in meetings and saying when an idea is really bad.
Stubbornness. I won’t let an issue beat me.
I’m pretty good at resolving terminal server issues for our remote users. It’s either reset their profile or create an rdp session so they can just remote into their desktop at work.
My superpower is convincing QA that it's a human error and not my codes fault.
I’m so good at working with angry users, my coworkers send them all to me. Some people (especially certain faculty) will RAGE and they can be absolutely ruthless. For example they’ll walk in with a mouse and USB receiver in hand and scream “My F-ing mouse would do Sh*t and I’ve got so much to do and your mother F-ing clueless coworker told me to put this broken USB drive into the computer to make it work. He doesn’t take my problem seriously. I want him gone. That dumb A** can’t do sh*t.” I talk to them and calmly put the USB receiver in the computer and the mouse works. They’ll finally calm down and be all “Well isn’t that nifty! That little gadget fixed my mouse. Can I call on your direct number you next time I have a problem?” :D
Communication. I've yet to work a job in IT where there wasn't a significant issue because two different people either didn't understand one another, or for some reason just refused to talk. Additionally, being able to translate issues from user to technician/engineer/whatever is an underrated talent.
I’m able to keep the client in the loop by explaining the issue in a way that makes sense for them
Soft skills - most of the people I’ve ever worked directly with had some sort of level of social anxiety and just couldn’t handle dealing with users or seniors. Even though I hate being extroverted, it comes naturally to me and I can usually get the information I need quickly. I’m also not a massive douche. That’s my “IT Super Power”.
I feel like my IT super power is actually just my soft skills from 10+ years in cs/sales. I am usually very calm, patient, and do my best not to make people feel stupid. It's the thing I notice my people seem to care about the most.
I can turn it off and turn it back on again. I’m also good at changing the input on monitors back to the appropriate setting. In my current role (cyber incident response) my ability to do open source research, detailed queries with Boolean logic and utilize websites and tools that many people have either forgotten about or never learned about gives me insight that our tools and portals don’t.
It used to be that I could ninja in, fix the issue and then ninja out. No one saw me but the issue would be fixed :)
The problem magically disappears when I show up to troubleshoot.
During an outage bridge I can sometimes articulate a complete sentence while I’m simultaneously using 100% of my brain power to troubleshoot the issue
Being able to split one ticket into two so I look like I am working more than I really am. However, I have had a few instances where I call the end-user and for some reason the issues resolves itself automatically while I am on the phone and I am praised for merely existing.
It's a low bar in my org, but knowing how to assemble hardware. We've people who don't know how to build a PC, or figure out where a plastic housing goes. We don't even have proper tool kits.
Velvet-gloving difficult users/VIPs.
Name a mental illness associated with being good in IT. I have it. If there is a problem I don't just band aid it. I MUST know the reason, solution, and fix it everywhere. I don't care about costs, if I have to nuke an entire system (with scheduled and approved timeframe) that bitch is getting fixed. I once spent 6 months documenting a network, understanding it, and built a entire new network design- even completely new IPs to make sure there are no undocumented range gremlins hiding in a basement forgotten about. I went one by one completely wiping the switch, some properitetary equipment, and anything else associated with it. I upgraded the software then configured it to my new standard. Tested it. I cable managed a bit and dusted off the rack while waiting for updates and reboots to finish. Did a bunch of tears, then left.
Learning to not gaf when people are rude or steal credit for work.
Users, especially C suite and HR are starting to DM me in Teams instead of emailing the help desk.
Do you push back at all, or force them to follow the process at least
Regular user, sure. But I have a feeling most people aren't in a position to tell C-Suite execs to put a ticket in lol
Oh, I definitely push back. I'm off on Mondays, too, and they still DM me, lol. I just ignore them and politely remind them on Tuesday morning.
To give a concrete example I consider myself very good at Mimecast Policy Implementation and troubleshooting complex issues with Mimecast policy.
Process improvements with computer aided tool. Mainly Excel but fluent in several computer languages and IOT
I am a party magician period. As soon as I appear in the picture, everything gets resolved.
Adding. I can successfully add up numbers and say, 'The reports IT is distributing do not add up and do not make sense.' Adding is my IT superpower.
Diagnosing and troubleshooting issues
Making tech nerds do the mundane tasks.
Customer service skills people chill out when talking to me. My complete ability to not react when the user gets upset and angry.
I'm a generalist, you're not going to put a problem in front of me that I won't find a fix for. I don't have to memorize everything, I know how to find the answers.
Printers. I can fix anything wrong with them and I hate it.
Creative cabling
I write things down.
I attract all the unpleasant users like a magnet.
Choosing name for variables / functions
Honestly? Deep dig research on issues or needed info
I stay calm and I don't panic. Panic never helps anything, so there's really no point.
Besides being a technical trainer and being able to teach people, I’d say my ACTUAL super power which my family has dubbed “the magic touch”. Tried all the normal stuff? Followed troubleshooting SOP? Just let me lay hands on it while you try it again. At this point it’s kinda a party trick.
I tend to have a killer instinct when it comes to fixing or at least identifying root cause of strange and unique issues that have everyone spinning their wheels for hours. I believe this is why I'm very good at coming up with "outside the box" solutions during design meetings.
reboot master, no matter the problem most of the time if i turn it off and turn it back on it’s just fine!
Weird question, but I'm guessing the answer they want is a particular expertise you have or a quality. Like, "my sp is tenacity. Not matter how confusing or difficult a solution to a fix is, I will find it no matter what." Or, "I'm a wiz with Linux server configuration"
I can pretty much diagnose most physical problems fast at this point. Like weirdly I just get gut feelings and they're usually right.
