General Summary
Dispatch Computing Assistants (DCAs) work with the Resident Computing Assistants (RCAs) and the Manager of Information Systems and Systems Administrator to help provide prompt, consistent, essential technical support, information, and services. As a compliment to the RCAs, who provide a front line of support within each residence hall, the DCAs not only fill out the support framework by supporting staff in offices external to the residence halls, but also back up the RCAs and ResCom Managers through their work on more challenging, more specialized, and longer-term projects.
Requests for support are made by residents and staff through the HouseNet website as work orders. DCAs follow up on these orders either from the ResCom Operations center during scheduled hours or by traveling individually to the client as the DCA's schedule allows.
Areas of DCA knowledge include, but are not limited to, general hardware, software, and network troubleshooting on Macintosh and Windows platforms. Knowledge of light system administration tasks, web development Additionally, DCAs are expected to be knowledgeable of campus computing resources.
Principal Duties & Responsibilities
- Investigating, resolving, and documenting technical support issues and problems reported by students and staff in the residence halls
- Researching, deciphering, evaluating, utilizing, and documenting a variety of (largely Open Source) technologies for current and future use maintaining and developing all of the pieces of the ResCom puzzle required to help students and staff learn and work ever more efficiently
- Maintaining regular communication (including good-natured wisecracking) with other DCAs, RCAs, and the Manager of Information Systems and Systems Administrator to help keep the ResCom system as a whole--including work orders, printing, labs and kiosks, keycard encoding, staff scheduling, packages, web hosting, help documentation, and much more--running predictably, efficiently, and seamlessly
- Act as team leads in providing routine reports to the Systems Administrator on the status and nature of problems encountered during work shifts and on the internets in general
- Returning to campus prior to O-Week for training, to help provide computing orientation and network setup to first year residents, and to confirm readiness of all facility computing equipment
The work load for DCAs will vary with demand for service, but DCAs should expect to work from 4 to 12 hours per week, which includes maintaining a regular commitment to a minimum of two 2-hour Help Desk shifts per week. Specific work times and quantities beyond these Help Desk hours are dependent upon the clients' availability, the DCA's personal schedule and ability to make her/himself useful to other ResCom staff.
Eduation & Experience Required
A demonstrated ability to provide a computing support is required. This should include experience with either Macintosh and Windows platforms. Experience with free operating systems (UNIX and Linux variations) is looked favorably upon, but not required. A familiarity with basic hardware compatibility issues and common communications and document processing software is required. Familiarity with computer networking and protocols, Mac/Windows/UNIX system administration and automation tasks, and/or base web development components (HTML, CSS, JavaScript) is a plus.
Demonstrated communication skills and patience with both people and machines are required. For this reason, employment background in the retail or customer services industries is a plus. Technical writing skills are a highly desirable as well.
Demonstrated skills in self-direction, resource marshalling, organization, and follow-through are required. All ResCom staff should expect and welcome a wide variety of intermingled technological challenges, within which rhyme and reason must be googled, imposed, or disproved conclusively by any means available.
Terms & Compensation
DCAs do not need to live in the dormitories or be on a board plan. They must, however, be students (undergraduate or graduate) at the University of Chicago.
The rate of pay is $10.00/hour during the first year. This position is open to work-study and non-work-study students alike.
