Which Job Offer is Better?

jamesindc

I was recently offered 2 jobs. I'm seeking a career in network security. Which job do you think will better position me for a job in cyber security? Why?? Thank you!

JOB 1:

Job 1 is with a federal government agency's NOC. Payrate would be $28/hr and I would be a contractor. Commute is about 45 minutes. I would have to work overnights on Thursday - Monday from 12am - 8:30 am.

Job 1 Description:

The Network Monitoring and Operations Branch (NMOB) maintains a centralized Network Operation Center (NOC) providing:

· Problem reporting and resolution services to a wide variety of network customers for numerous Local Area Network/Wide Area Network (LAN/WAN) devices, system platforms, Commercial Off the Shelf (COTS) software, customer applications and IT hardware.

· Proactive monitoring of critical infrastructure routers, switches, all site communication links and routers.

· Support to customer reports of network performance problems.

· Resolve WAN performance problems directly by involving 3rd level support components or maintenance contractors.

The primary purpose of this subtask is to ensure that headquarters/campus, national, and international customers of the customer enterprise reach fully staffed and trained Network Operations Center. The NOC provides proactive monitoring of critical infrastructure routers, switches, all site communication links and routers. The NOC responds to customer reports of network performance problems and effects the resolution of all WAN performance problems directly, by involving 3rd level support components, or maintenance contracts.

Essential Functions, Responsibilities & Duties may include, but are not limited to:

· Contractor should use customer notification systems, network management and monitoring tools such as SMARTS, NetQos, CiscoWorks, Exchange Mailboxes and DDM manger. In addition, the contractor shall use customer and management notification tools, network protocol applications, used to access remote devices, web resources, Change Asset and Problem Reporting System (CAPRS) and other customer applications used in NMOB.

· At all times, the contractor, shall monitor SMARTS monitoring system and other monitoring systems available, as well as monitor alert mailboxes to identify data/voice network, server, and application problems that may have an impact to the customers in accordance with the established timeframes in the NOC SOP.

· The contractor shall determine the scope and impact for data/voice network, server and application outages and provide timely and accurate customer and management notifications using the tools available.

· The contractor shall monitor the information posted on SSAlerts, Severity 1 report, NOC/Network Operations Chat Rooms, NMOB reports, and message boards in the work area, and be aware of current issues affecting widespread systems availability.

· The contractor shall provide Tier 1/2 voice/data network support.

· The contractor shall perform detailed problem documentation of systems incidents and outages using CAPRS.

· The contractor shall perform timely escalation of systems problems/outages.

· The contractor shall perform proactive and reactive troubleshooting of system problems.

· The contractor shall coordinate system activities with vendors and other systems components.

Requirements

Education:

Minimum of 6 months experience with Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) IPv4/IPv6, very high speed Backbone Network Service (vBNS), Multi-Protocol Label Switching (MPLS), VoIP software/hardware. In addition, contractor personnel assigned shall have minimum experience with basic troubleshooting for Cisco Routers and Switches, Enhanced Interior Gateway Routing Protocol (EIGRP), Borer Gateway Protocol (BGP), dual-carrier networks, wireless LAN/WAN networks, telecommunication circuits such T1,DS3,OC-3,OC-12,VISTA/2003/2000/XP/NT workstation/server, Activity Directory, Microsoft Systems Management Server (SMS) 2.0, Microsoft Exchange/Outlook, client/server applications and mainframe systems. Contractor personnel shall become proficient in the use of CAPRS to detail reported incidents. In addition to the ability to provide instructions via telephone, LAN administration and Server hardware administration skills are required.

Must be ability to obtain a client sponsored Public Trust level of adjudication.

Work Experience, Knowledge, Skills & Abilities:

· Preferably, 2-3 years of NOC experience.

Technical skills required

· CCNT/CCNA Preferred

· Working knowledge of the majority of the skills and technologies annotated above, must be able to learn, with provided training, those skills and technologies in which they lack the requisite experience.

· Possess strong written and opal command of the English language, as all assistance is provided via the telephone and documented in CAPRS.

