New IT job: Is this normal?

I just got my first non-contract IT job at medium sized company. I was thrilled to get it. What's funny is what I'm actually doing at the job is just testing stuff. Lots of testing, imagining, boxing and unboxing and inventory.

My pay is a dollar or 2 low but I'm just surprised I'm getting paid as much am I to do this. That's what keeping me doing it is how much I'm being paid for such simple work. The part I don't like is that I'm doing tasks any person could easily do and I really want to learn tech skills.

I'm just thinking in my head there must be a plan here on the employer's side it just wouldn't make to sense to pay me 17 an hour otherwise. My newly hired coworkers are making 12/hr so it's just weird how I'm paid so much more for the same job I have the same amount of experience with.

Maybe it's like working in the mailing room at first? Maybe when the 90 days is finished I'll do something worthwhile. Is this normal should I be looking elsewhere for a another job?

I'll know more in another few months but hoping someone else has been in a similar situation and might have advice.

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knownhero

Sounds like help desk. Usually pay high to "keep" people about and probably have high turn over with staff.

With your certs though this might be hard for you to keep focus.

TechGromit

draught wrote: »

I just got my first non-contract IT job at medium sized company. I was thrilled to get it. What's funny is what I'm actually doing at the job is just testing stuff. Lots of testing, imagining, boxing and unboxing and inventory.

Just sounds like busy work to me, the person the will show you your real work is probably swamped right now and doesn't have time to babysit someone to show you the ropes. Rather than have you sit on your butt all day, they are giving you busy work. When I started a job as a government contractor, I didn't even have a computer the first week I worked there, (I couldn't even go to the rest room unescorted) they gave me a pile of documents to read, then after I got a computer, it pretty much just surfed the internet until my interim clearance was approved. I really didn't do any real work for a month and they were playing me 50k a year salary. Be patient, you will get to do some actual computer work soon enough.

hurricane1091

I wouldn't really worry about it. I was hired on the low side for a network engineer (but still way more than I ever made before, like a 17k base increase + annual bonus) and was useless for awhile because I didn't know anything, only had some CompTIA certs + CCNA RS. BS degree, CCNA Security, CCDA, CCNP RS, Sec+ and a bunch more knowledge and experience later and I'm still on the same salary lol. So it went from "I can't believe I get paid X amount" to "I can't believe I only make X amount". It probably evens out in the end is my point. My first IT job was almost 3 years ago to the day. I did nothing but insert a USB stick into a computer, hit next a bunch of times, and the next thing you know the PC runs Windows 7. Literally anyone could have done it and it paid $17/hr + overtime. Ex convicts worked along side me lol. Easiest job of my life.

Spiegel

It is an unfortunate trend. I make $18 at the service desk level and my days consist of resetting passwords, clearing browser cache, verbally walking through setting up security token generating softwares on nurse's and doctor's phones (I have that scripted and have nightmares about it), rebuilding Outlook .OST files, and triaging tickets to real techs. It's funny because when I first got the job I was coming out of doing tech support for a telecom company providing first level residential support to DSL customers with Internet connection issues and the way they presented the service desk position, in comparison to my telecom job, was that it presented as a tier 1 job but that I'd be doing tier 2 work. Learning everything during training was a lot to absorb about the health IT industry but after a few months I quickly realized I was essentially doing the same work I was doing before at the telecom job but with better pay.

At least you have your Cisco certs which will hopefully elevate you to a tech role soon. That's what I'm hoping for my self as well. Everyone I run into that is in a higher tiered tech role at my job pretty much tell me the same story so this is something we all have to experience for a little.

volfkhat

i almost did a Double-take when i read this thread.
lol
(but i see you're in CA; so definitely not my former employer)

I had the same, exact job (boxing, unboxing, imaging, testing, checklist/documenting); except they were paying me 60k.
It was for an IT supplier (i guess when "quality" matters, some places pay more).

I figured they were paying me based on my "potential" (probably the same case as you).
So i gave them 8 months... just to see if it went anywhere.

it didn't... so i left. (and i didn't even have another gig lined up).

Be wary of complacency... it can cost you in the long-term.

DatabaseHead

Sounds like an IMAC position/desk top support.

I would consider holding on to that position for a while to be honest. I know several guys who I used to manage that did the same exact position. They used to laugh about the work etc, but I'll tell you what, a few went on after that position into high level roles.

We started building servers, not just desktops and started working with Altiris deployment console, in fact one of our guys trained with another group and began building images etc.

I'm just saying it can lead to opportunities I have seen it first hand, be patient but continue to grow.

hurricane1091

volfkhat wrote: »

i almost did a Double-take when i read this thread.
lol
(but i see you're in CA; so definitely not my former employer)

I had the same, exact job (boxing, unboxing, imaging, testing, checklist/documenting); except they were paying me 60k.
It was for an IT supplier (i guess when "quality" matters, some places pay more).

I figured they were paying me based on my "potential" (probably the same case as you).
So i gave them 8 months... just to see if it went anywhere.

it didn't... so i left. (and i didn't even have another gig lined up).

Be wary of complacency... it can cost you in the long-term.

