Roles in IT with minimal stress?

I'm in Help Desk.
Stressful? Sometimes
Well paying? No

I'm looking to specialize--and get off the Help Desk.

What are some roles in IT that have minimal stress but pays well? Or if it's stressful the compensation compensates for it?

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MeanDrunkR2D2

It all comes down to the end clients you support and your company to be honest. One can find a desktop support job low stress if they only support internal clients and they aren't jackasses and treat others with respect. Or you could work for a micromanager who makes your life hell. Any role can be low stress, even helpdesk. But it usually comes down to the company and your end clients. If you support outside customers, you will likely have higher stress.

Sysadmin can be low stress when you work for a company that treats you like a human with a life. But if they are short staffed and you don't get that work/home balance right it can be hell as you never stop working or worrying about a 3am call about something going down. Find what role you want and would enjoy, then find an employer that will give you that balance to enjoy life and work.

cyberguypr

Roles are not intrinsically stressful. Bad bosses and bad practices make them stressful.

scaredoftests

What #cyberguypr said. Bad bosses and practices make jobs stressful. Not having an exercise routine can make things stressful as well. Got to have time to blow off steam. Like for me, having a set schedule reduces stress. No rotating shifts/a good team and a great boss/room to grow.

ThePawofRizzo

All jobs have at least some stress. I've worked at several IT jobs, and they all have stress at times. Working with a good team of people you get along with, who work well, and who have good leadership definitely helps. Having customers and clients that aren't horse's rumps helps.

Some things I've learned that help with the stress:

1. As mentioned earlier, exercise and physical activity.

2. Keep learning so you know your stuff. You can solve problems quickly, which helps resolve stressful situations.

3. Always be ready to find another gig. Meaning in your personally life don't get over extended and have some cash in reserve. Live within your means. Then, when you are in a stressful work environment you will be free-er to speak your mind and address stressful situations.

4. Always keep getting educated, certified, and learning. The more skills you have the easier you can resolve problems, prove yourself worthy on the job which can give you some leverage. And mostly, education generally provides you with more options.

I've worked with too many people over the years who are stuck in a stress-filled job with a horrid manager, and they either can't afford to make a job change, don't have the skills to be marketable anywhere, and have to just sit and eat it.

Mike R

Definitely agree it's usually not the work itself it's the people. I have one of those micromanagement bosses and it makes life total hell. The customers are generally ok, all the stress comes needlessly from up top.

gespenstern

Stress often comes with the pay, unfortunately.

If you insist on avoiding stress then stay out of finance and healthcare industries, where millions of $$$/human lives may depend on your rather mundane IT decisions if you grow out of helpdesk and start working with crucial business solutions.

DatabaseHead

Stress is self induced a lot of times. And of course the boss can influence that greatly.

I like data and programming, however it's stressful for most people. If you enjoy what you do and you are a good fit (aka good at it) that helps mitigate some of the stress. This is what my experiences have led me too.

networker050184

cyberguypr wrote: »

Roles are not intrinsically stressful. Bad bosses and bad practices make them stressful.

That’s what it comes down to. Same role can be extremely stressful or not at all depending on your boss.

nisti2

That will depend on the company and the position. There are one that prefers the work-life balanced and others don't care.

Basic85

Stress can also come down to personal experience and what you feel is stressful. Some people can handle better than others, therefore don't really see the big deal in stressful jobs. For example, a call center IT job where it's known to be very stressful and most only last upto 2 years before they finally kick the bucket (quit/get fired) while others can last more than 2 years. So it all depends on the person as well.

jah8887

networker050184 wrote: »

That’s what it comes down to. Same role can be extremely stressful or not at all depending on your boss.

Agreed 100%. I have a great CIO who treats the IT employees like family and the employees are patient with the IT group since we are small, however the CEO causes the stress with how he rules with a cutthroat attitude and unrealistic deadlines.

greg9891

cyberguypr wrote: »

Roles are not intrinsically stressful. Bad bosses and bad practices make them stressful.

I totally agree with you!

DatabaseHead

NOC is pretty easy. I knew a guy back in the day who would get stoned and monitor alerts, he made about 30 an hour...... Worked 3rd shift for 10 years or so. Guy was bright too, had a CS BS from Missouri S&T.

