Data Center vs. Office careers: Pros and Cons

severance26

Hi all,

Once more looking for advice. I currently work in a DC environment for intl banks with about 8 months of experience. I've done cabling on a separate team, and now do hardware support.

Are there any career benefits to working in a data center versus in an office environment? Is there a pay difference?

So far I've noticed that many entry/mid level DC jobs involve poor hours, like rotating shifts/night shifts etc, while office jobs tend to be 9-6.

Would there be any drawbacks to making the switch to an office job?

MeanDrunkR2D2

I wouldn't see any drawbacks. Keep in mind that while a normal day may be 9-6 there may be on call duties or weekend maintenance that would need to be done after normal operating hours. I prefer a normal office environment as the work hours can lead to you actually having a real life and not having to work around weird shifts or hours that a NOC/DC would force you to have.

Legacy User

The reason that DC tech jobs have poor hours because you are the boots on the ground if something breaks in the DC which is most likely something mission critical. When you say office jobs do you mean IT jobs or any office job? Also, do you actually work in the datacenter or in an office/room next to it monitoring in a noc environment?

shochan

severance26 wrote: »

Hi all,

Once more looking for advice. I currently work in a DC environment for intl banks with about 8 months of experience. I've done cabling on a separate team, and now do hardware support.

Are there any career benefits to working in a data center versus in an office environment? Is there a pay difference?

So far I've noticed that many entry/mid level DC jobs involve poor hours, like rotating shifts/night shifts etc, while office jobs tend to be 9-6.

Would there be any drawbacks to making the switch to an office job?

I have never worked in a DataCenter environment of my 17yrs in IT. I have mainly been an "in-field" network engineer bouncing from site to site resolving various issues. However, back in Aug 2015, I decided to retire from "in-field" work due to the constant stress and always on the move (I never knew when I would ever eat lunch or attend a scheduled meeting). Now I am back in the office environment & I have to sit A LOT, which is one negative aspect from what I am used to. While in the DC, is it mainly sitting job too?? OR are you usually working on servers/cabling? Just curious.

Remedymp

severance26 wrote: »

Hi all,

Once more looking for advice. I currently work in a DC environment for intl banks with about 8 months of experience. I've done cabling on a separate team, and now do hardware support.

Are there any career benefits to working in a data center versus in an office environment? Is there a pay difference?

So far I've noticed that many entry/mid level DC jobs involve poor hours, like rotating shifts/night shifts etc, while office jobs tend to be 9-6.

Would there be any drawbacks to making the switch to an office job?

The pay difference is going to be dramatic as the amount of candidates available for the DC is quite low. Usually companies outsource this role out. You can practically set your salary. However, I would definitely keep the credentials up: Cloud+, Network+, Server+, CCNA: Data Center ABCP, CCNA-DC.

It's hard to transition from DC to Office land as the culture is completely different and more android-ish.

In the DC, you're pretty much isolated. In the cube land, you have to assimilate and that could suck big time if you're your own person.