How do biologists study animals?  Most probably read a lot of books, watch a lot of documentaries attend seminars and conferences but what does this really teach them… only what others already know or have found pertinent enough to be documented.

Computers like animals can be studied in a similar way.  In fact specifically with computers all of these things are arguably necessary but the legendary biologists are best known for the time they’ve spent with the animals in their own environment.  I have to assume that the reason they do this is because there is something about the way another species acts that can’t be documented.  Fortunately for humans we have the cognitive capacity to “relate” to these creatures and in the same way we can learn to think like a computer.

Some techs whom have spent their careers reading knowledge base articles and attending classes may wonder why some attain mastery in the field faster than others.  I believe this is because documents, articles and even spoken language in regards to computers are all translations to  they way a computer truly “thinks”.  This is why techs who perform only specific tasks or have spent their careers as a deployment “grunt” under-perform in an environment where direct computer interaction and communication are required (i.e. – troubleshooting).

Fortunately enough, computers are probably the most predictable creatures on the planet.  The key to success in troubleshooting is living amongst the creatures (on the job experience) figuring out WHY they do what they do not, simply, that they do them.  Deployment skills will get you nowhere and in my opinion are totally useless.  You can have 10 pages of all the things you’ve ever deployed on your resume and all I’ll see is “can follow instructions” because really that’s all it is. In fact, in my interviews I only ask a few technical questions because once you do understand the system in it’s entirety you can easily identify others that have the same ability.

The key to a successful career in any troubleshooting industry, including biology, is thinking like your subject, gaining understanding through experience and direct interaction.  You will never be good at troubleshooting if the person next to you is answering all your questions much like you could never truly be good at chess by asking Garry Kasparov each move you should make against your opponent.  You have to first understand how each move affects the system as a whole and then move with intention.  The same is true with computers, biology and kung fu.

To summarize to fix a broken computer you MUST know how to build them, you MUST know how to break them and you MUST be willing to step outside of your comfort zone to get your hands dirty but be careful… computers bite too.