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I'm inspired by how much you seem to know about the details of computer network stuff. Is that a required knowledge to become a Google Tech Support person or yo

I'm inspired by how much you seem to know about the details of computer network stuff. Is that a required knowledge to become a Google Tech Support person or you are just above average in terms of that among your peers? Also, I wonder how you learn all these knowledge (that is, asking for recommendation on a few books/resources for learning) if you don't mind sharing. Thanks in advance!

amessina1 6y ago
I don't have deep knowledge of details of compute networks, there is a team of TSE who deal with network cases who know more than me. But the whole point of troubleshooting is not knowing what is wrong, but being able to find what is wrong. In order to do that you need good basis, and those you can make by studying how networks and linux systems work (someone here posted some titles) and with experience (I have some grey hair myself). But every time you troubleshoot something you end up touching something you don't know, and that's where you learn something new you might use next time. For example I didn't know about dropwatch, a colleague suggested it to me. During the interview process at Google we don't expect candidates to be able to get to this level of depth, but we try to hire candidates that could, over time and depending on their skill set, potentially reach a similar level of depth and ability to troubleshoot cases.
- qmarchi 6y ago
  Following up on amessina1's post, I'm one of the TSEs who handle networking cases. True to what was said, I was hired with very little networking background, but plenty of development and hardware information. I've since taken the mantle for handling most of the cases dealing with Interconnects and VPNs. I enjoy it too! Oh, yeah, we're hiring: https://careers.google.com/jobs/results/?company=Google&q=Technical%20Solutions%20Engineer https://careers.google.com/jobs/results/?company=Google&q=Te...
  - programmertote 6y ago
    Thank you! This is encouraging. My background is mostly in Python programming and SQL. But in an alternate universe, I wish I am a network ninja like you guys and I will definitely check out Google TSE jobs when I can look for new jobs (currently hoping to get my green card done). If there's a book or two that is the most useful for you to be an efficient TSE, please feel free to share. Have a restful weekend!
- programmertote 6y ago
  Thank you for the reply! My background is mostly in Python programming and SQL. But in an alternate universe, I wish I am a network ninja like you. If there's a book or two that is the most useful for you to be an efficient TSE, please feel free to share. Have a restful weekend!

amessina1 6y ago

I don't have deep knowledge of details of compute networks, there is a team of TSE who deal with network cases who know more than me. But the whole point of troubleshooting is not knowing what is wrong, but being able to find what is wrong. In order to do that you need good basis, and those you can make by studying how networks and linux systems work (someone here posted some titles) and with experience (I have some grey hair myself). But every time you troubleshoot something you end up touching something you don't know, and that's where you learn something new you might use next time. For example I didn't know about dropwatch, a colleague suggested it to me. During the interview process at Google we don't expect candidates to be able to get to this level of depth, but we try to hire candidates that could, over time and depending on their skill set, potentially reach a similar level of depth and ability to troubleshoot cases.

qmarchi 6y ago
Following up on amessina1's post, I'm one of the TSEs who handle networking cases. True to what was said, I was hired with very little networking background, but plenty of development and hardware information. I've since taken the mantle for handling most of the cases dealing with Interconnects and VPNs. I enjoy it too! Oh, yeah, we're hiring: https://careers.google.com/jobs/results/?company=Google&q=Technical%20Solutions%20Engineer https://careers.google.com/jobs/results/?company=Google&q=Te...
- programmertote 6y ago
  Thank you! This is encouraging. My background is mostly in Python programming and SQL. But in an alternate universe, I wish I am a network ninja like you guys and I will definitely check out Google TSE jobs when I can look for new jobs (currently hoping to get my green card done). If there's a book or two that is the most useful for you to be an efficient TSE, please feel free to share. Have a restful weekend!
programmertote 6y ago
Thank you for the reply! My background is mostly in Python programming and SQL. But in an alternate universe, I wish I am a network ninja like you. If there's a book or two that is the most useful for you to be an efficient TSE, please feel free to share. Have a restful weekend!