What's your experience working in IT?

So I got a 2 year degree back in 2010 in info tech and a net+ in 2012 which has since expired. Since then I've worked a number of low paying, stressful, help desk jobs and I could never seem to work my way up and the stress really killed my motivation to self study to get more advanced certs or do a BA in my spare time. My last 2 IT jobs were so stressful I told myself flipping burgers would be better than this, quit, worked a crappy min wage job and hated it so I went back into IT again. Currently I'm working a min wage job selling cell phones and after doing this for a couple months I'm getting the itch to get back into IT again but I don't want to keep repeating the same patterns. I also feel like my credentials are way too outdated now and my only option would be another low paying stressful help desk position.

Networking has always been my forte but when I crack open the CCNA books I get frustrated learning the same stuff over and over again.

What has been your experience working in the IT field? What are some things you learned to do and not to do to get ahead and be successful at it?

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Comments

Fulcrum45

Working for small IT depts gave me a ton of experience because there was no one else to do it. To that end I work on a lot of help desk type tasks but then I'm setting up mail servers and installing firewalls. Look for a small MSP who is willing to let you take on small projects etc. The pay wont be great but then again it doesn't sound like that's anything new. Give them a year and start looking sys admin/ net admin jobs. Just my thoughts.

ITSec14

Hate to tell you this, but most positions after helpdesk only get more stressful...

Queue

Use the motivation and the stress to study certifications/ formal education. Work the job that you don't like to build a resume and show solid work history. It could be IT is not for you everyone has to start somewhere and it takes a lot of effort to move up, and this is without anyone pushing you.

dieox

ITSec14 wrote: »

Hate to tell you this, but most positions after helpdesk only get more stressful...

One of the best points in this thread, the thing with leaving help desk or analyst, if you don't know something you are expected to make mistakes, once you get to high level everyone just looks at you like why do you make mistakes? Any mistake in the higher tiers can bring down critical, critical systems and destroy projects with the wrong information.

I miss help desk, mostly because all you did everyday was learn and talk to clients every day about troubleshooting simple issues, Once you are the highest tier you are expected to figure it out..

Tibs

I wouldn't say I'm successful (yet), but I am setting myself up for future success for sure. Aside of continuing education to get a degree and working towards certs, in order to get out of help desk I took a rather odd entry position... Repairing at a refurbishing facility.

Repairs alone are simple enough, the first month was spent just getting into the groove. But luckily this company is also small enough and was growing quickly. I helped set up the in house server and network system, a new experience for me. They started taking in tablets, cell phones, servers, even game consoles; I helped them figure out and establish processes for all of them, this was a new experience to me. I helped set up a parts database and management system where we could track everything going in and out of systems, I've never done that before. We ran into an issue with certain hard drives not being seen by the wiping software, decided to test drive a Linux OS to wipe those, a few weeks later I had scripted the entire wiping and documenting processes for using that Linux solution, I had never done that before anywhere else. Now they're asking me to script the a diagnostic and imaging process in a windows environment. I've been here a year, and I would say after my first two months I showed them I could do more than repair and ever since then I constantly get hit up to do other projects... I rarely do repairs any longer and my manager has told me that they are considering making a new job title in the company to define what I do for them.

Given, this was a small growing company so I lucked out, especially since I considered myself under-qualified when I started. But the point is, no matter what IT job you take (yes even help desk), find ways to get the company to give you new experience that you can put on a resume. Volunteer for the things you are inexperienced with. Show them you're interested in branching out and learning more. With help desk this can be hard because it is structured work. But if your cell phone gig covers the bills for now, apply to *other* non-help desk entry positions and hold out for it. Refreshing your Net+ or getting the CCNA first will certainly help your chances. Once you're in though, take advantage to learn and grow.

BuhRock

IT has worked out pretty well for me. I got my bachelors in comp science, masters in cyber sec. You can see the certs on the side. I'm 25 and am making 6 figures already. I believe you get what you put into it. My first job out of college was a NOC analyst. I was leveraged for some other contract at the time to do helpdesk type stuff, remotely as well. Now I'm a GS 14 infrastructure lead for the CFOs office of an agency. My point being is you just need to stand out more than the people around you and move up. Stick with it.

dave330i

Recently architected a PoC. $5 mil contract was riding on the success of the PoC. Definitely not as much stress a helpdesk.