I've been thinking about getting into load bank rentals for data centers. Demand seems strong with all the new builds, but I have a few doubts:

Is it better to start with AC load banks for generator testing, or DC banks for UPS and battery tests?

Do clients also expect heat load testing for cooling validation?

Is it worth buying bigger units, or is that too much upfront investment?

Is the Middle East really as busy as it looks?

Do most clients want cables, transport, and a technician included?

Anyone already in this business? Would really appreciate any advice before I put money into this.

Just passed the Google Hiring Assessment for data center role in the US. Hopefully I can make it to an zoom interview. I'm not sure if this will lead to a visa sponsorship but I'm hopeful. Anyone going through the same care to share. Thx

I'm a college student with a background in energy infrastructure, and I'm curious about the daily challenges of working in data centers.

For those in operations, maintenance, facilities, or commissioning, what are some of the most tedious or inefficient parts of your job?

I'm especially curious about repetitive tasks, outdated processes, or things that waste time but everyone just puts up with.

Would love to hear from people actually doing the work!

Hi everyone!

I applied for a position at AWS on November 9, but I haven't received any updates yet.

For those who applied to AWS, how long did it take before you heard back from the recruiter? Do they usually notify applicants if they are rejected, or do they only contact candidates who are shortlisted for an interview?

Just wondering if I should still expect a response or if no news usually means rejection.

Thanks for sharing your experiences!

I felt like I nailed that interview. Messed up two stupid questions.

Also, my interview was not even a week ago.

Last, the strangest part to this is that a supposed different recruiter said i had been hired as a data center electrician at a different branch.

Has anyone seen proceeding but still somehow gotten hired? I was stoked. 😒

I’m a solutions architect exploring a managed hosting service for small businesses. I’d like to understand what customers actually ask their hosting provider or MSP to take care of once an application is running.
If you work at a regional host or MSP, I’d love to hear about one recent request. Maybe a customer needed help moving a legacy app, deploying updates, or recovering a database. What did they ask you to take ownership of, and how did you end up handling it?
I’m also curious how that work was priced. Was it part of their hosting plan, a paid add-on, or a separate project? If you referred them elsewhere, I’d be interested in what made it a better fit for another provider.
I’m particularly interested in Romania and nearby markets, but examples from anywhere are welcome. No need to name the customer or share exact prices.

I know it's kind of a crazy question, but I am really into diesel engines and I want to know how big they are in the data center industry.

Hey y'all, I'm reaching out because I have an interview for an entry-level DCT position at Google in a week and was wondering which concepts or areas I should focus on most. I have experience with break-and-fix on servers and using basic Linux commands to check hardware status, but I have little to no experience with networking, although I do have an N+ Certification.

As of now, I've been studying the most common Linux commands used in a data center and their purposes, as well as networking in more depth, the OSI model, and networking hardware.

I've seen online that they are very focused on Networking and ask questions about specific Linux commands and their functions, so I'm worried I might forget the commands on the day of the interview. I have also seen that they are very serious about the Googleyness and leadership questions. I have interviewed before at AWS and Oracle, so I assume they are basic behavioral questions, but any clarification will help.

Also, I have a question about a different matter: I told my recruiter that I'm open to relocation, and he told me that there is relocation assistance depending on my score on my interview, but I saw in a Reddit thread that Google doesn't give assistance for entry-level DCT, so I just wanted insight from someone who was in a similar position, and how long does the whole recruitment process take after the interview, such as feedback and an offer if passed the interview.

I know this is a lot and that we can't talk about specifics because of the NDA, but any information that will help me in the interview is appreciated. Thank you!

So I recently got another contract with AWS as I was previously with them from Nov 2025-September 2026. I wasn’t being converted due to low headcount and I ultimately took another opportunity which failed and mg manager wanted me back and was lucky enough to find another supplier!!

Since it’s been such a short time since I’ve left, do I have to sit through all the training all over again like classroom-wise for a month? Also since everything is tied to my alias, do I still have all my metrics and other things like that? I hope I don’t have to start from scratch and can hopefully receive FTE rather quickly given all my progress stays the same..

Anyone been in this situation before, would love to know how things went!

Thanks

Hello everyone I have an interview coming up soon for the Memphis DC space Xai location as a contractor DCT, Recruiter mentioned that it's majority Dell based hardware, I know what each component does and its purpose on a server but haven't worked with much Dell specifically. I assume they will have their own SOPs, triage work flow and custom Linux distro and commands, BIOs etc, I assume the DC floor will be Net operations and storage to support "X" but mostly will be Training/Inference for things such as grok and their other models. But ultimately I don't want to assume everything, this will be the most I have ever been paid in my entire life $40 hourly and I am willing to relocate and sleep in my car if I have to. Anyone at that location specifically can offer me advice or what to expect? I know Memphis is a dangerous city in some parts and a nice city in others but what of traffic, cost of rent etc and also how is the culture at Xai are people friendly, just curious About your thoughts

Hi. Recently I accepted an offer at AWS for the “WBLP LOGISTICS TECH”. My first day is this coming Monday and I have no idea what to wear. The recruiter said we can wear anything, but “anything” is extremely vague. Can someone who has been employed with AWS please give me an example of what “anything” means 😭

I know ATC still operates on some pretty old infrastructure, although from what I understand the en route automation systems like ERAM run on Linux rather than Windows XP. Microsoft’s outage seems to be tied to server connectivity issues and a recent network configuration change affecting Exchange Online and other Microsoft 365 services.

