Need advice, becoming stale and seeing no growth avenue

Shike

Greetings,

I know this may be odd, but I'm hoping for some advice on where I should consider my efforts as I try expanding my career.

Background:

I have a four year degree that can best be described as emphasis in InfoSEC. The courses detailed much of the entry certifications in server, networking, forensics, hardware, etc. as well as concepts for later ones in their respective areas.

In relation to certification I have the standard Comptia trifecta (A+, Net+, Sec+) and I also have CNSS 4011-4016

The problem:

I have a job at an organization that primarily deals with healthcare. I got it relatively quick starting with an internship out of college without needing additional certifications. My position mostly deals with provisioning accounts in AD, managing permissions, rare scripting (not officially required), and tier two troubleshooting. I also do provisioning in the healthcare software that we use for which I'm not actually certified. The pay is actually quite good considering the position (~$50K), but there seems to be no level of growth for me inside the company - no increases in salary is a pretty steadfast rule beyond standard cost of living increases annually.

This has unfortunately put me in a position I don't want to be in. I'm in my late twenties, eventually my student loans will become increasingly expensive as they expect significant increases in pay over time to the point where I can't realistically afford them.

So the logical thing to do would be move to another job - but effectively the only thing marketable is provisioning and tier two support effectively as I'm not even certified in one of the primary applications I use. Since there's no effective way for my to increase my core skillsets in this position I'm at a crossroad - one that pretty much means dumping 50% of my experience.

I'm honestly quite flexible and am indifferent to where I go next in terms of the work: admin, networking, virtualization, etc. The problem is being able to keep enough of a salary to stay afloat as I try to increase my pay above what I'm currently making.

If you were in my position, what avenues would you take? Is there a career path that generally offers more rapid development at this time? Where can I gain the experience I need to become valuable again, because right now my work value feels like it's hit rock bottom and then some.

TheFORCE

Shike wrote: »

Greetings,

I know this may be odd, but I'm hoping for some advice on where I should consider my efforts as I try expanding my career.

Background:

I have a four year degree that can best be described as emphasis in InfoSEC. The courses detailed much of the entry certifications in server, networking, forensics, hardware, etc. as well as concepts for later ones in their respective areas.

In relation to certification I have the standard Comptia trifecta (A+, Net+, Sec+) and I also have CNSS 4011-4016

The problem:

I have a job at an organization that primarily deals with healthcare. I got it relatively quick starting with an internship out of college without needing additional certifications. My position mostly deals with provisioning accounts in AD, managing permissions, rare scripting (not officially required), and tier two troubleshooting. I also do provisioning in the healthcare software that we use for which I'm not actually certified. The pay is actually quite good considering the position (~$50K), but there seems to be no level of growth for me inside the company - no increases in salary is a pretty steadfast rule beyond standard cost of living increases annually.

This has unfortunately put me in a position I don't want to be in. I'm in my late twenties, eventually my student loans will become increasingly expensive as they expect significant increases in pay over time to the point where I can't realistically afford them.

So the logical thing to do would be move to another job - but effectively the only thing marketable is provisioning and tier two support effectively as I'm not even certified in one of the primary applications I use. Since there's no effective way for my to increase my core skillsets in this position I'm at a crossroad - one that pretty much means dumping 50% of my experience.

I'm honestly quite flexible and am indifferent to where I go next in terms of the work: admin, networking, virtualization, etc. The problem is being able to keep enough of a salary to stay afloat as I try to increase my pay above what I'm currently making.

If you were in my position, what avenues would you take? Is there a career path that generally offers more rapid development at this time? Where can I gain the experience I need to become valuable again, because right now my work value feels like it's hit rock bottom and then some.

Sometimes sacrificing for the greater good, in this case paying the bills and loans is worth the dissatisfaction at work. If you have been with the same company for so long and need a change however you should look internally for any new positions or ask about job growth. You get far like that. On top of that, it is never wrong to leave a company purely because of income reasons. Your experience is basically a Helpdesk position but don't get discouraged, it is a good experience and your certification combo has good value also. If you start looking you will be able to find a job that pays you more and gives you something to increase your experience. The thing is, you have to start looking and prepare yourself. If you are interested in Infosec you will find plenty of jobs.

bpenn

My situation is nearly identical, with the exception of the degree issue with money. I would take your skills, craft a killer resume, and attempt to find a higher paying position elsewhere. I am in a role where I am stagnant and the only way I can get more money is to get another job.