Some job advice

$bvb379

I got my first IT job on April 27th. A little background....I have a business degree, have played sports my whole life, and am very social. I was never that person who sat on his computer all day, everyday. As of recent, I have been because I am trying to learn as much as I can but I do need proper training and I will get to that in the "cons" section. I was emailed by a guy I know who is a L3 tech support, pretty much a manager, at a hardware based cyber-security company and he said I should apply there. It would most likely be around a 10K raise from where I am right now and it is 10 minutes closer to my house. Also, I don't want to burn bridges or dip out this soon. I voiced my concerns about the short stay I would have if I moved jobs to the person at the cyber security company and he didn't really seemed bothered by it. I also wouldn't really know what to put on my resume except for the job title.

Current Company

Pros:
- The company is small, 15-20 employees so you know everyone and everyone knows you.
- We work on a lot of different issues, mostly windows and anything else the client wants. That being said, I get a lot of hands on experience, it isn't just phone or email support. We use RDP, Logmein, Go To Assist as well as go to client sites.
- The owners and co-workers are great as well.
(Probably more pros but I want to get on with it)
- Gas and oil changes are paid for due to us having to use our own vehicles to drive to client sites.
- We can claim our gas mileage on our taxes....one guy said he got 5K back or something like that.

Cons:
- We operate on a "billed by the hour bases" which means each engineer needs to get "x" amount of hours in order for the company to make money or to justify the engineer being employed here. That being said it is not up to the engineer to get those hours, if something goes wrong, the client calls us, if there are not enough clients, that is not the engineer's responsibility, it is the responsibility of the owners and business development team to handle that. I was told by a guy who has been working here for 4 months that he has not hit his quota yet due to the reasons above. I wouldn't necessarily say this is a "con", but from a business stand-point this has me concerned about the financial stability of the company/the justification for me being here (I am the most recent employee to be hired).
- There is no formal training, procedure, or documentation for how to do anything. It is a "thrown to the wolves scenario" which I was warned about, which is fine, but slightly more difficult for someone without an IT background. The guys who are here that did not come from an IT background are good at explaining things and walking me through scenarios, however this is few and far between because I can't look over their shoulder 24/7. The guys on my team are very technical but don't really have that personable attribute to them, if I have a question about something I am doing, they usually just remote in and blow through it for me which does not help me at all.
- No room for advancement....I believe there are pay raises though.

Potential New Company

Pro:
- Cyber Security Focus
- Potential 10K more than what I am getting now. (The guy already told me the pay range)
- Will cut my total commute time by 20 minutes
- Formal training procedures, knowledge bases, technical documentation, all that good stuff
- Seems to be financially stable from what I have been told
- I will be using Linux as well
- Room for advancement
That is what I know so far

Cons:
Don't know because I don't work there.

This is all I can think of right now, any thoughts would be appreciated.

636-555-3226

Pros seem to win out to me. Put together an ANONYMIZED resume sample and post it here. people help with that stuff all the time here.. My advice is to keep it to a page - name, education, current job stuff you do, last job stuff you do, any skills or hobbies to highlight.

ITSpectre

Honestly when you listed the cons and you said - No room for advancement....I believe there are pay raises though.

That was all I needed to hear right there. I would dip out and go with the new job if you are hired. Right now you are just starting out and its better to be in a secure job then in a unsecure place right now... Also is the cyber security focus going to interest you? With all the pros from the new place they outweigh the pros of the current place. Unless you want to spend all day driving in your car the job you have is not worth it. I did the whole "tech support" role where I drove all the time to client sites and I had to listen to booring conference calls about "time to task" and "first contact resolution". But it seems like you want to go with the other job, because you will be more happy there.

In life I learned one thing from an old best friend... she always told me to "go with your gut because it will never steer you wrong" You have to go with your gut in this situation. Being closer to home and being paid more is a big plus. It cuts down on the wear and tear of your car.

Also with the whole "billed by the hour bases" which means each engineer needs to get "x" amount of hours in order for the company to make money or to justify the engineer being employed here." That would concern me. If I need to have 30-40hrs in order for the company to make money and justify me being employed with them..... thats a bad position to be in. AND people there have not met their quotas.

In the end its really up to you. What do you want to do? Do you want to stay there or go somewhere else?

Also its good to Learn Linux

$bvb379

636-555-3226 wrote: »

Pros seem to win out to me. Put together an ANONYMIZED resume sample and post it here. people help with that stuff all the time here.. My advice is to keep it to a page - name, education, current job stuff you do, last job stuff you do, any skills or hobbies to highlight.

Pros on the potential new company, correct? Or, the current one?

Mow

Doesn't hurt to apply elsewhere and see what's out there, even when you're just starting out. I came up in a "thrown to the wolves" scenario. I would have much preferred a mentor/mentored relationship.

$bvb379

@Mow

This guy is also a friend of the family and he knows about my background, or, lack of. He already said he is willing to train me on the technical stuff when I spoke with him a while back. I originally got the Sec + for this specific job, it just did not end up working out back in October.

Mow

$bvb379 wrote: »

@Mow

This guy is also a friend of the family and he knows about my background, or, lack of. He already said he is willing to train me on the technical stuff when I spoke with him a while back. I originally got the Sec + for this specific job, it just did not end up working out back in October.

"This guy" being in the potentially new position? If so, go for it.

$bvb379

@Mow

Yes, he would be my direct manager. He is not necessarily the hiring manager but he does have some say in who gets hired.

TomkoTech

Seems like a no brainer to me. If security is what you want to be doing, and they are going to pay you the salary of someone who has the experience while teaching you......

Mow

TomkoTech wrote: »

Seems like a no brainer to me. If security is what you want to be doing, and they are going to pay you the salary of someone who has the experience while teaching you......

/thread

ITSpectre

$bvb379 wrote: »

@Mow

This guy is also a friend of the family and he knows about my background, or, lack of. He already said he is willing to train me on the technical stuff when I spoke with him a while back. I originally got the Sec + for this specific job, it just did not end up working out back in October.

Take the job. No use in being somewhere you don't want to be. Take the pay increase and let him train you.

$bvb379

It is not that I don't want to be here, I just have some concerns. It is one of those things where you don't know until you get in.

ITSpectre

$bvb379 wrote: »

It is not that I don't want to be here, I just have some concerns. It is one of those things where you don't know until you get in.

I would take it. I have been in the same boat as you before and I regret NOT taking a better job. I had the choice of going from "tech support" to working a solid 3 month contract with Intuit. I thought it would be better to stick with the tech role because it was IT.... boy was I wrong. They threw me to the wolves, had no structure, management sucked, and then I was let go 4 weeks later. The moral of the story? When life gives you a opening/opportunity to advance TAKE IT! because you may never have this opportunity again....