Anyone here work in a NOC?

Red Squirrel

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There's a job opening at my company and I think I will apply. I'm kinda tired of dealing with all the politics in IT. NOC sounds like a very cushy job, and it actually pays more in my case, and it sounds like I may get lot of spare time to do training and career advancement. There is also shift work which actually sounds attractive for someone like me who is a single home owner. 4 on 3 off, I think is what it is. The thought of 3 day weekends after working 4 days sounds awesome. I realize after a 12 hour shift I probably won't be doing much when I get home, but if I work like say, 7 to 7, I'm sure it's not THAT bad. I get a couple hours, then go to bed at like 10 so I can get up at 6 and do it 3 more times, well actually 2 more, since the last day is my "Friday" so I don't actually have to go to bed early. Overall I think I would have way more time to myself.

Just wondering if anyone here works at a NOC, and how is it? I realize this may vary from workplace to workplace. This would be a NOC for an ISP as well as managed services. The same company I work at now, just another department.
 
I have worked in a NOC and loved it, but you have to realize that it is a lul of nothing, then suddenly everything is on fire and it has to be fixed 20 minutes ago. It isn't exactly a low stress job, but at the same time you could have a lot of downtime.

The thing I loved about it is that I wasn't dealing with end users anymore, so no more stupid I can't get to facebook tickets anymore. On the flip side you are dealing with much more complex issues and you definitely have to step up your game, my first month was a bit rough, but you get the hang of it, and if you learn quickly and mesh well with the rest of the team, it all works out.

Shift work is great, and it is also the devil. 4 on 3 off sounds good, but depending on what shift you work it can actually really eat into your sleep schedule and give you less time. For instance I started off working thurs through sunday 8pm - 8am. Awesome shift because I got to do a lot of maintenance which really helped learn everything very quickly, however with a sleep schedule of sleep all day, awake all night during the week isn't helpful, you can play video games and watch movies whenever and it isn't a big deal, however when you are waking up at about 4-5 in the afternoon it can be hard to get errands taken care of, though the upside is that your friends who work normal 8-5 jobs are just getting out of work. I switched to monday to thursday nights after a few months and found that that was the perfect shift because I still had the weekend to do what I wanted, and still had time during the week to do stuff when stores are actually open.
 
The thought of not dealing with end users is actually one major plus for me. I'm sick of dealing directly with customers, time for a change. In a true ITIL situation I don't think Level 3 is suppose to be dealing with customers - that's what helpdesk is for, but in the environment I work in, it's far from the truth.

I should find out next week if I get it. It's actually a downgrade but the salary is an upgrade, so I don't really care about corporate ladder status at this point. :p
 
I should find out next week if I get it. It's actually a downgrade but the salary is an upgrade, so I don't really care about corporate ladder status at this point. :p

The only reason you should is if it benefits you financially enough that you give up the parts of your job that you enjoy.

And go back to basically doing face to face work, but now your customers = employees.

Management blows, don't let anyone tell you its the cat's ass. If you enjoy hands on work, don't consider the option. Seriously.
 
It depends on the NOC setup and what you want to do.

I worked for a regional NOC for a national cable company and it was an interesting experience, but it did not really fit well with my carrer goals. It gives you a great sense of all the networks and how they all interact. But there is a major downside. At least in the RNOC I was in, there was VERY little Break/fix. We would do initial troubleshooting, but ultimately we were simply dot watches. When things turned red, we called people and started bridges.

When you say your in IT, do you mean actual IT/MIS or are you in a customer support role?
 
IT as in, working on customer site (I am dedicated to one of our customers so I actually have an office there) so I take care of pretty much everything server related but there are no lines, so I get pulled in for A/V, networking, even desktop support at times.

And yeah, I don't even want to think about management. I hate the political side of IT. Too much BS raised for nothing imo.

Networking is something I enjoy as well and the NOC is actually a step towards network support. There are two jobs there coming up so I could technically apply and have a decent chance, but I rather get to know more about the network stuff before I dive right in. Apparently there is a lot of time to train and renew knowledge as well when working at the NOC which is a bonus. Not something I get with my current job. I think as long as I can keep myself busy with something to do during downtime, I'll enjoy it.
 
