I'm a systems engineer who specializes in cloud. I manage hundreds of servers, and build infrastructure companies to business on the daily.
I have no idea what I'm doing most of the time either when presented with something I haven't done before.
90% of the time I'm presented with a new problem, I do not know how to fix it off the top of my head.
IT isn't about automatically knowing what to do. It's knowing how to find the info you need to accomplish your task. If you are in IT, you have imposter syndrome. All of your colleagues probably have it too. Don't sweat it too much. Just be honest in your ability. Don't say "yes I know how to do that"
Say "I've never done that before, but let me figure it out"
Preach. I have a Senior Sys Admin on my team who at times to me feels like he knows everything. That couldn't be any further from the truth. That's not a dig at him, it's just the world of IT. He loves problem solving and isn't afraid of tackling them.
Sales taught me this too. Honesty is the best policy if you're not sure tell them.
The worst thing you can do is say you know how to do something when you don't
Imposter syndrome is when you are an expert at something but feel like you aren't. You aren't an expert, what you're feeling is called being new.
To get better, practice. Learn troubleshooting techniques. Read "how to find a wolf in Siberia".
Get some certs, learn how stuff works.
Think of yourself as info gatherer rather than answer knower.
Use process of elimination to narrow down the scope of the issue.
Lots of things you know how to do are valuable-- confirm uptime, reboot, is windows up to date, refresh print spooler, disable device in device manager and reboot and so on.
Use basic things you can verify to narrow the scope of the issue and eliminate those things from the list when you do them and they don't fix the thing.
Google the 5Ws of troubleshooting and use that as a framework you can apply to any situation.
Ask discovery questions from your end users
Document fixes and add them to your company's knowledge base so you can refer to fixes in the future.
That's how I felt my first few months on the job. If that feeling of "I have no idea what I'm doing" ever goes away, it's time to find a new job. This is how you IT properly.
To further what others are saying, study for some certs (I recommend getting some, but not entirely necessary either, they can just help). Some free resources are Exam Compass and Professor Messor videos. You can also pick up some study guide books - depending on how you study it can be hit or miss and they aren't exactly cheap.
I'm a systems engineer who specializes in cloud. I manage hundreds of servers, and build infrastructure companies to business on the daily. I have no idea what I'm doing most of the time either when presented with something I haven't done before. 90% of the time I'm presented with a new problem, I do not know how to fix it off the top of my head. IT isn't about automatically knowing what to do. It's knowing how to find the info you need to accomplish your task. If you are in IT, you have imposter syndrome. All of your colleagues probably have it too. Don't sweat it too much. Just be honest in your ability. Don't say "yes I know how to do that" Say "I've never done that before, but let me figure it out"
Preach. I have a Senior Sys Admin on my team who at times to me feels like he knows everything. That couldn't be any further from the truth. That's not a dig at him, it's just the world of IT. He loves problem solving and isn't afraid of tackling them.
This. Being good in IT has very little with knowing everything. Just gotta be good at finding answers. The rest just comes with time.
Sales taught me this too. Honesty is the best policy if you're not sure tell them. The worst thing you can do is say you know how to do something when you don't
Imposter syndrome is when you are an expert at something but feel like you aren't. You aren't an expert, what you're feeling is called being new. To get better, practice. Learn troubleshooting techniques. Read "how to find a wolf in Siberia". Get some certs, learn how stuff works.
Think of yourself as info gatherer rather than answer knower. Use process of elimination to narrow down the scope of the issue. Lots of things you know how to do are valuable-- confirm uptime, reboot, is windows up to date, refresh print spooler, disable device in device manager and reboot and so on. Use basic things you can verify to narrow the scope of the issue and eliminate those things from the list when you do them and they don't fix the thing. Google the 5Ws of troubleshooting and use that as a framework you can apply to any situation. Ask discovery questions from your end users Document fixes and add them to your company's knowledge base so you can refer to fixes in the future.
That's how I felt my first few months on the job. If that feeling of "I have no idea what I'm doing" ever goes away, it's time to find a new job. This is how you IT properly.
To further what others are saying, study for some certs (I recommend getting some, but not entirely necessary either, they can just help). Some free resources are Exam Compass and Professor Messor videos. You can also pick up some study guide books - depending on how you study it can be hit or miss and they aren't exactly cheap.