To give you the best picture of what it’s like to work at SoftLayer, I have to start with the other SLayers I’ve met. So far, my coworkers and supervisors have been easy to get along with, and they clearly know their stuff. SoftLayer’s “Challenging, but not Overwhelming” motto isn’t just for show … I’ve got a long way to go to catch up with my peers when it comes to knowledge about the data center, but everyone around me has been so supportive that it doesn’t feel too intimidating. The work environment is very casual, and while the tasks at hand are all serious, my coworkers are always telling jokes and fostering a friendly and welcoming work environment.

The second aspect of the job I should focus on is the day-to-day responsibilities I’m learning how to perform. In the data center, we’re responsible for building and performing hardware maintenance on all of our customer servers, and a lot of our customer interaction is done via tickets. When a ticket is added to our data center queue, it’s pretty wild to see an SBT claim it quickly and immediately spring into action. If a customer orders a new server in our facility, and that server configuration isn’t readily available, we get notified, and we have to move quickly to make a hardware change so the server can get provisioned in under four hours. That’s been my favorite part of the job so far.

I’ve always enjoyed putting computers together, so being able to do it on such a large scale (and having the chance to do it a few times per day) is a thrill for me. Even though I’ve built more than my share of computers in my lifetime, I still find myself learning a lot from the processes and procedures Softlayer has in place. It’s pretty cool to see the inventory of high-power server hardware we have in our spare parts room, too.

Being new to a job usually involves a span of time where you feel like a “new guy,” but that hasn’t been the case at SoftLayer. The crew here at SJC01 has made me feel at home quickly, and they’ve been patient and helpful when I’ve had any questions. In fact, as I’m thinking about it, I can’t say anything negative about my experience so far with Softlayer.

I’m excited about integrating into the team, and given how much my coworkers hang out during lunch, breaks and after work, I’m sure that’ll happen quickly. I want to put on a big office potluck where I can bring down my barbecue grill and cook for them some afternoon … And given SoftLayer’s love of BBQ, I’d imagine that would be a big hit.

Man, all this talk of food is making me hungry.

-Jonathan