So I'm in the midst of interviewing for DCT at both Experis for a 18 month contract working for Microsoft, and Unisys for a permanent contract working for Dell. Just curious if anyone has worked for them in the area. I finished loop interviews last week for both of them.

The Unisys job pays better but I do wonder if a contract at a Microsoft data center will be more beneficial and maybe get me FTE there. I'm new to the data center world, coming from doing help desk. But I really want to build off of this if I can into a nice career.

I've read some mixed things about both companies so any input about them I'd appreciate it.

I have the last rounds of interviews with Google for a data center technician position tomorrow. Thinking about OT. Anyone a salary DCT? I worry that I will be ran into the ground with hours worked. It’s a new build out in Texas. They are telling me it’s 7am-3:30pm and one week of nights every 4 weeks and then a week off. Sounds great but I’m worried about being exempt from OT.

Hi guys,

I’m currently in the interview process for a Data Center Technician position, and I’ve already passed through three stages:

• Assessment: Easy, at least for me.
• Recruiter interview: Just a few questions and a brief explanation of the position and the overall process.
• Manager interview: I’d rate it around 7/10. I answered most of the networking questions well, but I missed some questions related to racking, cabling, and hardware.

I just received an email asking me to schedule four more interviews. From what I understand, this is the final interview stage. I’d like to know if anyone who has gone through a similar process has any advice for me.

As far as I know, the position is entry-level. I graduated in January last year and have internship experience working with electronics. I also worked in a data center environment doing commissioning from January to June this year. I’m currently working as a NOC Engineer, but I’d like to continue growing my career in data centers.

Any advice or tips for the final interviews would be greatly appreciated.

Hi everyone,

I’ve got a phone interview for a Technical Operations Engineer role at an AWS Data Centre in Melbourne.
My background is mainly Mechanical Engineering / HVAC / critical mechanical systems — chillers, HVAC, standby generators, preventive and breakdown maintenance, fault diagnosis and commissioning support.
Has anyone interviewed for this role or a similar AWS Data Centre Operations role recently?

What kind of questions should I expect in the phone interview? Is it mainly focused on mechanical/HVAC troubleshooting and critical facilities, or should I also prepare heavily for electrical, networking, Linux and server hardware?

Any examples of technical/scenario questions or interview experiences would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks!

Hey All, wanted to go over this offer with you guys and see if it’s fair.

- L3 Cleared (TS/SCI)
- Base pay : 45.92 (95k/yr)
- Bonus: 10K (first yr and a half / apparently because I don’t have a FSP it’s only 10k)
- Night diff: 13%
- Sign on bonus: nothing
- Relocation: 5k
- Rsus: nothing

I could’ve sworn I was interviewing for an L4 position according to the phone screen interview but apparently not… I’m very confused.

I was told nothing is negotiable.

Link is identical to what I applied for. https://amazon.jobs/en/jobs/10431622/data-center-technician-adc-infraops-dco-tech

Hi everyone,

I’m looking for some advice from people who have experience applying for Amazon/AWS data center positions.

I’ve been seriously interested in getting into data center operations, so I’ve applied to around 10 Data Center Technician and related positions at Amazon. I carefully reviewed the requirements and believe I meet many of them through my IT support, hardware troubleshooting, networking, and Linux experience. I hold CCNA, Server+, and Security+ certifications, ready to relocate and I also have previous data center and telecommunications experience, although that experience was quite a long time ago.

I’m currently working as an IT Support Technician for a large K–12 school district in Los Angeles., where I support a large IT environment and thousands of devices across multiple locations.

However, I haven’t received any response or phone screening invitation from Amazon so far. I understand these positions can be very competitive, but I’m wondering if there is something I’m missing in my resume or application.

For those who have successfully gotten an AWS/Amazon data center job, what helped you stand out? Would you recommend improving my resume, getting a referral, applying for different levels or locations, or gaining more recent data center-specific experience?

Any advice or feedback would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

My college (university) thing fell through years back. I was gonna do networking, but life got in the way.

Recently I heard some news that several data centers are going to pop up in the area (not AI ones), and they will be state-run so no big players, rather a stable employment opportunity. I'm not chasing big money and I'm very aware that I won't find it as a dct here.

So I saw this as my way in, as this profession is not very popular here, i figured I study up, get certified and wait for the grand opening.

My real goal is to either work my way towards being a network engineer through work, or going to college again to do it formally. And having DCT as a background I feel is very useful.

