Not sure what to do

Ilikecoffee

Hi all bit about me:

• Worked in IT since 2006 in England with a year in NYC working as PMO Analyst
• I have a BSc in Networks/IT and post grad certificate in business administration
• Certs: MCSA W7, MOS 07 MASTER, ITIL Fnd, Prince 2 Fnd, SDI: Service Desk Analyst
• I have had 7 IT jobs working in Schools jack of all trades, an investment bank, a heating company and now local government for 3 years.
• My current job is Service Desk / Desktop support but I have domain admin rights and generally we can do 1st -3rd line
• I have now lost all motivation for IT and my job. There is no career here and its just generally bad! Plus no learning etc. Forced to travel far, cover bad shift and boring people (sit in silence all day) I am bored and am becoming pigeon holed. The money is not great with just enough to cover my mortgage. 25k 30 days leave - benefits are 'goodish'.
• Before you say get another job I have had a few interviews but I am looking at a short sabbatical next year as my GF and myself wish to travel for a few months. My job may allow me to have this.

I want to earn good money, be challenged and develop my career so it doesn't feel like I am contributing nothing to society. Maybe get into management. I am looking to study by building on what I have already and between now - summer next year so I can push my career ahead.

I am not particularly in love with ICT or interested in any one area and I do not want to retrain but I want to future proof and increase earning potential. My area is not great for jobs and I don't want to move. My job may pay for some exams and I have access to pluralsight. What do you recommend?

I was thinking of maybe these: CCENT, MCSA W8, MCSA 2012

tkerber

Well my biggest question is if you've worked in IT for 8 years, how are you still in Service Desk?

Obviously I'd have to look at your resume but you've said that you've been a jack of all trades and worked in several different environments. What exactly were your titles and duties before? I have no idea how the job market is where you live but surely someone with the certifications, degrees, and experience you have could get A LOT higher than Service Desk. And as for your leave-- that's something you'll have to think about.

The certs you listed are good starting points but I wouldn't expect a CCENT to get anyone too excited and an MCSA W8, MCSA 2012 maybe... Give or take I guess. I just think with the little information I know, that you SHOULD be able to land a higher level position right now with your experience and certifications...

Nersesian

Hello there. First of all, I can sympathize with your situation. I myself realized I may be a bit burned out at one point and decided to quit my government contractor gig (75K) and go look for something new. I moved around the country a bit which gave me some perspective on what I wanted and what I needed to get there. For the short term, it sounds like you need the break so start there. Breaks can give you the perspective you need without throwing the baby out with the bath water.

For the medium term, let me distill your post down into a few key points.

-I have now lost all motivation for IT and my job.
-There is no career here and its just generally bad.
-My area is not great for jobs and I don't want to move.

Honestly, I lost whatever drive I once had for technology at a base level several years ago. I knew I needed to make a change but realized I was too far in to make a major career shift at my age. What worked for me was to relocate and then focus on the management side of the house. This provided a barrier between my office and the end user population. I just couldn't deal with people anymore and I realized this was neither a bad nor good thing - it just was. I knocked out my MBA and my job satisfaction is much improved.

-a year in NYC working as PMO Analyst

Was this something you enjoyed? If you wanted to write either the CAPM or PMP, it might get you out of a service desk role without having to go through a traditional school. You're still going to get some profoundly dumb questions, but at least they might be different questions.

Long term:

-CCENT, MCSA W8, MCSA 2012

Look, if you feel like you're done with IT for the moment, these will not help. In fact, I would say they might exacerbate the situation. Consider focusing on a few higher level ITIL certs or a project management cert or two. Sometime I need to break up my study regiment and focus on some non-tech topics just to gain a little perspective. Combined with the vacation, it might allow your brain to relax a little. Once you get some nice fresh additions to your resume, shoot it out to a few recruiters who may be able to give you some options. You don't even have to accept a position, but it helps sometimes knowing that you're wanted. Everyone needs an ego boost sometimes and it sounds like you may be in need of one.