Lost in IT Career path

keeranbri

Hello everyone

I need help or some kind of IT Boost. I have been working for a large hospital as Help desk analyst for the last 5 years. Around 9-10 years ago, I received my bachelor degree in technical management that was useless for me because I don't even like to supervise or manage people. I currently do not have any certificates and have procrastinated the last couple years that I will move up, get certification but never do. I have passed opportunities up where my manager would email our team that there is an open position on another team as an application analyst or some other IT higher then help desk. I regret it that I never taken the plunge or initiative to try. You know y? Because I work remotely from home permanently and I feel that I do want to loose that perk because it works out alot with my wife and kids schedule. I pretty much got to used to it at home but in the back of mind I don't want to be stuck all my life doing help desk from home. Has anyone ran into this same situation? I don't know what to do.. what Certificate should I start studying for? Microsoft, Cisco. Security? I'm lost...

EANx

So your TL;DR is: 5 years in help desk, no certs and don't apply when there are openings on other teams because I'm afraid I won't be able to work from home.

I think the baby elephant in the room is the working from home. You state that it works well with your wife but are you also using that as an excuse? What salary point does working from home became "I'll work on-site". I think the adult elephant in the room is lack of investing in yourself over five years. You're in a comfortable spot but what's your plan if you get laid off?

To answer your question, I think you need to shore up the basics. You're doing remote "deskside" assistance so A+ and Net+ seem appropriate. After that, it's all about the direction you want to take your career. This is something you need to think hard about and talk about with your wife. Figure out your goal and charge at it. If you're making 40k and want to make 150k and have a plan, you might have someone willing to help you get there.

Jon_Cisco

It think it all starts with what you actually want to be doing. If you have been on helpdesk for five years you should have an idea about what you do and do not like. Follow one of your interests while your still on helpdesk.

mikey88

Read this thread asap: http://www.techexams.net/forums/jobs-degrees/119817-career-job-advice-observations.html

You need to move on from helpdesk asap before you are labeled as a career helpdesk guy.

gespenstern

Doesn't matter much what certs to choose first. After you get it going you'll be knocking them out one by one. The problem is to get it going. How?

Get time devoted to this. Where exactly are you wasting loads of your time now? Vidya? Netflix? Partying? All of this is a waste of time that gets you nowhere.

Cancel netflix. Delete all the vidya, sell the consoles and games or give out to distant relatives. Cutting off ties with friends could be tough, so as a first step you may want to limit it to just 1 day a week.

Then spend all of this free time studying and practicing.

But, on the other hand, the life of an overachiever isn't exactly easy or fun if you don't find it entertaining in its own way. It could be the case that working for a single employer for whole life in helpdesk playing vidya 8 hours per day is a better way to live one's life for some. Different strokes for different folks.

One thing is certain though, if you want to make good monies in the future, you have to start advancing yourself at some point.

UnixGuy

What would you do if you get laid off now? no certs & no experience, it won't be a good position to be in.

SaltyHashes

Hello fellow DeVry University grad. Also have a BSTM degree. You need to be able to effectively communicate that your degree is IT Management. It's not as exciting as Data Science, Computer Science, or Networking Administration. However, it's what you have so make the best use out of it.

Some employers don't care what your degree is so long as you have a bachelors in something related to technology.

Now, moving on from the degree dilemma, if you're wanting to be hands-on and move out of tech support, find a niche area of IT and run with it.

Provide us with a list of interests and we'll point you in the right direction.