Could also be that your current workplace just isn't very conducive for you. Switching over to NOC might also be like the saying, "your neighbor's lawn is greener." Currently you probably have a good amount of interaction with non IT people right now and switching to NOC might just have you communicating with only IT people. That could be a good or bad thing, perhaps non IT management staff might say, "hey that guy is really indispensable" versus in a NOC, the non IT management staff are probably like, "who's this Joe Schmoe?" And sometimes it's the non IT management staff who determines your employment status.
 
I worked in several NOC's for different organizations and my last stint was about 6 years managing a team of technicians. I think C7J0yc3 pretty much hit the nail on the head regarding the work cycles, lack of a normal sleep schedule and long work hours. It's a great starting point into the world of IT but unless you have some tough skin can get difficult to deal with sometimes.
 
Try asking for a 4/10 or 9/80 with your current position instead? As a single homeowner I can tell you that the 9/80 is great for DIY reno and the likes.
 
I just got a tour today, and it does sound interesting and I'll go for it. I'm just tired of being customer facing (any IT position at my company) and this job more or less takes me away from being directly customer facing, and there is tons of technologies to learn. DMS10, SONET, power systems to name one of many.

It even seems overwhelming, but I remember when I first joined help desk it was the same, and I learnt it eventually. So the learning curve may be hard but once I get over it, I think it should be interesting. I'm the only internal applicant so I pretty much get it unless I somehow very badly screw up the interview. I have a feeling they may even just wave the interview.
 
So it's official, I got the job!

Awesome !

What would be cool now is if you bookmarked this thread and put a reminder in your diary to come back in 1, 3, 6 and 12 months to share your experiences there. How do you perceive the NOC role then ? Was it worth it ? Did anything crazy happen ? :D
 
No idea on shift yet, as that will change. What's nice is the way it works is I tell my boss what days I need off (appointments, etc) and the schedule is made up based on that more or less.

I'm hoping that once I am trained well enough to be on my own, that I can get night shift most of the time, I would like a shift that is fairly stable, but I'll see what happens.

Not sure when I start yet as they probably have to replace me and they'll have trouble finding someone who wants to work for the customer I was at.

As far as pay it will stay the same but because of shifts and various differentials it ends up being a nicer pay check. I may have to work some holidays like Christmas which could suck but pays very well.
 
So you've broke this in for 30 days.

Whats your thoughts on this now Red?

How you enjoying the change, what have you missed from the old position. What have you got new thats been a benefit to you.

Fill in some blanks for everyone :)
 
Believe it or not, I still did not start yet and probably have a month to go before I start. They are having trouble finding someone to replace me LOL. The job went internal, only one guy applied and was not qualified, now it has to go external, and did not get posted yet. Apparently they have someone in mind.

They are taking their time with this, that's for sure.
 
Congrats on the job.

I've had the same "delay" in starting when moving internally as well. All of a sudden they realize they are loosing a top level person in one area and gaining a low low level in another area. Causes a little foot dragging. Thumbs up on the move though. If you stop learning in one role, it's time to move to the next one!
 
Thanks, and yep, was not really learning much. Not because I know everything, just because of how touchy the environment is and how insane the customer is. We never really got to play with anything new, and he never allowed us to go for any kind of training. The customer was basically our boss given the company basically sells the service and we work on site.

Today I was given an update, and it's about 6 months till I move.

I figure

2 weeks for people to send their app
2 weeks for resume checking / interviews
then if they hire, that person needs to give their 2 weeks notice

And the job has not been posted yet. LOL
 
The thought of not dealing with end users is actually one major plus for me. I'm sick of dealing directly with customers, time for a change. In a true ITIL situation I don't think Level 3 is suppose to be dealing with customers - that's what helpdesk is for, but in the environment I work in, it's far from the truth.

