Pros
Culture: I've worked on or with a lot of IT teams over the years, and I can confidently say that this is the best overall team I've worked with. My colleagues are knowledgeable and versatile, great with clients, and supportive of each other. We give and receive help from each other all the time; nobody hoards knowledge or belittles others for lack of it. There's also understanding that nobody is perfect and we all make mistakes; I've never feared owning up to mine, as I know I'm not going to be berated or fired for an occasional mis-step. We also have a lot of fun with each other. Even when we aren't all working in the same physical space, we're all active on our internal communication platform, and there is no shortage of opportunities to be social and have a laugh. While my direct interactions are largely with other technicians, our non-technical staff are a valuable part of our success and culture, and I'm grateful for their hard work and dedication to keeping the company running smoothly. Work/Duties: Most of the technicians have acquired what we know through experience and a voracious appetite for learning. Sometimes you're asked to do things you haven't done before; while that might seem intimidating, those of us who are self-taught know it's the best way to learn. And because of the aforementioned supportive culture, you're never left "flying solo" while completely out of your comfort zone. We have a wide variety in the types of clients we support, which means lots of different technologies to learn. For platforms that exist across lots of clients, that means you get to see a broad sample of use cases for different technologies. For example, we have small clients who use Microsoft 365 only for the desktop apps, and other who leverage its Enterprise features for security, identity and device management. To my thinking, this is a huge advantage when you're trying to learn about a platform; the more configurations you see, the more you understand the capabilities and limitations of that platform. Clients: We have a pretty big mix of clients; lots of art galleries or Arts-adjacent organizations, non-profits, speciality retailers, architects, physicians, law firms, financial services...the list goes on. Working with such a broad array of clients means learning about a lot of different industries and how they use technology. We do sometimes get clients who are upset, but management is supportive of us and empowers us not to accept abusive behavior. Sadly, this is more than I can say for some previous employers. Overall: DeepTech is a great place to challenge yourself to learn and improve in a supportive and fun-loving environment. It's hard work, but it is rewarding,
Cons
Workload and Work/life balance: There is always more to do than time to do it. This is not unique in the tech industry, but the volume of work can feel overwhelming at times. While we have limited on-call duty, I frequently end up working past the end of my scheduled shift. And during the day, I have to make an active effort to find opportunities to take a meaningful break. There isn't much flexibility with working hours, which can be challenging for parents and others with obligations during the normal "working hours." The flip side of the Pros: A lot of the things I mentioned in the Pros section cut both ways. The large variety of clients/technologies can be overwhelming. Clients who are committed to outdated or obscure systems can be challenging to support. Lots of industries mean lots of different use cases to consider. A team of mostly peers means while there is a lot to learn, there aren't many paths for internal advancement.