Would you take a 6 month network job?

If you were working a full time with benefits help desk job, would you leave it knowing the network gig was only 6 months?

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markulous

That definitely depends on a lot of factors.

What is your ultimate goal? Which job would be more conducive to that path? Does your current job have a lot of room for growth? What is the pay difference? Does this next job have any chance at all at becoming full-time?

Probably more questions but those are the first I thought of.

kriscamaro68

I would also ask yourself if you have any monthly bills that have to be paid? House? Car? Student Loans? If you have these then think long and hard before quitting. If you still live at home with your parents and don't really have bills to worry about and the 6 month gig helps get you to where you want then I would consider it.

puertorico1985

I would take the job only if it will help me out with my future goals, and if you have the finances to be out of work (potentially) after the contract is up. Hope for the best but plan for the worst. Worst case scenario is that you work 6 months, and are then let go, with nothing lined up afterwards.

If it were me, I would skip it simply due to the fact that a 6 month position probably wouldn't help me out much, if at all. I can't imagine a scenario where a future potential employer will look at your resume, and hire you for a network position based on the 6 months you put in on a contract. However, the experience plus a degree/certs will help out greatly.

goldenlight

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! i WOULD have to be unemployed to even consider taken a 6 month gig. There's no way I would leave a secure job for an temp job..

W Stewart

A good friend told me awhile back to take a chance on a contract and I finally listened to him. I just left a full time jr admin job for a 6 month linux admin/consultant job and it's the best move I made since taking a pay cut to get linux experience in the first place. Chances are it'll become full-time for me but if it doesn't, I'm making $35/hr so I'll have plenty saved up in-between jobs. It really depends on where you're at in your career. If you're already an network admin/engineer and it's just a lateral move then obviously it's not a good idea but I'm pretty sure that since you're even asking, this new job has to be offering something that your current job isn't. It's a risk but sometimes you have to take a risk in order to get where you want to be in your career. Just make sure they pay you enough to get by in-between jobs if it doesn't become full-time.

Dieg0M

It depends. At the point you are at in your career I would definitely go for it. Don't make the mistake of not taking any chances and being stuck in the help desk the rest of your career.

YFZblu

Are you looking to advance your career? If so, knowing nothing else about you or your family, I would do it - yes

N2IT

Depends It can lead to additional skill sets etc.

Personally I love project work, I like to roll off projects every so often. I just get bored with operational type work.

roch_greg

As others have pointed out it really depends on you and your situation. 6 months of experience alone in anything isn't going to move the needle much on your cv/resume considering most listings are looking for at least 1-2 years for a given field/technology.

As with what the others have said, leaving a full-time gig for a temp gig is risky. I would see if you can find anything out about the company where you would be working. Specifically on how many people went from temp to full-time hire. We all want to move up but you have to be careful.

Good Luck.

goldenlight

What I don't like about contracts is that they can end at anytime. No notice is required! I would hate to start a gig then suddenly gets canceled because
of company budget concerns. I seen this first hand.

roch_greg

goldenlight wrote: »

What I don't like about contracts is that they can end at anytime. No notice is required! I would hate to start a gig then suddenly gets canceled because
of company budget concerns. I seen this first hand.

I've experienced that too in the past. But they did give us a month or so heads up.

On the other side of the coin, many States regarding employment are "at will" which means even if you are a full-time employee you can be let go "at the will of the employer" for any non-discriminatory reason at any time. That has been on the upswing too in recent years.

Bottom line the only guarantee for holding a job today is that there aren't any guarantee's. Least not today.

Iristheangel

I would take it almost without hesitation. It's exactly what I did 2 years ago which started my networking career. I had a rock-solid stable security job and I jumped ship for 6 month contract in networking. That turned into a FTE position with a 6 figure salary a year later.

The way I see it is if you live in a decent area, have decent social skills, have decent technical skills and have decent experience, you will always be able to find yourself a help desk job but entry level networking jobs that do not require experience are not growing off of trees and this might be your way to get your foot in the door for something that turns into something even better. Maybe the contract ends in 6 months but that's 6 months of networking experience you now have to jump into another networking role.

Yes, there is risk. They could hire you tomorrow and cancel the contract the next day but risk is often the way you make vast leaps forward in your career.

eansdad

Biggest thing to consider is will this move benefit you? Paying the bills and all seem big but in reality when the project is over your going to transition to unemployment so it isn't like you won't have any money coming in. Just plan ahead. If you don't jump at the opportunities when they come along then your going to find yourself 10 years from now doing low level work for job security... Trust me...it sucks.

swellbow

If you're looking to transition into doing network ops full-time, then go for it. If not, I'd stick with what you have. As has been already said, there are a lot of variables here, including the compensation for the new role vs. your current role, your current level of financial security, etc.

However, entry-level positions advertised on a temp basis often transition to full-time once your current contract is up. I would suggest trying to get more background details on the new role so you can figure out whether or not the position would be sustainable in the long term.

coreyb80

I took the gamble as well. I left my job of 6 years for a contractor position of Desktop Support. I was extended 3 times and then hired on as a FTE. Crazy part is that my wife pushed me to take the opportunity as it was my foot in he door for IT as well as her being confident that I would be hired.