Offered a position at old company. Should I take this?

Hi Techexams,

I recently got my foot in the door with my first IT job doing help desk and it's been great; definitely an interesting position troubleshooting customer issues over the phone. Unfortunately, this isn't the type of work that I am going to school for (which is networking), although I do understand that most networking people start from help desk.

My old company's IT director contacted me recently (because of a referral from my old HR manager!) and told me that they had a new position open for "Field Service Engineer". The job duties of this position entail setting up network infrastructure (switches, firewalls, servers, etc.), but it requires lots of travel to branch locations, work during the weekends, and lots of overtime.

Should I jump on this? Could this possibly be my "big break", my "career starter"? What would you do? I am not married, nor do I have any children, but the only downside of this position would be being away from my girlfriend (we have been together 3 years, own a house together, and have four dogs).

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Comments

NetworkNewb

Sounds like a great opportunity get your hands on networking gear. You don't have a family yet, I would jump on it. It can be tough to get an entry level networking position and you just got one thrown into your lap!

scaredoftests

Yes, go back.

Aldur

The thing about help desk is that it's great for your first IT related job, but you do want to get out of it as soon as possible. However, you don't want your job ruining your personal life either, which is a possibility with all the travel and overtime. Talk with your GF and have a serious discussion about how much time the new job would entail. If she understands that this is your chance to really break into the field and she's ok with the time and travel requirements, then go for it. However, if you do go for the new job make sure you have frequent talks with her about how she's feeling about the situation, it's one thing to have her agree to the new situation, but it's a different thing to have her live through it. Trust me, I speak from experience here.

And dang, four dogs! We have two dogs in our house and they are a handful. We love those dogs like they are fam though.

BlackBeret

I would say go for it, it's definitely a step up and in the right direction. Get the experience and enjoy the overtime, then start looking at something more stable if it becomes a burden.

TeKniques

Yes you should consider this.

psaechao wrote: »

... but the only downside of this position would be being away from my girlfriend (we have been together 3 years, own a house together, and have four dogs).

Sounds like you're locked in. In a couple more years you'll want that alone time

Ultimas

Immediately I think "Why did you leave in the first place?"

If you feel that the reasons you left in the first place won't be present noq then I say go for it, otherwise if I were in your position I wouldn't feel bad about declining.

psaechao

Thanks for the great replies, everyone!

Aldur wrote: »

The thing about help desk is that it's great for your first IT related job, but you do want to get out of it as soon as possible. However, you don't want your job ruining your personal life either, which is a possibility with all the travel and overtime. Talk with your GF and have a serious discussion about how much time the new job would entail. If she understands that this is your chance to really break into the field and she's ok with the time and travel requirements, then go for it. However, if you do go for the new job make sure you have frequent talks with her about how she's feeling about the situation, it's one thing to have her agree to the new situation, but it's a different thing to have her live through it. Trust me, I speak from experience here.

And dang, four dogs! We have two dogs in our house and they are a handful. We love those dogs like they are fam though.

Man, my dogs are my children! I swear they act like humans!

So instead of an "interview", the IT director of my old company asked me to join him for coffee at Starbucks this Saturday so that we can discuss the position. Sounds promising so far!

Ultimas wrote: »

Immediately I think "Why did you leave in the first place?"

If you feel that the reasons you left in the first place won't be present noq then I say go for it, otherwise if I were in your position I wouldn't feel bad about declining.

The reason I left was to start a career in IT. When I was working for that company, I wasn't doing IT. I left the company after 2.5 years because I received a job offer doing help desk.