Hello Everyone,
I received offer for a position at Oracle's new data center in Michigan. Does anyone have any experience/information at their AI data centers that they can share that might help me out? Is there anything that I might be able to ask for(more vacation day or salary)? Any info would be greatly appreciated.
Hi everyone,
I’m currently mapping out my long-term career path and am really interested in working as a Data Center Technician at Google (or similar big tech infrastructure roles).
Given the rapid growth of AI, I prefer the hands-on physical and infrastructure side of tech—maintaining servers, troubleshooting hardware, handling rack/cable deployment, and managing hardware operations.
I’m effectively starting from scratch in terms of practical IT experience and certifications. I’d love to get honest feedback and advice from folks currently working in data centers or at Google:
Starting Point: If you were starting today, what basic certifications or self-study topics would you prioritize first (e.g., CompTIA Network+, Linux fundamentals, A+)?
Home Labs & Practice: What kind of home lab setups or hands-on projects actually look good on a resume for entry-level DCT positions?
Hiring Reality: Does Google hire entry-level techs without prior data center experience if they demonstrate solid foundational knowledge and certifications, or is it better to get experience at local data centers/ Contractor roles first?
Career & AI Resistance: For those working in the field, how do you view job security and career growth over the next 5-1O years as automation increases?
Thanks in advance for any insights or advice!
Hi,
I'm considering switching from software development (which has been my background for most of my life) to data center roles. I'm trying to find roles that haven't been heavily impacted by AI, and it seems Data Center is the direction I'm headed.
I have a 2 year software dev diploma from college, I also have 3 years of dev experience (combination of co-op, junior, and self-employed experience). Because I was having a hard time finding a entry level job in dev, I pursued an education in cybersecurity post-grad and even got the AZ-500 from Microsoft. But I got these during the time AI was making significant impacts across all industries to the point I feel like most of my training up until now has been pointless as even platform configurations, AI can automate that process now, so now the certs I got feel pointless. I haven't been able to work in actual cybersecurity fields despite the college education.
So I'm considering getting the DCCA. Reading into the practice material, it seems the general idea is to address hotspots so it doesn't overheat, and make sure downtime doesn't go on as long. My current path is to get the DCCA.
Today, I spitballed with AI which tells me that I actually don't need a DCCA in order to land a data center role given my background. I didn't want to blindly trust AI, so I kept searching source after source to validate this bit, and all it said is that the pre-requisite for data center roles is having a tech background (including software dev) and one of the data center certs (comptia server+ or DCCA).
So I guess I'm wondering. For someone of my background and what I've achieved so far, is pursuing the DCCA overkill? Should I just go straight into applying for data center jobs? I have done other physical stuff like building my gaming PC, and I believe that experience gives me at least some fundamental knowledge on what I can expect from the data center, but that's the only direct experience I got so far.
Data Center Managers/Owners - how do you currently ensure that SOPs/SLAs are properly followed by the HVAC PM subcontractors? I am new to the DC world and just curious about this.
Hi! I recently applied for an entry level position with AWS through their WBLP, but I was denied. I’ve been religiously checking their website for a location close to me and applied the day it was posted. A few days later an Amazon recruiter reached out to schedule for an interview at said location, but it is for an L3 role. I build my own PCs and build PCs for friends and family as a hobby. Otherwise I have no experience with DC. I am currently working in an entirely different industry. My question is why would they deny me the WBLP but reach out to interview me for an L3 role. I scheduled the interview anyway but I’m not too confident I’ll impress them.
Had a final interview with ADC and was rejected. Told I'm a strong fit but they went with candidates with more relevant experience. Told the same thing at Lionheart for an apprenticeship. I'm a USMC veteran with 10 years diesel technician experience. My skills transfer over and I can get interviews fine, just need someone to see my passion and willingness to learn. I bought the EGSA apprentice study guide and got my NFPA 70E training. What else can I do to get into the data center/critical facilities/critical power field? That's where I want to be.
I have an interview with them for a data center technician role, this would be my first time doing something in the data center industry so I’m grateful to have the opportunity, however looking at this companies reviews it seems like a meat grinder, you go, withstand as much as you can and leave with whatever sanity you have left. Most of the reviews came from Arizona and Alabama. I haven’t seen any for my location, Memphis.
I know anyone can leave reviews and some people are very disgruntled so they’ll say things about a company but the bunk of the reviews are like that I start to wonder and get worried. Has anyone worked for them before? If so how was it?