You quit a 60k low-key, laid-back, low-stress job without something else lined up? Interesting.

volfkhat

DatabaseHead wrote: »

We started building servers, not just desktops and started working with Altiris deployment console, in fact one of our guys trained with another group and began building images etc.
I'm just saying it can lead to opportunities I have seen it first hand, be patient but continue to grow.

Yep, 100% agreed :]
Always give a place a chance... you never know what can happen. Besides, you can always work on other certifications, etc (in the meantime).

hurricane1091 wrote: »

You quit a 60k low-key, laid-back, low-stress job without something else lined up? Interesting.

Well, in all honesty, it was the beginning of Summer :]
lol

Nonetheless,
I gave them 8 months to make their case. And during that time, i completed my CCNA (and a few microsoft MVA courses).
By the time the summer came around... i had to make an decision,

Always Forward.

draught

This thread has made me feel a bit better. I was shocked that I'm mostly doing basically warehouse work but I've just accepted at this point it's worth it for what I'm being paid. I will hope there is going to be growth in the next 3 months. I'm not an network engineer just an IT Field Technician. I'm not sure that kind of upward mobility will be possible but who knows.

My plan with this job anyway was to keep building the resume and finish my B.S and at that point go for a Networking role. I just wish there was more downtime...

hurricane1091 wrote: »

I did nothing but insert a USB stick into a computer, hit next a bunch of times, and the next thing you know the PC runs Windows 7. Literally anyone could have done it and it paid $17/hr + overtime. Ex convicts worked along side me lol. Easiest job of my life.

Yeah, one of the techs was even talking about how he failed his background check and couldn't work for a certain client.

volfkhat wrote: »

i almost did a Double-take when i read this thread.
lol
(but i see you're in CA; so definitely not my former employer)

I had the same, exact job (boxing, unboxing, imaging, testing, checklist/documenting); except they were paying me 60k.
It was for an IT supplier (i guess when "quality" matters, some places pay more).

I figured they were paying me based on my "potential" (probably the same case as you).
So i gave them 8 months... just to see if it went anywhere.

it didn't... so i left. (and i didn't even have another gig lined up).

Be wary of complacency... it can cost you in the long-term.

Yeah, the plan is 3 - 6 months and if the position isn't growing by then I'll look elsewhere but unlike you I don't have the cash reserves to be out of work so I'll I'd keep my current position and find a new one.

IMAC though I love that. Warehouse package work no call it IMAC. I am an IMAC specialist!

volfkhat

draught wrote: »

My plan with this job anyway was to keep building the resume and finish my B.S and at that point go for a Networking role. I just wish there was more downtime...

Yeah, the plan is 3 - 6 months and if the position isn't growing by then I'll look elsewhere but unlike you I don't have the cash reserves to be out of work so I'll I'd keep my current position and find a new one.

lol
Yaw, quitting your job with ZERO in the bank is definitely Not a great idea.
I guess i was just giving a personal example of "keeping your eyes on the prize".

With the summer off, i was able to relax, recoup, study, travel, and also have the time to search/apply for better jobs. It definitely paid off; i was able to land a gig working at a NOC.
The work is kinda a grind... but at least i'm occasionally learning new things.

How many more months/semesters until you get your degree?
If you think you want to be a Network Engineer one day... keep your eye out for NOC positions (assuming your current gig doesn't work out).

draught

I'm working on my B.S IT at WGU so it goes in terms but in 2 terms or around september I'll be done.

Moon Child

draught wrote: »

I just got my first non-contract IT job at medium sized company. I was thrilled to get it. What's funny is what I'm actually doing at the job is just testing stuff. Lots of testing, imagining, boxing and unboxing and inventory.

My pay is a dollar or 2 low but I'm just surprised I'm getting paid as much am I to do this. That's what keeping me doing it is how much I'm being paid for such simple work. The part I don't like is that I'm doing tasks any person could easily do and I really want to learn tech skills.

I'm just thinking in my head there must be a plan here on the employer's side it just wouldn't make to sense to pay me 17 an hour otherwise. My newly hired coworkers are making 12/hr so it's just weird how I'm paid so much more for the same job I have the same amount of experience with.

Maybe it's like working in the mailing room at first? Maybe when the 90 days is finished I'll do something worthwhile. Is this normal should I be looking elsewhere for a another job?

I'll know more in another few months but hoping someone else has been in a similar situation and might have advice.

Wow I would of wished my first IT job was that easy. I had the opposite experience. I started out as an entry level PHP programmer and later did computer repair work for like $10/hr and they threw me into a sink or swim scernaio doing PHP, AJAX, Perl, Java, SQL, Linux Administration on like day one. I was constantly asking questions and taking code home with me and coding till like 2am in the morning. Annoyed a lot of programmers was constantly asking a lot of questions, but learned a lot in a very short time.

I also did pc repair work and I discovered the hard way that this was going to be a lot harder than the A+ exam, again at same company they pretty much threw me in a sink or swim situation. Here is this printer none of the other techs can fix it, you figure it out. Here is this phone fix it, here is this server fix it, fix this apple ipod, fix this tabletop. Got no training how to fix anything and this was way beyond A+. So I had to learn the hard way on my own and picking up whatever book I could find. Went home swamped with work every night, but I learned a lot about programming and repairing all kinds of devices in a very short time.