Second Chance... Back on the Help Desk

So I recently returned to the board.... and I am glad I have a second chance at getting my IT career off the ground.... I recently spent the last 6months driving people around for nothing while they made money and I made zero. (stupid I know) I allowed my sec+ expire... But I plan on taking the CASP instead of getting another Sec+. I recently moved to Richmond VA Chesterfield VA area and I live with my best friend since we were 3yrs old.... a much better environment to be in.
Im grateful for another chance at IT work and Im glad I made it through those bad months.... Here's to good things ahead!!!

Was there ever a time in your life that you had to start over, or you had a second chance??? How did you handle it? and What did you do differently?

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SpetsRepair

ITSpectre wrote: »

Was there ever a time in your life that you had to start over, or you had a second chance??? How did you handle it? and What did you do differently?

Yea, that can happen at any time. It isn't a really big deal to restart after some time off, put in the work, start studying, and take your job seriously.

Congrats, I also had my share of heart break with IT years ago, one day you get out of help desk and things do change. Use your time and keep advancing, frankly I also have to be honest and try to focus on enjoying your time more than just working and studying. Plan your next few months/years out and go from there. Don't forget to have fun while you are at it.

EANx

Life is made of ups and downs. It's hard to appreciate the good unless you can compare it to the bad. Knowing what you need to do is different from being motivated to do it. Are you motivated?

ITSpectre

EANx wrote: »

Life is made of ups and downs. It's hard to appreciate the good unless you can compare it to the bad. Knowing what you need to do is different from being motivated to do it. Are you motivated?

Honestly Im VERY motivated.... Im glad I have another shot... I will admit I didnt take the first time around seriously.... Im not making the same mistake twice. Im studying during downtime.... I bring a notebook with me to work to take notes between calls... and Im taking everything serious.

ITSpectre

SpetsRepair wrote: »

Yea, that can happen at any time. It isn't a really big deal to restart after some time off, put in the work, start studying, and take your job seriously.

Congrats, I also had my share of heart break with IT years ago, one day you get out of help desk and things do change. Use your time and keep advancing, frankly I also have to be honest and try to focus on enjoying your time more than just working and studying. Plan your next few months/years out and go from there. Don't forget to have fun while you are at it.

Thanks. those are very wise words. One thing I do know, you get out what you put into it. So if I don't put anything into my IT work, I will never get anything out. Every day I plan to strive to put something into my career. learning, studying for a cert, or just refreshing my knowledge.

CryptoQue

Glad you're staying inspired and have the perseverance to get back into IT. The Chesterfield/Richmond-metro area is a good place to get a solid IT foundation under your feet. The majority of the state HQ agencies, big banks, and IT consulting firms are located downtown. There's also a lot of local IT networking events. Good luck!

ITSpectre

CryptoQue wrote: »

Glad you're staying inspired and have the perseverance to get back into IT. The Chesterfield/Richmond-metro area is a good place to get a solid IT foundation under your feet. The majority of the state HQ agencies, big banks, and IT consulting firms are located downtown. There's also a lot of local IT networking events. Good luck!

Thanks!

Chev Chellios

You sound like you deserve this chance and will work hard to progress, good luck dude!

ITSpectre

Chev Chellios wrote: »

You sound like you deserve this chance and will work hard to progress, good luck dude!

Thanks.... I'm going to work very hard to progress.... Im studying for my eJPT now. In my downtime and spare time

Welly_59

Can I ask, what happened first time around?

Params7

Congrats dude. Its good to see some people actually excited for their job in help desk as it is undoubtedly a great way to learn about technologies before specializing. Plus it will help build your social skills in professional settings which is a must whether you are an advanced server admin, network engineer or database specialist. Learn and have fun.

ITSpectre

Welly_59 wrote: »

Can I ask, what happened first time around?

Long story short I was on a year contract and it ended... didn't have another job lined up... same thing happened with the next contract I got. It was a 3 Month job and didn't have another job lined up. So I got into consulting part time and did that while I was between jobs just to fill in the gaps. I didn't do any learning between contracts or in my downtime. I really did not take things seriously and depended on my sec+ cert too much and didn't pursue any higher level certifications.
Now I am working on a year contract on a Help Desk.... so Im going to bust my butt and learn and grow within the company im working for.

Chevel

ITSpectre wrote: »

Long story short I was on a year contract and it ended... didn't have another job lined up... same thing happened with the next contract I got. It was a 3 Month job and didn't have another job lined up. So I got into consulting part time and did that while I was between jobs just to fill in the gaps. I didn't do any learning between contracts or in my downtime. I really did not take things seriously and depended on my sec+ cert too much and didn't pursue any higher level certifications.
Now I am working on a year contract on a Help Desk.... so Im going to bust my butt and learn and grow within the company im working for.

Sorry to hear that man, coming up on my third lay off if I can't find anything. Glad you got a second chance hope things work out well for you.

ITSpectre

Chevel wrote: »

Sorry to hear that man, coming up on my third lay off if I can't find anything. Glad you got a second chance hope things work out well for you.

Thanks! im confident everything is going to work out

SweenMachine

ITSpectre wrote: »

Thanks! im confident everything is going to work out

Second chances in IT? Of course! Back on the help desk? Don't sweat it! Opportunities present themselves in strange ways sometimes.

I had a nice, long tenure at a large help desk. Over 7 years. I didn't work very hard, I had a good time drinking and hanging out with coworkers and I saw a LOT of Cubs games (worked a third shift so I would head to Wrigley during the day)

Then all of a sudden, that crumbled because they outsourced the desk.

After 6 months of looking for work, doing odds and ends to get by, I took a help desk job at an MSP for 20k less than I made at the previous gig. I decided I would maximize any chances I got. I worked a little harder, I signed up for TechExams.Net forums, I started learning things, learning the market, getting relevant certifications, moving up.

4 years later, I am Director of Support Services and a member of the executive team for a now double in sized MSP (just shy of 100 employees) - I have 16 direct reports, and feel empowered in my career and my life. Just had my first daughter, bought my first new car. Got married, bought my first home.

All because I was toiling on a help desk, got laid off, and had to start over.

Best of luck to you!

-scott

Press ANY Key

Welcome back ITSpectre. Thanks for sharing your story.

The IT field can be a bumpy road. I was laid off from my systems/networks position several years ago. I had a tough time finding a job after that. During that time, I was so frustrated that I seriously considered leaving IT and driving a truck to make a living. I also got an email from a recruiter asking me if I wanted to work in Afghanistan. I seriously considered it but I put that idea on hold for later.

Thankfully, I was picked for a contract almost four months later. The big lesson I learned from that experience was to be humble and plan for a rainy day. Rainy days WILL happen. I am now making more than I have ever made before. I enjoy the opportunities that I have but I also live a frugal life...for good reason.

scaredoftests

It is also learn other aspects of IT so you don't paint yourself in a corner and limit yourself to just one position.
Anyway, congrats ITSpectre!