SINEAD MURPHY – ENGINEERING SUCCESS FOR LIFELINE IT TEAM MEMBER

Handling multiple complex IT problems is all in a day’s work for Lifeline IT engineer Sinead Murphy.

The 28-year-old, who has been with the company for over two years, is one of 14 engineers who deal with client’s IT and technical issues. We talk to Sinead to find out more about her role.

What does your job at Lifeline IT involve?

I work on the critical help desk, making sure client’s systems are up and running. This involves installing computer systems and troubleshooting hardware and network systems. On an average day, I’m handling more than 10 cases.

How did you get to become an IT engineer?

I’ve always been tech savvy and love testing things out and finding IT solutions. At my previous company, I worked on the help desk and was given training on the job to become an IT engineer.

Any challenges of the job?

Waiting for third party suppliers to get back to you can be frustrating, especially if it’s a network or software problem. Also, because more people are working from home at the moment, a lot of problems are related to connectivity issues. So, trying to get clients’ remote access working as best as possible can be challenging, especially if we aren’t authorised to deal with personal internet providers.

Any IT disasters?

Recently there was a fire in a data centre (a warehouse with IT servers) that shut the power off. The data centre was a third party and my role was to liaise with our clients and reassure them that we were doing everything possible to get things back up and running as quickly as possible.

As a woman in a predominantly male industry, have you ever had any negative experiences?

No, I’ve never not been taken seriously and have never come across negative comments or feedback. But I am lucky to work in a team where the most important thing is being able to do the job well and be a team player.

Favourite piece of tech?

Probably Microsoft – I like what their packages offer. I work with Windows 10 a lot and find it a great system to use.

Best thing about working at Lifeline IT?

Definitely the team. We’re a close team and always work together. We all use the Microsoft Teams channel so we can communicate and help each other out if someone has an issue they’re struggling to fix. It’s a really nice place to work.

How do you relax outside of work?

I really like going to the gym and I’ve recently got a Bassett Hound called Hank and I love walking him.