I should find out next week if I get it. It's actually a downgrade but the salary is an upgrade, so I don't really care about corporate ladder status at this point. :p

I'm extremely happy to be out of the customer support position of IT. Very happy. It's a lot less stressful, and you get to focus on the cooler parts of IT. I really enjoyed 4 10's (or 3 12's) when I used to work them (non IT-related). The days were just like any other day, really. The extra days off were a huge bonus.

I think you're really going to like it. But, like others have said, it comes in waves. I'm not in a NOC anymore, but in a data center, but love both roles.
 
Ya, I got tired of the customers too when I was IT. Moved to a clean room and don't have anything to do with the customers now. Love the shift work... 3x12 one week then 4x12 the next, can't get much better than that.
 
I got burned out too. I switched career paths myself. I went from being a Systems Admin which was the name of the position but I literally had my hands on everything. Especially dealing with customers/users. Now I'm a project manager. It's very different in this position. I'm usually deligating to the customer on what needs done not being told. Huge change and I for one like it :)

The only PITA is making sure other IT or vendors do their stuff. If they don't do their jobs then it makes me look bad.

Good luck with NOC. I would like to see what comes out of this.
 
Yep I'll be posting back... in like 2 months from now once I actually start. LOL

The IT manager where I work (basically, the customer) has been on my ass about this, can't wait to leave that zoo. He keeps shooting me down saying how I'm a moron and stuff. At the end of the day, I'll be the one with more time off than him, and not have to deal with all the stress of that environment. And if he does not realize he's one of the primary reasons for my decision, then he's the big moron. lol. He's the most arrogant asshole I've ever had to deal with.
 
Well I finally started last Thursday!

Just finished my 3rd day. I'm far from being in a position where I can actually be on my own, but I'm slowly starting to understand some stuff. The hard part is the logistics of it all. Knowing who to call when, knowing the actual numbers to call, where to find the info etc... We service more than just our own territory so there's different processes for different regions so it's an information overload right now, but I'm sure I'll manage. So far I think I'm going to like it, once I get over the learning curve. Just the fact of going from IT to Telephony is a whole new world as well. I will have to learn the DMSxxx switches, and other telephony equipment, and also know how the different transports work like T1 and such. The nice thing is, I semi understand some of it already so at least I'm not learning it 100% fresh.
 
Grats. I just got off my worst on-call shift so far. I got 45 minutes of sleep.

Everything was on fire.

This morning, since my incident commander jinxed the shift last night, I'm lighting him on fire.
 
I just started working in a NOC, actually posting from a training room right now. I've been training for just over 2 weeks. Gotta say, I'm learning some amazing stuff, and I'm absolutely loving it so far. I'm working simple actual tickets in tandem with a partner and so far we've been doing pretty well. We're currently working voice switches, edge routers (which is nothing new to me since I've been playing with Cisco for years) and testing T1 lines.

It's definitely stressful... a lot of tickets flying in with short deadlines, but it teaches you to problem solve network issues of all kinds very quickly. I'll be working primarily on a data team, but one can easily also work routing and translation issues, T1 issues, or VOIP. I was referred in by two friends of mine who are techs on this team, so I have no misconceptions about how much work I'll have thrown at me. Honestly, I could care less... I like to be kept busy, particularly when it's an opportunity for me to learn more.

I can't complain about the pay either, and the company I work for has been rated one of the best places to work in my state.
 
I've run that course before.. started work in a call center for a software company and then transitioned to working in a NOC for at least 6 years. It was a great learning experience because I got to see a 30,000 sq/ft data center built from the ground up. It also provided opportunities to learn different pieces of technology and encompassed everything from security, messaging, server and network. The shift work can be a bit challenging but it does beat not having to deal with end-users all day. Today, I'm a Senior IT Manager for a large financial firm and support core data center infrastructures all across Canada.
 
Getting the NOC job was pretty much a dream come true for me because I've heard stories like those above; it's a excellent way to build experience.

And having come from an inbound tech support position before, I can't agree more that it's great to be calling other people, not the other way 'round.
 
I have worked in a NOC and loved it, but you have to realize that it is a lul of nothing, then suddenly everything is on fire and it has to be fixed 20 minutes ago. It isn't exactly a low stress job, but at the same time you could have a lot of downtime.


