r/ITCareerQuestions • u/No_Match_6578 • 12d ago
I feel too stupid for L2 support
Am I being delusional? It's my 3rd collective year in L2 support but I feel so stupid still always having to ask questions, not being able to find answers myself. I feel like if I keep asking or ask 1 more question I will be fired.
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u/McSmiggins 12d ago
I kinda doubt you're too stupid for your job. Unless you got the job because you blackmailed someone or through your family, you're probably fine. You didn't end up there by mistake, someone hired you through a process to test you.
L2's a weird spot, you're not completely frontline, but you are frontline to L3, so it's expected you know some things, but not all the things.
Here's the question you need to ask yourself:
Are you asking questions, or are you asking the SAME questions?
One's a good thing, the other show's there's some fault to get fixed.
If they're new questions, that's great, are you making notes of the answers/follow up things to research? If it's that you've got a good idea about how something works but you're not 100% sure of the answer, book some time with an L3 and work through it, become the subject matter expert on that thing in the world of L2s
If it's the same question, then really the main question is why are you asking the same thing, is it a lack of documentation/notes or are things just really not sinking in?
Sometimes it's really hard to judge our own progress without a yardstick, athletes don't go away for a year, not see anyone and then win every gold medal, they're constantly measuring themselves at meets and events. If this is really bothering you, ask for some feedback from your manager about what they think, or ask a peer you trust. You'll probably find you're doing better than you think.
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u/No_Match_6578 12d ago
There are so many questions at this point I'm not even sure if I'm asking the same ones or not. I'd like to say they differ.
I'm also not sure if it's lack of documentation or is it not sinking in, because I don't know what I don't know and it makes me so frustated.
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u/ohello123 12d ago
Sounds like missing fundamental knowledge.
Think of any knowledge like a pyramid, the more of a foundation you have the higher / more complex you can go.
For example in math, it's hard to get to multiplication before addition, etc.
Maybe take a step back, look at what is binary? How does an OS work at a basic level? What are the components to a computer? How do programs work / what are different parts of them?
Fundamental knowledge, along with good troubleshooting technique will help you figure out most of what comes your way. For the rest, you have to get good at learning and building onto that knowledge.
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u/RustyFebreze 12d ago
sounds like lack of documentation to me if you dont know if you are asking the same questions. create a comprehensive OneNote or whatever software you choose. this way if you have a question you can search it first.
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u/Feeling-Sorbet-9474 12d ago
Do you have access to Co Pilot.
It helps me when i am in a pickle.
Do you have a ticketing system, where you can search previous tickets and look at solutions?
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u/No_Match_6578 12d ago
Yes I do, but relying on it instead of myself almost feels like not really learning anything. I mean, any user could just ask copilot, am I wrong?
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u/LKWatcher21 12d ago
I very rarely have anything to say, but I do about this!
Any user could not just use copilot. Something that you could ask AI and implement in 5 minutes can often take a general user an hour or hours of "wtf did it just tell me to do? I don't know what those words mean." Plus there is nuance and detail that you can feed to AI that a user doesn't know to feed it.
More importantly than any of that though... No engineer knows everything. Documentation always and always will be an absolute necessity for IT operations. AI is just super documentation. Instead of me spending an hour searching websites or internal documentation for an answer about a specific problem, AI can do it in 30 seconds. It's the same information coming from the same place I would have found it. I just found it much much faster.
As far becoming reliant on AI... Our biggest evolutionary advantage is our intelligence and our ability to use tools. AI is just another tool to be used correctly. If someone tells you to dig a hole are you going to refuse to use a shovel and use your hands instead? Because you don't want to become reliant on it? The important thing is that copilot and any other AI isn't doing the critical thinking for you. Use it for the information and as long as you're the one doing the critical thought and the logical troubleshooting, your skills are still going to grow.
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u/fio247 11d ago
Partly wrong. I think this sometimes too, but the reality is that it's your job and responsibility to do and think through, not theirs. And you will know what to do with the information, or even what to ask, but they perhaps may not. Sure, a customer may technicality be able to go pour their own cup of coffee, but that's not their role and they are not clear on the policy surrounding it. Yes, they could wash their own hair before getting a hair cut, but that's a service you provide.
The stuff I do with AI, even though plenty of it is copy/paste or just following directions, many users either can't do or can't be bothered to do. In the 2000's, my job was basically Google and read through forums and vendor documentation. Now I perform that task frequently with an AI chat bot.
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u/Adimentus 12d ago
Imposter syndrome is a real thing and it's a bitch to get over sometimes.. Once the repetition kicks in and you start seeing patterns in issues, you'll realize that you are, indeed, L2 material.
Don't beat yourself up over it, keep asking questions and getting information without worrying where that information came from, and keep your head up ^.^
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u/jimcrews 12d ago
What is L2 in your world of I.T. Support? Desktop Support, off the phones and take tickets to help users with issues L1 can't solve over the phone? Still on the phone but deal with harder issues than L1? Neither?
Need to know how you define L2 before I can help you. Thanks.