NetworkingStudent

Panther wrote: »

I'm in Help Desk.
Stressful? Sometimes
Well paying? No

I'm looking to specialize--and get off the Help Desk.

What are some roles in IT that have minimal stress but pays well? Or if it's stressful the compensation compensates for it?

Try to read the hiring manager during the interview. Are they friendly? Does everyone seem like they're in a good mood? Ask what the cultural is like during the interview process.

Regarding the company:
Are they a top 100 companies to work for..? Do they have wellness programs, and what kind of benefits do they have?

At my current role... desktop support. (contract role) Everyone at the entire company is pretty laid back. Sometimes things get crazy, but no one really gets mad at you. Every floor you work on has the values right in your face when you get of the elevator.

I have been told several times from supervisors that I support that they appreciate me. I really don't work with my boss that much, instead I work with another team mate.

You should get a list of Yes and No's. Basically what you're looking for in your next role.

For me the list goes like this

Yes
Supporting AD enviroment
Installing computers
In person support.

Possible:
On Call
Rotating Weekends

No
No working ever weekend
No overnight's

You're next role would possibly be desktop support or a field tech. This would help you get off the help desk. Also, you could look for more advance help desk support roles. Think level 2 or 3... Also, some companies have help desk roles, that actually are more advance than other companies.

FYI-MSP's can be really stressful

Once you get your list of Yes's and No's, then it will be easier find what you want, because you have things narrowed down a bit. I hope this helps

N7Valiant

Everything is stressful, it just depends on the day.

When I'm knee deep testing my MS-DOS script that I'm running as a Powershell script because that's the only way our RMM agent can execute custom scripts as the SYSTEM account, it's fun fun fun fun fun.

When the hotshot of a company needs me to guarantee that Microsoft's Sharepoint will play well with File Explorer, never lose the link again, and needed it done 10 minutes ago, I get a bit salty.

triplea

cyberguypr wrote: »

Roles are not intrinsically stressful. Bad bosses and bad practices make them stressful.

YUP!!!!

Still love the job. But now Im off!

UnixGuy

Count on micro managers to ruin ANY job

futurehendrix

Depends on what gives you stress. For some (me myself and I futurehendrixdirtyspritelegendary), micromanaging by their boss gives them stress while for others, being the one that pushes the buttons that could potentially have effects company wide is the stressful part.

This is from second hand experience but I'd venture to say most junior level analysts or engineers whether in networking, sys admin or security have a pretty good role. It's challenging but having that senior and sometimes seniors ahead of you to help guide you makes it easier.

At least it was for me.

Panther

Thanks everyone! Great responses on handling stress now, and trying to mitigate it in the future.

Seek work life balance
Keep staying educated, so you don't get stuck
Become an expert in your role/field
Management/micro-managers (luckily my management has been good so far)

I started the thread (perhaps venting) because I had to deal with an internal user with an antagonizing attitude. I've dealt with worse, but still it was no fun. I'm almost tempted to submit an anonymous online review on the user. I won't, but it's tempting. I think even customers should be held accountable for their actions. I would be called out or fired if I provided bad customer service.

I think all jobs will have some stress, as others stated. Therefore, my thought is if I'm going to get stressed, I might as well try to get paid well for it, and if I can get paid well for a low-stressed job, even better. Though, I've heard, the higher the pay, and they'll make you earn it.

I know as I specialize and move into roles that can be show stoppers for the company (such as if a network/internet is down) it can be stressful. Though, I think that brings back to the point of education, learning, and becoming experienced/an expert in the role to mitigate the stresses (such as is there a working backup circuit).

Panther

If you're having a bad day, check this out:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jiyMx7rDKAM

I'm glad I don't support external customers.

tjb122982

cyberguypr wrote: »

Roles are not intrinsically stressful. Bad bosses and bad practices make them stressful.

I can vouch for this. My first IT job had a horrible boss and crappy team members. I was always worried when I walked down in the door.

Fast forward 18 months with a new job, great boss, great team members and great internal clients....I love my gig.