Aka Feast or Famine.

I really like working in NOCs if for not other reason than the job satisfaction. There's real tangible results in the work you do, whereas in development some things may or may not be used, and in CM and tech writing it's little more than circlejerking since nobody ever really reads all that stuff. Seeing the immediate results of your actions is pretty awesome, and long-term it's fulfilling work. Plus having a lot of down time is cool as well.
 
Aka Feast or Famine.

I really like working in NOCs if for not other reason than the job satisfaction. There's real tangible results in the work you do, whereas in development some things may or may not be used, and in CM and tech writing it's little more than circlejerking since nobody ever really reads all that stuff. Seeing the immediate results of your actions is pretty awesome, and long-term it's fulfilling work. Plus having a lot of down time is cool as well.

That's something I think I will enjoy as well. I just never seen that at my other job. It was always about how I did it wrong. Basically at my old job I was stepping on egg shells all day. If I don't do something I might get in trouble for not doing it, but if I do it, I might get in trouble for doing it.

I'm looking forward to a point where I can know what I'm doing, and take shifts. Right now I'm doing a standard 8-5 for training as that's when the most people are on. I'm still in the dark about lot of stuff, but things are slowly starting to come together. One thing I'm hoping to help out with there is documentation. All their stuff is all over the place. I think this is a project I could take on eventually and just centralize everything. We'd almost need a wiki or something, there is ton of random information that somehow could probably be linked together better in an easy to update way. That's another thing, at my old job any ideas like this would just be rejected on the spot. This job seems a bit more open. Though there is still lot of red tape BS to deal with that is just part of the company, but it seems there is more room to possibly get stuff done.
 
For just over a year I have worked in a NOC and have found it to be an amazing opportunity. There is so much to learn and the skills learned will easily translate to any tech job. Currently I have worked with issues such as ethernet, PON, SONET and layer 2 and 3 troubleshooting. I also turned up a BGP peering for one of or IP Engineers recently.

One of the things that helps is a great team, being able to count on and trust those in the NOC is a big asset to getting things done in a timely manner. I have also noticed everyone has their "niches" and are experts in certain things and not others.

All their stuff is all over the place. I think this is a project I could take on eventually and just centralize everything.

How do you plan on documenting every possible trouble that can be called in? Where I work we live by "trial by fire" hell, on the first day I was answering the phone for outages. You learn from experience and you can build documentation for how to look up information but you cannot always foresee each issue.
 
That's something I think I will enjoy as well. I just never seen that at my other job. It was always about how I did it wrong. Basically at my old job I was stepping on egg shells all day. If I don't do something I might get in trouble for not doing it, but if I do it, I might get in trouble for doing it.

If in a Jr position then that's to be expected since you'll be learning and not really trusted. If you're not in that sort of position then you've got to talk to whoever is in charge tell them you want to be more proactive and stuff, but that you'll need their support.
 
RedSquirrel, at my last job, I became the Lead at a Service Desk and built a majority of our documentation including troubleshooting/knowledgebase docs as well as our training process, materials, etc. I was able to do this because of my position, and when I arrived here at the NOC a few weeks ago I expressed an interest in doing the same thing. They already have a wiki but for very basic uses; it's primarily used to post time-sensitive information.

I was told that it was something that had already been considered, but due to all the different scenarios and the fact that different techs have different ways of solving problems, they would have to go through a process of determining what is to be the "right" way to do something. That's not to say that they don't follow up and correct mistakes that are made because they definitely do, but at the discretion of the supervisor or engineer doing the retraining.

So at this point I'm going to settle in, learn everything I can, and become a resource for the team as soon as I can. From what I can tell, I have a big head start on most people who come into the NOC because of my background and the fact that playing with managed routers and switches has been a bit of a hobby for me the last few years. The most challenging stuff for me is all the CO stuff which I'm learning pretty quickly. Can't wait to get this stuff down pat so I can start on the Data stuff where I can start troubleshooting router configs and such.
 
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