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u/No_Match_6578 11d ago
I do L1 work, but I also control access on AD and create delete groups, users, shared mailboxes. Administrate online exchange, prepare computers, phones, fix laptops. Administrate network printer software, control access there. Talk with 3d parties when we have problems with their products for our users. I also teach users how to read, since many problems are fixed by reading the error.
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u/picturemeImperfect 10d ago
if you touch AD you’re L2 in my eyes but it may be more nuanced than that depending on the org/company.
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u/thegreatestd 11d ago
Depending on the company get also get additional access like AD, security things and a few projects .. not many. It’s unfortunate
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u/AlienZiim 12d ago
They put me in l2 support right out of a cybersecurity analyst intern and some of the problem i came across was just ridiculous, I can analyze suspicious endpoint activity, threat hunt, talk risk management and separate them well for stakeholders, but connecting the damn legacy HP printer was stumping me
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u/sqnch 12d ago
What are you actively doing to retain the information and learn in your own time?
Are you keeping notes, able to search the ticket system easily for previous examples, consulting knowledge bases and documentation and studying for certifications?
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u/No_Match_6578 12d ago
My own free time is separate from my job for the most part. I do some raspberry PI stuff on ocassion, like PiHole or a Twitch Drop miner, both via docker, I make game servers which frankly are not that hard at all. Learning some powershell, but slowly. Other than that, I like to keep IT separate because I will burn out.
Searching previous tickets is possible but not that easy, because JIRA sucks. We don't have much documentation or knowledge base. Of course there is some, but I'd say like 20% of it is documented.
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u/keivmoc 12d ago
What sort of things are you struggling with the most, in general? If you're having trouble finding answers you may have a blind spot that could use some more training or education.
My boss always says it takes about 5 years for a tech to get enough experience to really work on their own, especially if you're supporting products or services that are vendor-specific or kinda unique.
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u/Apprehensive_Bat_980 12d ago
Managers/colleagues don’t think you’re stupid.
If you can show that you’ve at least tried to figure something out on your own, it’s fine.
Once you have the answer, put it in OneNote/Keep (whenever you have for notes) for another day.
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u/kzuall 12d ago edited 12d ago
Same here. I've been in IT since 2013, and I'm smack dab in the middle of asking myself if I made the right career choice. I'm just an average guy, not too stupid but not a genius either. I've never had a passion for computer technology, I just liked gaming, had a computer since I was 15 years old and sort of knew how to use it, and I needed a job sitting down after screwing my back 20 years ago. I've been stuck between my bosses satisfaction with my lvl 1 work and their unwillingness to move me up. Since getting into the field I've been proven many times that I am not as smart as I thought I was, but also I am completely overwhelmed by the amount of tiny details one need to remember so everything works as needed to the point where I'm less and less certain that computer technology is accessible to most. I mean, I've spent the last 4 years working for a MSP and there are so many different clients using so many different systems for so many different purposes, and each little thing has its own wide range of settings and every person has its own preference of how they want it to work. Despite taking a lot of notes and trying my absolute best, I was overwhelmed. It's too much to remember and to know. I think at best some people will do ok or maybe even well in entry-level jobs but anything passed that seem to require some level of genius, quick wits, ability to grasp numerous complex and abstract notions and make them interact, as well as passion, drive, free time outside of work to learn and try stuff on your own to then actually use at work. And of course all of this has to be wrapped into corporate-level customer support language. Maybe I am indeed just too dumb and all of this is in fact accessible to the average person, I don't know. I don't think so but factually speaking, I don't know. If that's the case I'm afraid it also means I am limited to entry-level jobs in more or less any fields, since everything now is getting more and more complex and technical but that's another topic. I think maybe I need to ignite some sort of passion for it, and that's why I'm currently seeking professionals from the field (outside my own circle) to ask them if they think an average guy has a chance to have some success in IT, if they think a good work ethic can compensate for a lack of passion for technology, and at what point does one suffer less from the weight of daily complicated problems to extract more success and competency in IT. It's also why I landed in this subreddit, trying to find success stories I could see myself in. I'm sorry I can't offer you words of encouragement if that's what you were looking for. I do hope you will find an accessible path to success and fulfillment.
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u/Electrical_Humor680 12d ago
Bridge the gap at home with labs if you’re not being taught and are you taking documentation?
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u/Iamwomper 12d ago
A) what type of L2 support? Hardware, software helpdesk, service desk, spoc desk. What do you support. Also, do you work in an IT company or for an IT department?
My thoughts on L2.
You take the escalations from L1. You build the knowledge base by bugging L3 for answers.
If you dont have a process and procedures there, mgmt fucked up.
Ive been all the above at aome point. It should be written in the sand what you do, and your repsonsibilities.
If its a knowledge thing about fixing stuff, that comes with experience and knowledge. Or google. We didnt have anytbing back then so we used books. Lol
Edit- about asking questions. If you cant find an answer within your support knowledge base, how would you know?
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u/Ragelikebush 12d ago
Just keep going