Need Advice on New Job Offer

famosbrown

I've been offered a position as a Help Desk Manager that will manage an unknown amount of Help Desk Technician...basically a call center. The position will boast a 10K salary increase from what I'm making now for the first few months of probation, then another 10K after the probation period.

I'm currently a SA doing all of the network/system administration I've trained for and love it. The only reason I'm even considering it is because of more money, less stress (I find Help Desk easy and boring sometimes...I was a manager before), and possibly a way to stay and move up in the I.T. Management field.

What do you guys think?

CoryS

Well, I have learned the hard way that a boost in money is usually not a good reason to leave a position that you love. However, if the amount of money was large (like 20k large like you said) and the position that I would be moving into wasnt a craphole which you would have to determine through your interview process, well then, I would say by all means. Thats a boatload more money dude.

... remember though to see yourself a year or two down the road filling this role, and always try and see if you will have the chance to advance or get back into system administration if thats what you really like.


Congrats though, sounds promising.

amyamandaallen

No brainer!

I'd do it. You can always keep your hand in with some support if you fancied a bit of hands on once in a while

famosbrown

Yeah, I'm still getting more information on everything before I make the decision. I've preliminarily accepted the offer, but since their are some delays on their end, I still have some time to really think this over. I am afraid that 5 years down the road in this position will definitely take me out of the Sys Admin loop. I could just keep studying, but the hands on in production is a lot different than studying and labbing at home. I would also have to come up with some motivation to continue to stay abreast of those skills although I wouldn't be using them daily...then I would have to ask myself if I really want to be here .

Tough decision...especially when dollar signs are involved. Although it would be a tremendous drop in responsibility, if the pay was at the same or up to 10K increase, I wouldn't even consider it.

sprkymrk

Ouch - that's a tough call.

Like you, I would not even consider leaving System Administration for a Help Desk Management position, but 20k is a lot of money, and management responsibilities are good on resumes.

Is this within the same company or a new one? How do the benefits compare? How about other considerations like drive time, on call or overtime coverage, coworkers, and your current boss vs new boss?

sthomas

Unless you A) need the extra money or want to get into management I would stay with the Network/Systems Admin job. At least that is what I would do but everyones situation is different. But there was a time when I had a helpdesk job and I did not care for it much. That is all just my opinion of course.

dynamik

Remember, we tend to rise to our level of incompetence. Just because you're a kick-ass sys admin, doesn't necessarily mean you will be a good manager. It's really going to require a different set of skills than you're probably used to working with. Are you going to have to fire employees, deal with sexual harassment complaints, mediate conflicts, etc.?

That's not meant to be insulting or discouraging, but you need to be aware that it will likely be quite a shift of focus. Some people are natural managers while most others can develop the necessary skills over time. You seem to be pretty self-aware, so I don't think you'll have a problem even if you have to put a little extra work into it. It's just something to keep in mind.

Mishra

I would just be aware that being a help-desk manager is a lot different than being a system admin. I would call them 2 completely separate positions. Being the helpdesk manager, you have to deal with customer related complaints and manage a bunch of people who don't really care about their job. Helpdesk is a lot more babysitting as a system admin is mostly politics and deadlines (extremely summed up).

I want to be a manager myself but I would skip being a helpdesk manager. To me they are the equivalent of a Walmart manager.

famosbrown

dynamik wrote:

Remember, we tend to rise to our level of incompetence. Just because you're a kick-ass sys admin, doesn't necessarily mean you will be a good manager. It's really going to require a different set of skills than you're probably used to working with. Are you going to have to fire employees, deal with sexual harassment complaints, mediate conflicts, etc.?

That's not meant to be insulting or discouraging, but you need to be aware that it will likely be quite a shift of focus. Some people are natural managers while most others can develop the necessary skills over time. You seem to be pretty self-aware, so I don't think you'll have a problem even if you have to put a little extra work into it. It's just something to keep in mind.

I was a Tier II Help Desk/Desktop Support Manager before entering the System Admin field. I also have 4 years of military leadership experience as a Non-Commisioned Officer. In both situations, I've had to deal with personnel conflicts, performance evaluations, counseling both positive and negative, being an escalation point, budgets, reports, hiring/firing, etc. I left the Help Desk Management to pursue the Sys. Admin route...now thinking about going back for more money . In short...I truly believe this would be a decrease in responsibility from the way I guage managing a Help Desk versus administering and managing a network.

Different company, comparable benefits after the probation period, boss is remote in both situations so I don't get to interact with them much, and I haven't met the techs that I will be managing yet. Both jobs are salary and 24/7/365 for both...standard in IT.

famosbrown

Decided not to take it. I found out I would be managing a Call Center supporting a remote location...basically first line. Good money, but would not help my career if I decided to move on. Big difference in managing a Call Center doing over the phone support at the first Tier Level than managing a DataCenter or I.T. Department.

Mishra

famosbrown wrote:

Decided not to take it. I found out I would be managing a Call Center supporting a remote location...basically first line. Good money, but would not help my career if I decided to move on. Big difference in managing a Call Center doing over the phone support at the first Tier Level than managing a DataCenter or I.T. Department.

I think you made the right choice.

HeroPsycho

You always have to look at what gives you the best experience down the road. The bottom line is 20K may seem like a lot now, but if the experience locks you into that salary range with small increased from then on, the 20K isn't comparable to moving on to bigger, better things.

Gear up for bigger things as an admin/engineer/consultant.

garv221

Good choice, that job would have sucked.

leefdaddy

Yeah doesn't sound like you would of got to learn much of anything new....

Good choice.