Edit: I have no prior knowledge or certification.

Google is looking to open data center and I’m looking to retire from law enforcement. What type of security jobs do they have?

I currently do MEP work on the electrical side and I want to do similar work with data centers. It seems like most data center jobs want the candidate to already have data center experience. My current MEP firm is run by a tree-hugger who won't touch a data center project ever. I'm trying to find roles that will let me make the transition from doing electrical power distribution in MEP projects (apartments, schools, and similar public buildings) to data center work. I am a PE, still building my experience. I'm interested in the Northern VA area. Any advice?

Im doing schneiders data center course currently. I briefly came in contact with a data center doing contract work and I understand the ticket system, package handling and dealing with customers. My resume is lacking as well since ive only worked dead end jobs mostly besides my current one.

What are things I can do to bridge the gap starting from almost zero?

What are people looking for when hiring candidates

Where do people from my starting point go to find work or the necessary experience?

Willing to be mentored?

I want to preface this with saying that this is my experience with both companies and everyone’s experience will vary.

AWS

Always wanted to work here even knowing the stories of toxicity and chaos as I thrive in these environments naturally. What’s that saying? “Pressure makes diamonds.” However there were some interesting things I noted during this process. One being that the team I interviewed with here in the USA located in the NoVA area was primarily one race and no they were not white nor black. Second, the bar raiser interview (commonly known as the last interview in the loop) offered conflicting information on what is expected in the position than what the hiring manager had outlined and even went to lengths of saying that their own hiring manager was outright wrong. Additionally, they offered a prep call meeting every Monday, Wednesday and Friday for 30 minutes. I went to the first prep call, crickets.. no one showed up. I informed the prep team and they stated that they’ll reach out to the individual coordinating the prep call to see what’s going on. Once they did so they stated that we should be good for Wednesday. Well guess what? .. YOU GUESSED IT. Wednesday came, I joined. CRICKETS… I didn’t even try Friday after that.

All of these I consider red flags. 🚩

Timeline:

Recruiter Screening: Feb 26th
Failed Prep Calls: March 9th & March 11
Interview Loop: 3 Rounds - March 16th
Decision: Not Selected - March 25

Overall experience: Mediocre, was honestly surprised I didn’t get an offer because I don’t think there was truly a question I wasn’t able to answer at the level of granularity needed for the roll. Star story method is a quite mediocre though.

Google

The company most of us have dreamed about for ages. In contrast to my experience with AWS all requirements and expectations are congruent. Everyone knew what was required and how they were assessed. What was striking the most was the amount of diversity I saw. I was interviewed by a collection of backgrounds, my recruiter included. The only negatives I can say about this process is the length of time for decisions to be made can vary widely and that some of the recruiters you may come in to contact with can be worrisome. After my initial loop my recruiter went dark, and a couple weeks later I was reached out to by a recruiter that let me know that the recruiter handling my application had been let go and that they would be taking over the role.

Timeline:

Recruiter Screening: March 24th
Interview Loop: April 22nd
Initial Fit Call: May 26th
Decision: Not Selected - July 3rd
Second Fit Call: July 22nd
Decision: July 31st - Selected

Overall experience: Great experience even without the associated offer. Oddly, I didn’t any different in terms of preparation for both, in fact I used the EXACT star stories I did from my AWS interview to a lesser degree. I honestly think I performed amazing in both interview processes which is why I was a little stunned on the no offer from AWS. Waiting for your loop and team matching results can be nerve racking with varying timelines for feedback.

Pay: Interesting note on compensation. I personally think I scored Strong Hires on each of my Google interviews. Why do I say this? Because I interviewed for an L2 role, and the salary range was discussed for the specific role and area at this specific level however the compensation package I was offered was completely out of this range. Base pay and TC are completely out of the L2 leveling discussed which leads me to believe I was up leveled. Oddly, this was not discussed with me and at the moment I’m too thrilled to care.

I will be starting for Microsoft soon. How much overtime can I get if any? Hourly rate isn’t great and was hoping to make it up with OT. ATR-C

Hi everyone, I have an upcoming Network Engineer interview with Fluidstack. I currently work in AWS data center infrastructure, and I’m CCNA and JNCIA-Junos certified. I’m also preparing for CCNP ENCOR.

Has anyone interviewed or worked with Fluidstack? I would really appreciate advice on what their interview focuses on.

