Need Some Advice on Moving UP

I work in a help desk doing tier 1 for approx 3 months, anyways my boss has lately suggested that i'm doing a good job and he remarked about me moving to tier 2 soon possibly, only problem is he didnt say exactly when. Should i ask him when, or will that look bad? I mean i dont want to sound like i'm demanding you know... He did ask me when i would finish my MCSA, and i gave him an estimate of 2 months, to study and attempt for the beast (291) exam. Not sure what to do, any advice would be great. My plan was to study hard for 291, though it'll have to be on weekends only as i'm also taking like 9 credits at college while working full time, and do even better job at work, fix my mistakes, and really master the position, be the first one to do something, rather then waiting for somebody eles to do it. Anyways, any advice on how to approach this subject would be great.

Thanks,

win2k4

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Comments

dynamik

I don't think it will look bad since he was the one to bring it up. Instead of asking directly, you may ask what types of responsibilities that type of position has and what you could do to prepare for it.

nel

I agree with dynamik. If he has prompted the discussion it sounds like thats what he is thinking of doing otherwise it would not have been said. Keep up the hard work, ask what you could do to have a greater chance of progression and keep at getting better qualified regardless of what happens.

If your going to speak to him do so quietly and not in front of others imo.

Kasor

First, you need to figure out if your boss is

1) insist that to promote you or move you to next higher position/duty/responsbility

or

2) just a way to swing off coworker.

Very important before you talk to him.

win2k8

I havent talked to him directly yet, but i'm afraid it looks more and more like just a swing off, to keep me motivated or whatever... I'm doing all the nitty gritty work and going above and beyond than the rest here, so i guess it was just so i dont stop.... I know this cuz they just hired a tier 2 person and told me to train her on the tier 1 stuff, and then she will sit with the tier 2 person to be trained on the additional tier 2 responsibility. I havent been trained on any tier 2 resonsibilities though... so i dont know at this point what the hell is going on. Any advice on how to handle this situation, would be great, per I have not been in a lot of situations like this.

Thanks,

win2k4

famosbrown

Well you seem to be a good worker and your manager seems to recognize that. How is your communication relationship with your manager? If it is good, I would ask him/her if it would be possible to schedule some time to talk about some things.

In this meeting with your manager, express your goals and where you want to go within the organization. If you don't feel comfortable expressing your goals, at least express your short term goals for being promoted to Tier 2. Ask your boss what requirements or what will you need to do to get promoted to Tier 2.

If he is a good leader, he won't use any of this or get jealous of your ambition. He should lay down a path on what you need to do to get to the level you are seeking. Part of management is mentoring, and this would be an opportunity to mentor and help produce a good I.T. Professional who is motivated.

You never know...he may just give you a promotion on the spot and then start laying out the path to go beyond Tier 2. This is the type of leader I was both in I.T. and military and still hold those concepts close because I'm sure I will be in a position of managment/supervision again soon.

Good luck with everything!!

learningtofly22

Get the MCSA, MCSE, and see where it goes.... find out what the new tier 2 technician has that you don't. and get it and more. By then, your boss will be a fool not to promote you and if he doesn't, you're primped for leaving the company and getting a better job elsewhere.

loxleynew

Is 3 months experience all you have atm? Or you have more previous to that?

Also find out what the tier 2 people do exactly above what you do. I know at some point certs overtake experience to some degree. This meaning if you get your MCSA you should either move up to a tier 2 position at your work almost immediatley or find a new job to get that experience. Doing tier 1 work with an MCSA is asking way to little of you ;P

I know at my first IT job where I was doing tier 1 work, they constantly told people similar stuff to them almost just to keep them at the job. Otherwise people soon realize they can do more and move on somewhere else.

win2k8

Is 3 months experience all you have atm? Or you have more previous to that?

No, i've had almost 2 years of IT experience now. To keep it short, i started off as an intern for small company, then left for tier 1 noc, was tricked into thinking it was really helpdesk kinda work, so i went to a medium sized co doing actually help desk for about 6 months, got tired of it, and found a desktop/network support role for a small company, left after about 9 months cuz of the low pay and no oppurtunity to move up and decided to put my college studies first and take more classes, so i am now full time and i took a step back working a help desk as tier 1 again for a big co only reason i did was b/c its 2nd shift, and i couldnt find any desktop support 2nd shift positions anywhere. So thats my work history in a nutshell.

Also find out what the tier 2 people do exactly above what you do.

Oh i know pretty much what tier 2 does from what i can see... Last in the ACD phone system queue, barely do any tickets or keep track of the queue, most times of times are surfing the net or talking on the phone actingn like their busy....

The problem is i cant leave anywhere eles, cuz i'm comitting to my classes in the mornings, and I do keep looking for other better 2nd shift positions, where i'm actually doing something IT related, and not just secretary work all day...

win2k4