Should I take this job?

So here's my story...I've been in IT for the last 10 years working a series of desktop support jobs and finally landing at my current job as the sole IT guy at a medium sized business of about 200 employees. Being the only IT person, there really is no where to go with my current company. I was approached out of the blue from a larger company with a great reputation looking for a help desk support person. They are willing to pay me the same pay that I receive now. Having been in IT for 10 years, I really don't want to take a help desk support position, but this other company has a huge IT department and there is an enormous opportunity to move up. I am considering taking it, but am second guessing myself, as I don't want to ruin my career. Does it make sense to take a position that pays the same, but is a step down in title just for the potential to move higher up down the road? This company is a giant in my local community and is a respected place to work and the higher ups in IT make great money. I just don't want to pass up an opportunity to get my foot in the door.

Has anyone else ever been in this situation? If so, how did it work out?

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Comments

networker050184

If you have aspirations to go above help desk it's probably not a good idea career wise.

BradleyHU

networker050184 wrote: »

If you have aspirations to go above help desk it's probably not a good idea career wise.

basically...

cowill

Being the man vs being paid is pretty much what this comes down to...

At the medium sized business...you are it.....thats that......you are the go to guy for all things technical.....that can also back fire on you depending on the culture ..

the bigger companies pay more...but you sometimes have to really do a lot to standout and move up....

While theres a lot left out in this scenario, Im actually going to against the grain here in this thread......and say go to the help desk job.....theres growth at that company.....you go sit there for a year and look for other positions in the company......get certed up...etc..where as if you sit at the other place...you are never going to be anything other than the man.....or be the man that "isnt the man"....sure you may be able to go to another company....but theres too much that can go wrong in being "the man".....

iBrokeIT

elusiveprey wrote: »

Being the only IT person, there really is no where to go with my current company.... I really don't want to take a help desk support position...

Stay where you are at, prove you can handle that level of responsibility, update your linkedin and resume to reflect those responsibilities.

Reply back to the recruiter that you are interested in working for the company but in a more advanced and challenging role. Ask them if anything beyond the helpdesk is open.

You would be giving up career advancement for the same pay... makes no sense to me and seems very short sighted.

systemstech

It really depends on the growth potential. Where you are, you are doing everything, but there is literally 0 percent growth.

LeisureSuitLarry

Given your current position, you should be able to find something at a larger company better than help desk. I wouldn't take that job. There's a lot less job security in help desk, and your career may end up at the mercy of an idiot manager who only wants you to reduce the time you spend on the phone for each call.

elusiveprey

That was my thought systemstech. I have no growth potential where I am at. If I can make the same money at another company (even if it's the bottom wrung of the ladder) and move up, then I would be eventually be in a better position than I am now. Anyways, I haven't made a decision just yet. Lot's to thing about.

nascar_paul

I can understand your frustration, but I throw my hat in on the side suggesting that you continue looking to move upward. I Think that we're losing sight of what it is you really want ultimately. Think of it in these terms: moving to the new job and attempting to move up could potentially LONGER than simply sharpening your resume, updating your linkedin account and hitting the online sites looking for a more appropriate role in a larger organization with improved upward potential.

I think that keeping your resume and online profile and job site accounts reasonably current are something that every professional should do anyway. IMHO, you should start strengthening your online presence and bring your search tools and resume up to date. It looks a lot stronger for you to say in an interview that you're interested in a more advanced and challenging role then you'd like to get back to what you've done before. Either way, best of luck and let us all know what you decide!

kiki162

I wouldn't take the job, since you don't want to do help desk work anymore. I'd look at making yourself a bit more marketable so you get the type of job you want first. So if you want to get into say an SA role, then work on obtaining a few certs in the meantime.

However on the flip side, if this new company has a lot of room for growth, hate your current job that much, and are willing to kick butt in order to move up that ladder, then go for it.

Regardless of what you do, the faster you put in the work to move up, the faster you'll get a new job. That simple.

NetworkNewb

I'd recommend not doing it based of my experience of going to a very large corporate help desk. A few years back, I got offered an opportunity to work at one of these companies. I was pretty excited, huge company... great reputation...

First, it was pretty much a call center. Which can be stressful on busy days. Second, you don't get very much access to do anything interesting. I pretty much sat a computer all day, remoted into people's computers and solved software issues on their individual computers. Alot of password resets, program installs, "why is my computer running slow", "why can't I connect to the internet", "why won't won't my program work", "how do I do something"... Just a lot of small help desk issues.

Also, the company almost strictly promotes people based of how long a person works there. Was very frustrating to see that. Was the primary reason I left the company after only 1 year. Would've taken forever to get far there.

I now work at a small company where I'm pretty much the whole IT department. I do have an IT manager, but I couldn't even tell you what he does all day. Pretty sure he works our proprietary application we use here while I do everything else. But I recommend holding out and getting more experience (maybe more certs since you it sounds like you've been there awhile already) until you can get a higher up position at a bigger company. That is my plan at least! Stay away from the help desk!

thenjduke

networker050184 wrote: »

If you have aspirations to go above help desk it's probably not a good idea career wise.

Agreed...