I Have Some Difficult Decisions Ahead

bugzy3188

I am currently working as a AssociateTechnical Analyst (helpdesk) at a medium sized company. I don't have very manynegative things to say about my current job, I get paid on the higher end ofthe HD range, bennefits, relaxed work environment, know most people by name,and other perks that come with working for a big company with a small companymantra. With all of that said, there is limited room for growth in thiscompany, there is room for one more on the network/server admin team and I amquite certain that I am not next in line. I came in to this job just under ayear ago with hopes that I would be exposed to networking and network equipment(I was told this prior to being hired) and I just havent seen it, yeah I havebeen given access to run show commands and have been tasked with coming up withsome network documentation, but I'm just not getting the hands on experiencethat I need.

I now have 2 potential opportunities on the table:

• Opportunity A is with a company about half the size (financially anyway) of the one I work for, much much smaller than that in terms of employees. I gave them a figure that is about %20 more than what I make now and they seemed open to it. The position itself appears to be a one man JOAT position, they really want someone to come in and handle help desk calls as well as manage the network. I like the thought of the pay increase but this place feels like a possible step back for me, they have a mixed environment, no VPN, "some Cisco gear mixed in with other stuff". This is a budding company, I could tell by the abundance of branding within the building, the new "hip" vibe, and from the things that the interviewers were telling me. Part of me wonders if this could be an opportunity to get in on the first floor and help this company grow by utilizing and honing my skills for network management/support. With that said I really want to focus on networking, that is what I want to do plain and simple, I am not saying that I don't need the other skills but I really want to move in that direction at this point.

• Opportunity B is with a very large ISP at a NOC, this would be a strictly networking role supporting businesses using the various managed services that said ISP provides. This job would be right in the trenches of what I want to be doing. The downsides to this job do add up though, I become "a number", I would be leaving a full time position for contract to hire, starting pay is actually $.19 less than what I make now, much more strict from what I hear on time off, direct customer support, overnight, I am not sure how much support I would be doing initially as opposed to creating tickets and handing them off. These are just a few of my concerns regarding this position, with all of that said though, this is the one that excites me the most, I would be getting consistent hands on networking experience, which is really hard to come by for the non-experienced, allbeit somewhat educated networker, you know, that whole catch 22 thing that everyone keeps talking about.

Obviously my third option here is just to stay where I am and ride it out, my manager does make efforts to get me face time with our networking equipment, but our environment just doesn't have a place for someone of my experience level. My questions here would be, has anyone had experience working at an ISP NOC focused on managed services? What were your experiences? Did you get the experience that you needed to move up in your career? Any feedback would be appreciated.

iBrokeIT

Make the jump to Opportunity B. It's clear that you want to advance your career and a solid opportunity to do so is knocking.

Go into it with the goal of soaking up all you can while advancing your skill set so you can make another jump with a better rounded compensation package.

NetworkNewb

Option B sounds like a good position, I could never do overnight. But if you can, it sounds like a better opportunity for you.

I don't know if opportunity A even sounds like that good of position. Being the only tech guy there you'll be doing a lot of small issues and guessing you won't be spending much time working towards your networking goal.

techfiend

Job B had brutal hours last I checked, is it still 80 hours in 8 days? That said if you can do it, go for it. They are becoming a major player in the area.

Being the only IT staff in the company is kind of stressful but it can be great experience early on in your career as it gives you a very broad range to put on your resume as experience to move on to what you really want. I wouldn't spend much time thinking about where the company is going, unless it's an IT company, it's unlikely there's a solid career there. Get the experience you are looking for and move on, that's the IT field these days.

BlackBeret

Opportunity A sounds amazing in my opinion. If it's a growing company that means unlimited growth, you still get the first name basis with everyone else, better pay, and you get your hands on everything. If you only want to do networking, work your way up to CCIE, etc. then go with B. If you want to learn a lot, trial by fire at times, and grow with everything go with A.

Of course that's just how I see it. In my experience jobs are never the same on paper as they are in person. I'm curious as to why you consider A a step back. It's more stuff than you're used to dealing with and a pay increase. Seems a step up from help desk.

alias454

Go with B and give me the contact details for A . Seriously, A sounds like a better opportunity to me but then again, I like challenges. The things you list as possible shortcomings for opportunity A, look like a diamond in the rough to me. However, one thing to be wary of is a skimpy IT budget.

Regards,