I am in Information Technology (IT) and will be camping while on call this weekend. Our on call rotation changed after I planned our campground visit. We will be camped close to WiFi and almost 0% of the time I would have to physically come into work. I can do the work from the lap top. I had to do this 6 weeks ago and it turned out ok but I was mindful of it the entire time. Anyone else here had to be on call while camping and did it affect your routine?

Since you are in IT, you probably already know that being "close to wifi" doesn't mean it will actually be of much use. I have been in a number of RV parks where I had strong wifi signal, but it was so slow due to bandwidth limitations and over usage that it was barely usable. But occasionally a park with good wifi can be found.

I feel for you!I was on call 7/24/365! I did backups of branch servers for a regional Bank. The others in my group didn't want anything to to do with my stuff. Once I was at a large train show out of town, told my boss that I couldn't protect through company computer so I didn't even take it with me. I got called any way and had to walk them through a restore from memory.I retired 2.5 years ago, and loving it. No more phone calls!

goreds2 wrote:almost 0% of the time I would have to physically come into work.For me it's 100% of the time, I go oncall once every 4th weekend. Last time I was oncall picked up 16 hrs of ot, so obviously I make no plans.Mike

Yup, do it all the time. Unfortunately, I have to use my Iphone hot spot for internet access, but yup.If your company allows you to "Work From Home", they don't care where you actually work from, just as long as you are accessible and get your work done. My wife is also in IT, and she does the same thing. Have you ever had your laptop set up while fishing? If not, you gotta try it some time! Gives a whole new meaning to the word, "work"!! :)

When I started camping again 10 odd years back I was still running a business which meant I was on call 24/7. Chose a campground near public transport in case I needed to return to the city solo and ensured there was good tower service nearby (well at least for Verizon; took AT+T 3 summers to install a tower but I've access to service from both of them). Allowed me to sit around the campground and conduct business just like I was sitting in my office for the most part. Think I only had to return home once in all those years. Sometimes technology really is your friend:).

On Call for Work While Camping | Good Sam Community

44 Replies

Eric_Lisa
Explorer II
Oct 24, 2019
goreds2 wrote:
...Anyone else here had to be on call while camping and did it affect your routine?

HAHAHA!! The ONLY time I have had an IT crisis or problem is when I am out camping. Never fails. It is like there is some AI on the server waiting for me to set an OOTO message, at which point a failure promptly ensues.

I remember one weekend in particular chewing up hours of camping time with InfoSec because a well-meaning (but unknowning) insider reported some of my infrastructure as being in violation. InfoSec's first reaction is to disconnect. Several hours and many VP level calls later, they reconnected after realizing the infrastructure was not in violation.

Ultimately the proper answer is to document and share authority so backup personnel can cover during an OOTO. That only makes sense for business continuity. If I get hit by a Mac truck, there should be someone else able to access the resources I maintain and can take over in my absence. I should not be so important that the business cannot run without me for a few days.

-Eric
rhagfo
Explorer III
Oct 23, 2019
rhagfo wrote:
While currently doing retirement preview Hosting and working from campsite. I have three options, park DSL, slow and unreliable, Hot spot on work phone, works OK, and AT&T Bar card direct USB cellular card. All work and never give it a second thought.

Well that was August of 2016, I have been retired since June of 2017, don’t miss “On Call” once the internet was really up and good remote applications were the norm I once talked a store clerk through editing a binary file so she could close her store. Otherwise I would have needed to drive two hours to do it in person. While doing early troubleshooting to verify the issue, she was calm and followed directions very well. I figured it was low risk as she gave great feedback, had her open the file using an editor then did a search to find the bit that needed changing, had her change it save the file, then close the system.
I told my boss the next morning and she almost had a cow!
MNGeeks61
Explorer
Oct 23, 2019
goreds2 wrote:
whjco wrote:
Yes. I'm also in the IT business. As long as my hotspot can connect, I haven't had any problems in doing any remote support work. The worst part has been the intrusion on a relaxing vacation! :)

I got called a couple times while camping this weekend. Was not too bad. I probably had to do an hours worth of work.

I work in IT as well, doing level 2 support (currently remote mostly) and all our EU's also are remote with some having the ability to go into an office. It's one of the reasons we slowed down and went to a seasonal campsite with DSL...our wifi hotspot in some areas just wasn't going to cut it. Thankfully they changed the support model about 3 years ago so I am no longer on the "on call rotation".
Horsedoc
Explorer II
Oct 22, 2019
" Anyone else here had to be on call while camping and did it affect your routine?"

In another life, I had on-call every third week and in the event of a major crime I was called regardless. We didn't have the ability to go camping unless it was a spontaneous 'let's go to the mountains' thing. Even then I was subject to "get back to the office ASAP".
Miserable existence when the phone rings at 2AM and you know someone is having a much worse day than you are about to have. I got out early before the ole ticker quit on me. Never looked back. Worked P/T, taking only jobs I wanted to do and none that involved dead bodies or people bleeding. ;) ;)
goreds2
Explorer
Oct 22, 2019
whjco wrote:
Yes. I'm also in the IT business. As long as my hotspot can connect, I haven't had any problems in doing any remote support work. The worst part has been the intrusion on a relaxing vacation! :)

I got called a couple times while camping this weekend. Was not too bad. I probably had to do an hours worth of work.
PastorCharlie
Explorer
Aug 23, 2019
Interesting reading....Are any of you Roadside Service Dispatchers working on the fly? :)
whjco
Explorer
Aug 22, 2019
Yes. I'm also in the IT business. As long as my hotspot can connect, I haven't had any problems in doing any remote support work. The worst part has been the intrusion on a relaxing vacation! :)
philh
Explorer II
Aug 22, 2019
I can work from home most days... when away from the office, i generally have three internet sources, home or park wifi, work cell hotspot, and personal phone hotspot. I've never been in a spot where all three were inop.
goreds2
Explorer
Aug 22, 2019
Work has supplied me a WiFi hot spot as we know how unreliable campground internet is.
ppine
Explorer II
Jul 02, 2018
You either get used to it or pay the psychic cost of carrying the dread around with you. Most people get used to it. I remember being on a fly fishing trip with a friend a long time ago. A friend was wading a river when he got a cell phone call. He was able to solve the problem while standing in the river. That was something new.

I was in a bad mule wreck some years ago. It required some power tools to put my femur back together. My doctor was supposed to be on vacation, but he showed up at 0300 for the surgery. I just wrote him and thanked him again after 11 years.