JOB2:

Job 2 is with a major hotel entity and consulting company. I would be working as a "Technology Center Analyst" in a Technology Operations Center. Payrate would be $32/hr and I would be working as a contractor. Commute is less than 20 minutes. I would be working Sunday - Tuesday from 2pm - 12am and Friday from 6am - 4pm.

Job 2 Description:

Specialty: Delivery Lifecycle / Infrastructure Operations
Primary Skill: Network Operations & Service Management
a. Years of experience? 0-1 year of experience
b. Degree or specialized training is required/preferred?
Degree preferred but not required
c. Top three skills required?
Event/Incident Management
Great communication skills
Eager to learn and grow career

Network Operations & Service Management - "Technology Center Operations Analyst - MTOC Level1
The Technology Operations Center Level 1 Operator is the first line of defense in the IT Operations team responsible for monitoring and managing all alerts and end user issues in the client's data centers and properties around the world. The scope of work includes servers, mainframes, databases, middleware, business intelligence tools, identity and access management tools, storage, backup, and local, wide, and property networks. The technology stack includes the latest hybrid (private and public) cloud technologies in addition to legacy technologies. The work is performed in a lively collaborative environment where the Level 1 and Level 2 operators work together to monitor, manage, and triage issues. The Level 1 operator will be responsible for monitoring the IT infrastructure environment components and opening, trouble shooting, and referring incident tickets to the appropriate group and level of support ensuring that actions are ta

Describe an average day in the life of this role: The MTOC L1 support team will be responsible for monitoring the NetCool Dashboards and other monitoring tools, answering incoming calls into the MTOC, creating incidents as needed, and escalating to the Client Communications Lead (CL) and Service Availability Manager (SAM) for possible major incidents (MI). The MTOC L1 support team is responsible for answering the MTOC telephone line receiving calls or emails coming in from either the Service Desk or other Technical Towers. They are also responsible for monitoring tools and completing standard operating procedures (SOP) based on the alarm code. 

scaredoftests

Job #2

NetworkNewb

I could never work those hours of job 1 myself. But it does sound a lot better if your looking to get into the networking side of things.  

Job 2 looks like an entry level help desk position. 

EANx

They both boil down to the same thing, watching the environment and raising the flag to someone who does the work. Hours, commute and pay are better for #2 but my question is, does the company doing the work for the federal agency have other work there you might be able to advance into 6-9 months later? Essentially using that job as a stepping stone.

NetworkNewb

I dunno the second one sounds like a very large call center where you could be answering questions about users email issues and other very random stuff all day.   Stating you would be the first line of support for end user issues around the world.  I’ve done that line of work before... was not a fun job and they had very high turnover rate.   

Obviously most likely not the same place and hard to tell about a job just from a description. (Job title was very close to the same as that)  Just the vibe I get reading it.

EANx

Wouldn't be the first time a job description de-emphasized the less attractive aspects of a position, it's important the applicant ask good questions about the position. Lots of people here can talk about times the job turned into something they weren't expecting.

MontagueVandervort

For what you want... I would take Job 1.

Job 2 just looks like a glorified service role to me.

yoba222

Job #1, but only for a year or so to get the work experience and a solid job on your resume and while you're still young. That is, if you're not in your 40s or older yet.

Ammar7

@jamesindcSo you started working for any of these ? I am asking cz i have been offered the same role very similar to job 1 recently ?

itdept

I was leaning Job 2 but support roles are a IT death sentence imo and it has the look of one. Take #1 and move on if you need to. The federal affect and real jobs rather than password changes seems better.

Ammar7

@itdept @jamesindc I have recently relocated from London to US where i was working in a Tier 1 NOC environment, the jd of Job #1 is exactly the same infact i believe its the same job am being about to interviewed for in couple of days time.You have any idea what interview questions the hiring manager would be asking ? 

Ammar7

@jamesindc Just did some research and it's exactly the same position they are hiring for and I believe you got hired for the same position so i thought you can some shed light on the interview process or the interview questions they asked you ? @itdept Your help in this matter will be highly appreciated too