Jobs in IT that are always busy

ProFamous

Hello, I was just wondering, from your experience, what jobs in IT are always "busy". Right now I am a desktop tech (fixing computers, removing viruses, etc), and quite frankly there is a lot of downtime and the work is relatively repetitive. I like to stay busy and have new challenges, go to meetings, talk to people, have new projects, etc. I would imagine a lot of the manager level roles in IT are busy, but what about entry/mid level.

The reason I ask this is because I am really interested in networking/system administration and enjoy it quite a lot, but I don't want to just be sitting at a desk watching YouTube videos for hours a day. Something like a field tech comes to mind, traveling to different sites and such. Any other ideas? Thanks!

si20

Honestly, I think IT Technician roles are the most "busy". Busy to me, means having a good amount of work to do without being overloaded. My first security analyst role was horrific because we were overloaded. We had 4 people doing the work of 10 people. More often than not, we had 2 people doing the work of 12 people, because 2 of the 4 were new to the team... Just be wary about getting into very busy roles because they quickly become as soul destroying as jobs with absolutely nothing to do. You want a nice balance.

markulous

Like the one guy on here that asked which jobs have the most downtime, the answer is "it depends". It's going to depend more on the environment than the actual role most likely. Any job where you're understaffed is going to be extremely busy. Find something that's on call as a sysadmin maybe?

rsutton

Find a mid-sized MSP and you will be busy.

jamesleecoleman

If you have downtime then I suggest that you create work. Look at what you have and don't have. For example, I documented what switchport, patch port and computer position. Along with the switch the computer is connected to.

We have network connections but we didn't have documentation and so I created that.

Maybe you can learn a skill or work on a project that you think could help the company.

dustervoice

I'm your manager and i'm walking over to your desk right now to have a word with you!!!!! jokes aside like @rsutton said an MSP will keep you very busy.

TechGromit

jamesleecoleman wrote: »

If you have downtime then I suggest that you create work. Look at what you have and don't have. For example, I documented what switchport, patch port and computer position. Along with the switch the computer is connected to.

I agree, when I have downtime I'm studying for my next certification. I firmly believe they are the key to maintaining job security and moving up in my career.

pevangel

MSP/ISP. You'll have zero downtime because you can't bill downtime.

NOC-Ninja

Talk to your boss and ask if you can help the network group if you have a network group in your company.

636-555-3226

Security is always busy.

TheFORCE

People worry about to many pointless things these days. All jobs have downtime and busy time, like others said, it depends on the position and it depends on the company and if you have downtime you should use it and be creative with it. Learn a new software or a learn to do something that was taking you 4 hours to do and figure out how to do it in 2. Use downtime to be proactive and prepare yourself and your environment to anticipate changes.

JoJoCal19

If you have downtime, you're doing it wrong. Use that time to look for ways to help the company that nobody else has done yet. Unless your company is operating at 100% efficiency, there is always something that could be done. Or study for certs or a degree, or other IT skills. Unless you're fully certed up or have a masters done, or know everything there is in IT, there's always something new to learn.

ProFamous

Well I do usually take my downtime and use it effectively - studying for certs or learning something new. I just feel doing that while getting paid is wrong, I am at work and I feel like I should be helping the company effectively in some way.

Sadly, I work in a large public university and am not "allowed" to do that. Bureaucracy and all that.