2nd line support job description

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zzz

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Hey guys need some advice!
Im looking to take a step up the ladder to 2nd line IT support & would appreciate if anyone can give me a heads up on generally what is expected on the job, even better if anyone working in 2nd line already can give 'a day in the life of....'

I currently work in IT operations & do a bit of 1st line & some 2nd line already e.g checking services & cpu/disk space on servers after receiving automated warning & AV + server updates etc

any advice short or long & what I can do in my spare time to work towards
2nd line would be much appreciated
 
What's considered 1st/2nd/3rd line support is going to vary company to company. I'd suggest you find out exactly what technologies your own company is using (assuming that's the second line where you see yourself) at the second line level, and start looking into that. For example, do they have a virtual server environment that you would be maintaining, if so start looking at VMware and SAN; what type of firewalls are deployed, might be worth reading about Cisco ASA etc. Speak to the second line manager, ask them the question, if they are worth working for they'll point you in the right direction.
 
1st line
Phone based support with remote access tools- Password resets, remote configuration of applications / settings on client PCs, initial troubleshooting of attached devices (scanners, printers, MFDs etc). Some AD administration work, but no config/setup of AD.

2nd line
as above (which they'll bitch about.. how 1st line aren't doing their jobs), plus on site printer/device/PC hardware and basic server/network support. May also be involved in projects although usually at a lower level than 3rd line staff.

3rd line
Server configuration, network/server troubleshooting, higher level technical project work and perhaps some role in training/development of 2nd line staff skills. Handling anything 1st/2nd line fail to resolve and escalate.

This is just from experience in a few private/public sector jobs over the past 15 years, varies a little from place to place but on the whole they're quite similar and the lines between each is fairly blurry. I usually find the hardest working staff are in 2nd line.
 
thanks for the replier so far!

apart from what has already been mentioned, can anyone describe any more common problem scenarios 2nd line have to deal with?

I want to apply for some 2nd line support jobs but am doubtful I have the right experience. seen a few job ad's & they ask for experience in tcp/ip/lan/wan/messaging systems etc if anyone can shed any light plz

cheers
 
My isn't starting, only getting an orange light

My computer says it cannot find a valid boot thingy

My USB drive from home won't install on the work computer

My iPhone wont connect to the company Wifi, I demand this is setup so I can download my confidential e-mail whilst playing Candy Crush.

I HAVE A VIRUS AND MY COMPUTER HAS SAID IS HAS CLEANED THE VIRUS SO I HAVE A VIRUS AND I NEED IT FIXED NOW AS IT SAYS IT WAS CLEANED BUT CLEARLY I AM INFECTED!!!1 I DEMAND THIS IS DONE FIVE MINUTES AGO. Thanks Agnes, cleaner.

I had a suspicious e-mail this morning but when I opened the attachment to check it was actually dodgy my mouse started moving on it's own, now that it's stopped I've managed to log this call online using my computer, this happened at 8am, sorry it's now 6pm but can I have this fixed by 8am tomorrow please. Thanks.

3rd line needs lots of tedious installations done on clients, they can't be bothered to write a script to do it when they have 2nd line to do it for them manually. You have 24 ours, 500 PCs to do. Best get cracking. Any problems call 3rd line, expect at break (10am - 11am) and lunch (12pm - 2pm) and afternoon break (3pm - 4pm). Cheers.

On a more serious note generally speaking it's local installations of software which can't be done remotely as either the installer is massive or it requires several reboots etc. It won't be anything that you can't understand with a run through from a colleague or a decent set of install instructions. You will be expected to be able to troubleshoot (see - google) hardware/software issues without too much input from anyone else, in other words us google and read the eventlog on the PC.
 
Different companies have different expectations. The last three companies I have worked for had 1st lines doing 2nd line work (going on the list posted above).

2nd line were doing server builds, 2003 share to 2008 abe migrations, AV migrations from say epolicy to endpoint etc etc

3rd line were more like infrastructure project management. Large scale deployments, fim, virtualization, san clustering etc etc
 
glen8 said:
Different companies have different expectations. The last three companies I have worked for had 1st lines doing 2nd line work (going on the list posted above).

2nd line were doing server builds, 2003 share to 2008 abe migrations, AV migrations from say epolicy to endpoint etc etc

3rd line were more like infrastructure project management. Large scale deployments, fim, virtualization, san clustering etc etc
Click to expand...

A lot of it comes down to the individual team members skill levels, if 2nd line can handle that then great - company can get extra value from them over the norm and dedicate 3rd line to more advanced stuff.

Most places I've worked though 2nd line have been very, very hit and miss.
 
I don't even know what 2nd line is anymore lol

All I know is I do pretty much all of the above and they still call me 2nd line :p

As said it varies massively from company to company.
 
Guru said:
I don't even know what 2nd line is anymore lol
Click to expand...

Yep - blur between 1st and 2nd line support seems to be getting bigger and bigger.

Way I see it, front line L1/L2 support deals with logging incident, basic troubleshooting, system monitoring etc etc ...

L3 = Development + Infrastruture teams.

That's been my experience anyways
 
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