I have an associates degree in IT, I have the CompTIA A+ and Net+, but 0 professional experience. I want to get my foot in the door as a data center technician. What certification next is best to do so? I've been looking at the Server+ and it seems like the most relevant, but I also see people on reddit bash it and call it useless. Should I even pursue it? At the same time, at my community college, I'm in a 2 semester long program called "Fiber and Network Technician Career Studies Certificate (C.S.C.)". I'm basically doing everything to get hired at a data center lol. I live in NOVA, so I know there's a lot of opportunities. Any help or advice would be appreciated. Thank you!

Our "lead" was promoted to that position about two years ago. He officially received his promotion whike I was away on vacation. When I returned, the first morning back I noticed things were taken from my desk. I quickly realized the lead had them. I asked for them back, and he became hostile, and refused. I went back to my desk and he followed me with it. He slammed it on my desk, destroying it. He shouted "YOURE SUCH A FUCKIN KID" in my face up close so hard that he spit on my face. I was stunned, and thought his behavior was utterly pathetic and embarassing.

I immediately contacted HR, generally telling them what happened. For a week HR and my boss refused to speak to me. After a week, my boss pulled me in to a meetong with HR. I had not given my story to anyone at this point. They told me the matter has been dealt with, and that I need to accept it and move on.

This caused a tremendous amount of stress for me and I was incredibly depressed for a while. Eventually I decided to tell my coworkers my side of the story. They all backed me up and on that, and think the leads behavior is unacceptable.

About a year after the incident, my boss randomly decided to send an email to me and HR, putting in writing that I never reported that he had spit on me during the incident. I reaponded saying the exact time and date, and conference room location it occurred in. And that the VP dismissed it as "accidental" and "not a big deal".

I recently learned that while all that was going on, he threw a bolt at another technician. Ive also heard him describe customers and colleagues as the n-word, and he has discussed killing cats.

Recently the boss and VP (who have an office at my data center) went to a "leadership summit" for a week leaving this lead in charge.

Long story short, he gave away a customers servers to the wrong courier. The client was furious, and demanded a RCA be completed. The RCA is from our Quality Assurance team, he basically demolished the lead and said incompetence on the leada behalf was the caused.

He also gave the wrong drivers license to wrong people. I would come to work and have a lobby of people threatening to sue the company because of the lead.

The customers were pissed and demanded to the VP he be fired. But still, nothing. This mf has more lives than a cat. I do t understamd it at all. These people are ruining my life.

Hey everyone,

I’m currently in the interview process for a Data Center Technician position at SpaceX and wanted to see if anyone here has gone through the process or currently works there.

I’m mainly curious about what the interview process looks like, what kind of technical questions they typically ask, and what areas I should focus on preparing for.

I’m also interested in hearing about the work environment, day-to-day responsibilities, work-life balance, and overall experience working at SpaceX.

I currently work as a Data Center Technician at Google, so I’d especially appreciate hearing from anyone who has experience at both companies and how they compare in terms of workload, culture, expectations, and career growth.

Any advice or insight would be appreciated. Thanks!

Why are some teams not going by resolves and others are? It’s slow season- and many teams have adjusted accordingly.

It’s unfair to expect high resolves at this time

Title: Google Data Center Tech III – Salary in DFW?

Just found out I passed the technical interview loop for a Google Data Center Tech III position in the DFW area (Red Oak or Midlothian). Recruiter reached out and said the next step is a fit interview.

Anyone know what kind of salary I should expect for a Tech III in this area? Also curious about bonuses, stock, and whether there's much room to negotiate.

I'd be looking at about an hour commute each way, so I'm trying to figure out if the pay would make it worthwhile.

If anyone's been through the fit interview, I'd be interested to hear what that was like too.

Thanks!

Any advice or any thing can help me to pass

I’m currently a union journeyman chiller mechanic with a big manufacturer working on data centers. I’m wanting to make the transition from mechanic to working for a data center on the opps team. Looking around DFW, Texas. If anyone has any tips or knows of any openings in the area any help is appreciated!

Has anyone been able to get an interview for an application? Im qualified for the job i had applied for but its been a couple weeks since ive heard anything at all. This would be my second time applying and the last time I did receive a denial fairly quickly. If anyone has any suggestions on what to do other than be patient I would greatly appreciate it

It's been two weeks since I passed my interview, I didn't hear anything back from the recruiter, the email mentioned will hear back from 2 to 5 business days, but nothing happen, is anyone experienced something like this and the outcome was positive? I sent a follow up email after the 5 business days passed but still nothing

Hey all, I've got an interview with Google on Nov 4th for a Data Center Technician II role (Global Server Operations) and want some honest feedback.

My background: • ~1 year in IT at an MSP. Tier 1, getting promoted to Tier 2 • Support 100+ client environments: M365, AD/Entra ID, Windows Server, SonicWall, ThreatLocker, 3CX, On-site support • Configured, troubleshoot and set up switches, routers, APs, bridges, and endpoints • Helped install PSUs, can rack servers and switches, comfortable with copper cabling • Know single-mode vs. multi-mode fiber but need to brush up • CompTIA A+, finishing Network+, just started learning Linux • ~10 years in healthcare before IT, including shift lead and training staff

Where I think I'm weak: Linux, fiber, and component-level server repair at scale. The posting prefers 2+ years.

Questions: 1. Do I realistically have a shot at the II level with this background? 2. For anyone who's interviewed for a Google DCT role, what was the technical portion like? Hardware troubleshooting scenarios, Linux commands, networking? 3. Any tips for the behavioral / "Googleyness" side? 4. What would you focus on in the next week to prep?

