I'm not saying that NT 4 or Explorer 4 is bug free and neither is it tech welfare.
It's a viable product, but it has problems.
Yes, a tech with some time can easily solve the problems of removing Explorer 4 and handle any other troubleshooting measure, but these things are tricky and can take time.
In the case of Explorer, it tries to be the operating system and there are conflicts with NT so it seems to cause a lot of serious crashing on corporate networks.
You don't even need a card and the knowledge to format c: to be an NT network specialist. It seems the consulting agencies and tech schools are cranking them out with minimal knowledge.
And with Windows problems causing a HUGE demand and drain on the technical community, I can afford to charge $60 to $90 an hour for technical expertise.
Let me tell you the tech schools out there are cranking out some real losers. We don't even hire from them. It shows in the interviews that these people are not learning or retaining any knowledge when they graduate.
We hire people with solid support experience, usually from other fields. I was a graphic designer, one of the best techs I ever met was an economics major, and another guy was a Civil Engineer. The money is there for the taking.
One tech school weenie we hired seemed to answer all the questions with the right answers. However on the job he would ask some pretty basic questions, "Bill, How do I format the c: drive?" (honest!) After a few weeks, we fired him. Then we learned that his consulting agency had coached him on possible questions and answers for the interview.
So in short, you just need to prove that you have had the background in technical support on Windows without any certification to make some serious money. Certification takes a long time and with Windows software coming out in so many different versions, it's hard to find someone qualified/certified.
I remember one hiring manager back in March of 1996 who placed an ad for a tech with at least three years experience supporting Windows 95. He was swamped with submissions!!! Of course, the manager did not have the sense to realize that Win95 came out late in 1996. I think he got someone with 5 years on 95. ;)
If you have any doubts about waht I'm saying about qualification, just ask your company's support person, "What computer school did you go to?" Most will probably answer that they never did and they were either stockboys at CompUSA, or secretaries that had been tasked with keeping the computers running.
We have a lot of database admins who started as secretaries and had extra duties tacked onto their job descriptions. Unfortunately, they haven't the sense to go looking for another job as a REAL database admin. They're still making secretary salaries because they are afraid they will lose retirement benefits if they go get another job even if it is better paying.
Yes, Windows is not the best OS out there, but it keeps me financially ahead of the pack and I wield a sense of power over execs and CEOs. Call it the Dogbert Syndrome.
-Bill_H |
