Leaving Technical Support

TheOx

Five months ago I left my job working in a mailroom for a job at a large wireless telecom company. I heard that call center jobs can be soul sucking but I didn't realize that it could be that bad. A large number of calls that I take are angry customers complaining about poor cell coverage in their area. It is very draining to talk to unhappy people all day and still try to get them to rate you well in a survey. This is something that I can do nothing about. The hours suck, pay is mediocre but the perks are amazing. They even offer tuition reimbursement but I don't think that I'll be able to stay at the job long enough to finish my degree. I keep hearing that my company has great

What I'm wondering is if there are any low skill technical jobs that would not require me to be on the phone all day. I imagine that dealing with internal employees will be a lot less stressful than customers with a chip on their shoulder. But I would really prefer not to be tethered to a phone all day long.

Are there any non-contract jobs that will pay at or above $32K a year for someone with only an A+ ?

Edit: I'm also in the process of applying CSU Global. So I should have a BS in IT within the next two years.

coreyb80

You should be able to locate a help desk gig w/ just an A+ and some technical aptitude. I would recommend posting your resume on the board some one can critique and help you out. Blessings on the journey.

ImThe0ne

TheOx wrote: »

I imagine that dealing with internal employees will be a lot less stressful than customers with a chip on their shoulder.

This is one of those "catch 22s". In actuality it comes down to the company you would end up working for. Most of the cutthroat companies have strict efficiency goals and metrics, when an employee has an IT issue those metrics get knocked and they don't want to get in trouble, so it ends up being a rough patch there as well. On the other hand, some places are a lot more laid back and have procedures in place for what to do if IT devices or equipment has issues so they aren't all just sitting around.

Point being, it really depends on where you end up.

Personally, at the end of the day I have worked directly with paying customers and directly with internal employees, I will take the latter all day.

si20

TheOx - I think $32,000 is a reasonable ask for someone with an A+. If I was you, i'd begin looking immediately for an IT Technician/IT Support role. You'll pick up skills as you go along and you've clearly had experience in dealing with customers. I loved IT support. I worked as mainly 2nd line but a little bit of 3rd line when required and was there for 5 years.

I know people who have worked as a 2nd/3rd line support technician for 20 years and will do it until they retire. If you decide it's not what you want to do forever, you can take the wealth of experience you get from it and move onto something new. That's my 2 cents.