Appreciate any advice. This would be a big jump for me.

Both are building decently sized data centers here in CR with Meta doing a leasing agreement with QTS. I applied for a job with each very recently despite their building completion date pretty far out.

Anybody got information on the hiring process or timeline for this area specifically? Just curious if they will be taking their time with applications since the sites aren't completed.

A bit about me. I have a background in coding, math, and finance. I am good at building quick prototypes and proof of concepts using mock data. But I struggle with building something that a business really needs and getting to them.

If you have a DC business or a problem that you or your company deals with, what would it be? Please include as much info as possible about the workflow or the headache.

Hello everyone
I’m an electrical engineer working in a Tier II data center for a local telecommunications company. We have around 70 cabinets, serving both enterprise customers and internal IT departments.
I’ve been working there for about 1.5 years and my role involves supervising contractors and projects, following up on operations and maintenance, performing preventive maintenance, conducting daily electrical and mechanical checks, responding to emergency alarms, and preparing daily reports.
I’m not an IT specialist, so I’d like to grow specifically in the electrical, mechanical, and critical infrastructure side of data centers knowing that we are working in expanding the space for extra 30 cabinets.

My question is: What skills, certifications, or practical knowledge would you recommend I focus on to become an outstanding data center engineer and stand out from others in this field?
I’d appreciate any advice, especially from experienced data center engineers.
Thanks

Hey everyone, I just graduated from the AWA fiber technician training program, which places people into data center fiber jobs. There's not much about it online, so I figured I'd answer questions for anyone considering it. Happy to cover how you get in, what the weeks of training actually look like (housing, food, the hands-on material), how the placement and job offer process works, and whether I'd recommend it. I'm just a graduate, not an official rep, so this is my own experience. Ask away.

I'm researching how teams manage procedures, maintenance documentation and tribal knowledge across facilities.

I'm especially interested in what breaks down as facilities scale or new sites come online.

If you've dealt with outdated procedures, scattered documentation, difficult handoffs or tribal knowledge, I'd love to hear how you're handling it.

We're working on a construction site that needs internet for the next few months before fiber gets installed. Site offices, security cameras, and some equipment need reliable access. The main issue is coverage. It's a large area and the layout keeps changing as construction progresses, so running cables everywhere isn't practical. I've been looking at Starlink with some kind of wireless distribution setup to spread it across the site. Point to point links and outdoor APs keep coming up but not sure if that's overkill or if there's a simpler option I'm missing.

We're talking about covering a few hundred meters with multiple zones that need access. Power availability also varies across different areas. Anyone dealt with temporary setups like this? What actually worked for you?

I’m a relatively new L3 EOT at AWS. I am on shift now and ahead of target on my CST qual. I feel like I’m doing pretty well and my manager has given me positive feedback. I enjoy the job, like my team, and like the schedule.

We have some self proclaimed “terminal EOTs” on my team who have no interest in moving up to chief engineer, but I think I would like to eventually move up to chief engineer or FM down the line. I wanted to know how EOTs end up moving out of the technician silo and into management — what senior leadership wants to see, what they NEED to see, and what they don’t wanna see.

I would greatly appreciate any input from those with experience climbing the ladder, or those who are in the process of climbing the ladder! Thanks in advance.

Hi everyone!

I recently applied for a Data Center Operations role at Amazon and received an invitation for a virtual telephonic interview.

Has anyone recently attended an interview for this role? I’d like to know what kind of questions are usually asked in the first round, especially regarding technical topics, troubleshooting scenarios, and Amazon’s Leadership Principles.

Also, what are the next steps in the hiring process after the initial telephonic round?

Any interview experiences, preparation tips, or advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!

Since so many data centers have been built, I am curious about your day-to-day structured routine. There are a lot of these companies out there and I know that they all have different requirements and I think it be good opportunity to learn from each other and potentially share some ideas.

Again, this is pertaining to data center operation safety, not construction safety.

1. What is your title?
2. What are your normal hours?
3. What is your yearly focused target/targets?
4. When it comes to environmental, do you have it out or are you doing full responsible party?
5. What is your companies focus on what measures your success?

I received a call last week from my Google Recruiter stating that I have passed all of the interviews for DCT Mechanical II. They did inform me that they will reach out for a fit call. Just seeing how long this process usually takes and or works. My recruiter did state that since it’s getting towards the end of the year and there will be lots of positions at different locations open up. Just wanting to get some feedback on the process. Any feedback would be appreciated thanks.

Geelong near Melbourne, Australia is rapidly emerging as one of Australia’s most significant digital infrastructure locations, with the region attracting unprecedented investment in hyperscale data centre developments.

Hello everyone. Looking for any tips on System Design question types and expectations for a Fluidstack Sys Design interview. Do the questions revolve mainly around GPU clusters and scheduling?

Any tips from folks who have interviewed would be highly appreciated.

Hey guys! I’ve been working in operations at a 3PL for the past five years. About two years ago, we onboarded a huge client to manage transportation for their data center construction projects.
I was managing 4–5 active projects at the same time and became familiar with data center equipment, site safety protocols, and even advised site superintendents on how many trucks they’d need for certain equipment and units.
I really enjoyed that work, and now I want to get involved on the other side of these projects, working directly on-site rather than just coordinating transportation.
One thing that surprised me was that some site superintendents weren’t familiar with the transportation requirements for certain equipment, including how it should be loaded and what type of truck or trailer was needed.
My question is, if I want to transition into a role where I’m directly involved in data center construction projects, what positions would I realistically qualify for with my background?