Obviously that’s a different infrastructure from what ATC uses for radar processing and flight tracking, but I’m wondering whether there could be some dependency further upstream involving network communications or shared service providers. Seems like a weird coincidence considering the FAA is reporting communications problems across multiple centers at practically the same time.

Would something like a backbone routing failure or a common network dependency even be plausible here, or would ATC’s communications architecture be isolated enough that Microsoft’s outage wouldn’t matter?

Hey everyone!

I have an upcoming recruiter call for an AWS Data Center Technician position and was wondering if anyone has tips or remembers what questions they were asked.

I know it's just an initial screening, but I want to be prepared. I spoke with a recruiter about 6 months ago but didn't meet the experience requirements at the time.

Since then, I've gained over a year of IT support experience, some hands-on server experience, and a decent networking foundation.

Anyone know what to expect or have advice? Really don't want to bomb this opportunity. Thanks!

Do they do the actual work or do outside contractors come in and does the work?

I've heard from a friend who just got let go that there's been a recent firing spree. A couple handful of folks on night shift in Sterling alone that past few months. Don't need details, but checking in if you guys are doing okay? If you've been affected and need a referral, please feel free to reach out!

Also, use this as a heads up if you're in the application process for AWS in that area currently. It seems pretty toxic rn honestly, even for AWS

I am currently applying to Microsoft for that position and was wondering if someone could help me out with a referral?

I currently work in the Oil and Gas industry as a production technician making sure all systems stay running properly.

I have 9 years of experience and believe the work I currently do transfers over well to the CET position.

Recently, Google reached out regarding my application for Technician 3. I'm excited about the opportunity, but I'm also concerned about the Linux portion of the interview. My Linux experience is very limited, mostly involving a handful of commands, since most of the commands and tools I've used at work are proprietary. I also don't have hands-on experience managing servers.

I've been working in data centers for almost four years. I started as an Infrastructure Technician, moved into Network Ops, and eventually worked my way up to IT management.

Since transitioning into management, I spend most of my days in the office, which has caused me to become a little rusty with my hands-on skills.

I was completely transparent with the recruiter about my experience. They even mentioned that I could have some time to brush up on my Linux knowledge

My concern is the scripting portion. I understand that some scripting knowledge is expected, but learning Linux and scripting from scratch in a couple of weeks feels like a pretty big challenge. I don't have any issues with the other interviews, it's just the Linux portion.

I also haven't lied on my resume, in fact, Linux isn't even mentioned once, and the recruiting team is fully aware of my experience level.

I'm genuinely interested in the opportunity and willing to put in the work to study

I just want to understand how realistic it is to get ready for the interview in such a short amount of time?

I don't ask for details, but do you get a rough day with "special" tickets today to help fixing the servers? Or nothing special and business as usual. I'm aware the problem is more on the software side than hardware but maybe there's an incidence on the hardware too where you have to power drain or something like that.

Hey everyone, coming from the criminal justice world. I was in unarmed security for 2 years and then went to armed security for around 3 years and a half.

I’ve recently been taken by storm by the whole data center world and I fully want to switch careers while I am still young, 25 years old. I am currently finishing my Schneider electrical data center certified associate. Also getting network and server + around February. I’ve had one interview with milestone and I didn’t get the job, I thought it was a good interview but I just didn’t have enough things that mapped on for entry level L1 I suppose so I’m trying to make myself a more competitive candidate.

I really don’t want to go do some minimum wage help desk job for like a month or two, preferably. But in general, will my resume be more competitive with these certifications or are there other things I should consider throwing on there to make myself more competitive? Also have an associates in criminal justice science but that’s not all that helpful.

Please and thank you.

Funny how the moment Outlook, Teams or other Microsoft services go down, everyone suddenly realizes how much of their daily life depends on data centers.

But then you have people complaining about data centers being built

For engineers or technicians who travel to work on new data center projects, have you or someone else noticed racial discrimination against other non-white engineers or technicians? I mostly ask this because I've noticed a lot of new data center projects are in small rural towns where I've heard racism tend to be more prevalent. I've also heard a lot of trades and construction workers working on those projects tend to come from the same or nearby towns where the data center is being built. So, I'm wondering how is it like interacting with those workers and also with other people in the town. Edit: I don't mean to offend anyone with this post, I'm mostly curious as a non-white person interested in controls work in data centers and noticed some open positions at some Systems Integrator who works on data center projects.

Datacenters exist:

Everyone: Not in my backyard!

Datacenters: How about the front yard?

Any Cdl positions ? About to two weeks my job from a pay cut. Looking to get back to the big money

Will travel. Or local in Ohio