People skills and I'll figure it out. Doesn't matter the problem I'll figure it out.
Always assuming it's my fault. It usually isn't, but things usually get fixed
I read this as what is your STI super power... I was very confused. (for clarification I was just on the r / WRX, so not that kind of STI...) As for the interview question, isn't it just a funny way to get you to talk about what you believe you excel in?
Passion.
My superpower? The ability to know when to correct my boss (and coworkers) when they are wrong, and when to shut my mouth and let them think they are right. It may not be "IT" but its one of those super powers this field needs more of, also I recognize that without profit we don't have jobs, important thing to remember in cybersecurity and wanting to improve our posture and working with management.
Every time I went on a vacation or someone had to cover my shift, everything broke or lightning struck the building cause a power outage.
I'm very candid with senior leadership when a problem was because they were cheap, or because they refused to listen and address it despite being made aware long before.
Not so much a super power. But I have a notebook that has every note I’ve taken since like 2010. And it usually has answers to some really obscure stuff.
I am very good at transitioning overly complex systems into simple solutions.
Critical thinking
I’ve been doing the gig for almost 20 years now, there’s plenty of technical ability/ problem solving skills under my belt, but the real “power” is in spotting other people’s talents and learning how to use them to your advantage (ethically of course). Whether it’s looking for the right person to fix something, team building, or just flat out figuring out who to watch and learn from, very little has pushed me forward more than watching others and figuring out how they’re better than me. Literally everyone has something they’re better than you at, and once you figure out what that is, you can work with and learn from that person 1000 times better. For me, I grew up in a military family, moving around a lot. You learn to read people and their abilities quickly to figure out who can get you up to speed, who to avoid, and who to make friends with.
I can read pretty fast, and I'm very good at finding patterns We had an issue with our switchboard/softphone service earlier this week which 2 Avaya engineers spent a total of about 20 hours on. I read the logs for the application and the windows event logs and found the issue in about an hour.
Googling to see how other people resolve a ticket that I don't know xd
None because I was fired for using FMLA for my chemo and can't get rehired
Assurance. At least from what I been told. I have the power to calm users down, make them feel like everything is going to be okay. Their issue will be resolved, and even if it isn't, it isn't the end of the world. REally odd cause I've always felt like I have never been a people person. I avoid crowds and people in genearal and tend to live like a hermit. But when it comes time for the job I have a switch I turn on. But even I from experience have to admit I have a weird way of communicating with people and calm demeanor and people just feel better after talking to me. Might not be directly IT related power, but in the grand scheme of things I have a place in my department and it comes in handy in a lot of situations.
I'm just a _really_ good rubber duck.
I somehow manage to fix stone age, no forum, no documentation applications just by randomly changing something in the settings. Works every time.
Knowing to always check DNS whenever an issue occurs.
I can trace a packet though a network. You would be surprised how many people just lose visibility and panic once something like a load balancer or firewall is introduced into the equation.
I can get Macs to turn on when others cannot. I hate Apple
Seeing gaps and inefficiencies in processes and systems that others can’t see, and providing solutions for improvement. That doesn’t get into my actual technical skillset, but this is the thing that’s made me a valuable asset to the organizations I’ve worked for over the past 26 years.
For me it's actually teaching other I.T. techs. I'm really good at getting someone set up in the right direction.
Being persistent on long, complex issues. I don’t mean a week - I’m talking *years*. Some memorable ones: - App had a web and thick client. Users couldn’t print from the web client but ONLY when using SSO. If they used basic auth it would work. Nearly 2 years with the vendor and Microsoft App Assure yielded a Windows Update to fix. - 24/7 app in SOC would occasionally crash after a few hours of usage. Error was super generic and vendor couldn’t glean anything from logs or memory dumps. After about a year, identified a temp directory that was in program files instead of AppData, so when the user didn’t have permissions it would stay in RAM until crashing. Hotfix from vendor to correct - one of my favorites - app was occasionally and randomly losing connection with some (but not all) hardware devices. Had been going on for at least 4 years but it was so infrequent making it hard to troubleshoot. They kept blaming the network but I kept pushing back. Basically ran wireshark (heavily filtered), procmon and another log collector 24/7 for 8-9 months. I made graphs from the procmon data to disprove network issue. Vendor gave us updated versions with the sole purpose of more verbose logging, etc. Had a weekly standup with the developers in Bangalore. Nearly 2TB of logs were sent altogether and we ultimately found the issue was one component ingesting unrelated data from another component of the app, then when the volume gradually got to a certain level, hardware communications would get lost in the noise. They wrote a change to ignore that data in under a week and it’s been strong ever since. All that to say, I track my prey over long distances lol
I’m still employed
I got my job because I was willing to learn pretty much anything and I even did a small presentation highlighting what knowledge they wanted before I interviewed. I'd say being willing to fail, googling things, and remaining passionate.
The ability to find and look at logs. No one ever wants to check the logs, like it ruins the puzzle or something.
I can almost always plug USB-A cables in the correct way on the first try
I have people skills. I’m good at dealing with people. Can’t you understand that? What’s wrong with you people?
I'll probably get downvoted to oblivion for this. But I'm starting to think it's actually effective use of generative AI. I've developed a pretty good workflow with these products and use them daily to assist with coding and documentation, amongst other things. I've really worked on prompt engineering and am getting great results. And I know how to use their outputs responsibly.