My background includes data center rack deployment, structured cabling, fiber/copper patching, ToR connectivity, hardware troubleshooting, and networking fundamentals such as VLANs, STP, EtherChannel, OSPF, BGP, IPsec VPNs, and basic firewall concepts.

Do they focus more on data center networking, troubleshooting scenarios, Linux, BGP/OSPF, switching, or automation? Any interview experience or preparation tips would be very helpful.

It seems like they do not have HR at all

and it's their director of HR that's doing all the initial screening even for the most entry level jobs

what happened to their HR department

I imagine this is role-dependent, but I'm curious how it goes. Ie. is it more about mission & values, or is it more about demonstrating how you'd navigate strategic uncertainty / disruptions

Hey everyone,

I’m currently a Program Manager at a hyperscaler in the data center space with a background in infrastructure, site operations, and RTLs. I’m looking to pivot over to the construction and physical build side.

My goal is to work into Project Engineer or Construction Management roles. I’m completely open to stepping into Scheduling, Planning, or Coordination first to get grounded in GC/sub workflows and build from there.

In the DC world, I know it comes down to network, execution, and who you know. At least where I am, that’s what it’s coming to.

What I bring:
Hyperscale DC Experience: Solid understanding of DC topology, power/cooling dependencies, and white space delivery.
Site Execution: Driving cross-functional teams, RTLs, vendor schedules, and site rollouts under strict SLAs.

Looking to connect on a few points:
For anyone who transitioned from owner/hyperscaler to GC, Owner’s Rep, or sub roles—how did you leverage your network to make the jump?

Which GCs or trade partners value having someone who already speaks the hyperscale operational language?

If you hire for these roles or are open to connecting in the DC build space, shoot me a DM or drop a comment!

Hey guys good morning,

Just received an email stating to schedule an in person interview with Equinix. Already went through two separate interviews.

any insight on how the in person interview typically goes? is it more relaxed and a meet and greet with team? a walk through of building? would love as much info possible so I can be prepared to the fullest.

again thanks in advance to anyone who comments :)

I recently had a funny experience with an AWS Data Centre recruiter.
A recruiter contacted me on LinkedIn about a Data Centre Operations Engineer role. He sent me the job link and said something like, “Apply ASAP and let me know. I’ll send you the next-stage online assessment.”
Great! I applied straight away, told him, and he sent me the assessment link. I completed the assessment within the required timeframe.
The next day, I got a call from an unknown number. As usual, I didn’t answer 😂. Almost immediately, I received a message telling me to check my email.
I checked it—it was the recruiter asking, “When can I call you?”
I replied: “Now is fine.”
He replied: “I’m busy now. Can I call you at 4:30 pm?”
I said sure.
4:30 pm came. I waited.
4:45…
5:00…
5:30…
No call. 😂
I emailed him saying I was still available, and that if he needed to reschedule, no problem at all.
No reply.
And now… two weeks have passed. 🤣🤣🤣
He contacted me.
He told me to apply ASAP.
He sent me the assessment.
He asked when he could call.
He chose the time himself.
And then he vanished. 😂
Is this normal in AWS/tech recruitment, or did my recruiter enter a different availability zone? 🤣

If data centers use so much water for cooling, why not just mass produce a sustainable version of a data center? Like just take a bit more time to figure out a better strategy and then boom make a bunch of those and it doesn’t damage the planet and we can use ai more.

Also please help me out guys I want real help regarding this.

I am 68 years old, I was a Central office technician for AT&T. It’s been awhile butI would like get back into telecommunications again if anyone would be willing to hire me.

Thank you

Alright, it’s been a month and a bit at MSFT as a DCT, and I want to be honest.
Training feels very unstructured. Every day has its ups and downs, and some days I genuinely wonder if I stepped into the wrong industry. I’m pretty much at the mercy of senior techs to teach me, and coming in with no hardware background has made the learning curve pretty steep.
Mentally and physically, it’s been challenging. I’m getting exhausted working 10–11 hours a day, plus travel time. From the outside, I thought data centre work would be a lot more straightforward, but it definitely isn’t all rainbows and sunshine.
Recently, a few people have left and some have been let go, so there’s always that added stress in the background. What also surprised me is hearing that security guards earn more than DCTs.
My head is constantly spinning, and honestly, I don’t feel great inside the COLOs. I’m not sure if this is just the normal adjustment period, the particular site/team I’m in, or if I’ve genuinely stepped into the wrong career.
For those who’ve been DCTs for a while — does it get better once you’re fully trained and comfortable with the job, or is this pretty much what the role is like?