Job searching predicament

Ben1373

Hi guys, so I'm 18 and am looking for a new job at the moment. I went for an interview at a local law firm, they seemed to like me and invited me back for a second interview. That went great and looking promising. But today, I went for an interview for a contract role. They are both service desk roles. The contract role is for the local government where I live, so it's basically 7 service desk members supporting 6.6k users. They told me that they do a lot of 2nd line management on service desk and it seems a lot more technical than any other service desk, however it is only a few month FTC. The job at the law firm is a permanent role. IF I get offered both jobs, what do you think I should choose? A contract role where I'd probably learn quite a lot technical wise. Or a permanent role at a much smaller service desk, where it wouldn't be perhaps as technical as the contract role? What should I do? Thx

TheFORCE

Go for the permanent role, you will be able to learn at a steady pace with less users to support. At the bigger government role you wont be solving as many technical problems as you think, you will be probably pushing tickets you cant solve to a higher tier. Organizations like that also have limits on the time you spend to fix a problem, often times at max 10-15 minutes. At the permanent role you will grow your skills at a good pace and absorb knowledge better without the burn out.

DatabaseHead

Agree with TheFORCE 100%

PCTechLinc

Yep, definitely go for the permanent gig.

bjpeter

The permanent job sounds good to me too. I'd take that instead of the contract job.

EANx

All else being close, permanent usually wins out over contract. A perm employer is also more likely to send you to classes as well as have benefits like tuition reimbursement if you decide to go to college. I'd also disagree that the law firm wouldn't be as technical, I think you're more likely to have the opportunity to get involved with bigger stuff after you get used to the place.

Danielm7

Hard to know without knowing the real environments there. Being 18 you have more risk tolerance than you'll probably have in the rest of your life, if you really think you'll learn more I'd look into the contract role. The couple people that I've know that have worked in law firms have had really bad experiences so I'm letting that influence my suggestions against that as well. I'd want more details on the contract too, like if it's 2 months helping upgrade some systems then I'd totally skip it.

Cisco Inferno

You are young and do not have to worry about feeding more mouths than your own. I would choose contract roles right now for the experience. If you are cut short either from sucking or budgets, your entire world won't crumble as you can spend a few weeks in between jobs.

I will let you know that supporting a brokerage or law firm or any other hotshot firm like that has its drawbacks. For starters, there's no respect for you. You are just a liability as your computers and the downtime get in the way of the guys bringing in thousands of dollars. Also, it sucks being the only tech on site. No room for promotion, nor recognition. I started my IT career at a brokerage firm on Wall Street so I speak from experience.

the government job actually sounds like you would get support from your peers and recognition which could mean quicker promotions if you do well. Of course you'll escalate bigger issues up, but that comes with the environment. Learn what you can for the time being, even volunteer with seniors and pick their brains. You'll be exposed to way more issues than the law firm and have people to teach you and talk tech with you. A government infrastructure with that many users really opens up your eyes. It's no easy feat to operate. You will be exposed to how a real enterprise operates. This will allow you to take interest in the different subsets of IT. A small firm may let you grow some skills slowly, but it is very limited like any mom and pop 1 admin shop.

youre young. Jump into the deep end and take that risk. If you really suck just leave it off your resume.

lastly, it's contract to hire. Think of those 3 months as a 3 month long job interview. It really is a probationary period to prove yourself. Don't screw it up.

volfkhat

I've said it before... and i'll say it again,
There's no such thing as a permanent job.


However, i'm apparently the only person who doesn't know what you mean by "it is only a few month FTC".


With that being said,
if this FTC job is only a couple months..... then it's not really a job.
lol

But if you just mean that it's a contract role with an indefinite/unknown duration..... then i would strongly consider it.

Experience is King.

kalimuscle

How big is the law firm? Did you ask them about career progression?


If I were you I would go with the Law firm because its a full time role and its more secure due to this. Who knows after a year or two maybe you could move up within the organization from service desk to something else like a desktop support person or an entry level systems/network administrator.

If not stay there in their Service Desk for 12 to 19 months and then move onto something better if you feel like you are not growing.


I remember starting in IT at the age of 18, I kept at it and year after year I grew and grew and when I was 24 I got my first Senior level Systems Engineer role.


IT is a great field !


Lots of money to make !


Lots of fun to have !


Lots of **** to deal with as well !


But all is well if you love what you do and have a passion for it

Cisco Inferno

I think he meant full time conversion. (FTC) usually after 3 or 6 months.