HELP! Need career direction!

Hello, need help in direction of my career path. Sorry for the post being too long...

Here's the breakdown.

- Graduated with Management Information Systems and Marketing Degrees in 2001. Also worked in my last year of my degree at the university doing help desk for a year.

- Right after my degree, in 4 months, I found a full-time job. Worked there for close to 8 years doing Help Desk/Desktop Support. Left company because I was handling a lot of internal software and not working with anything non-proprietary. Another downfall was they never paid for certifications or didn't want to advance my IT skills. I felt like I knew everything there and I wasn't going anywhere unless you knew someone/slept your way to another position.

- Left company above and got hired on as IT Field Engineer. I was on a team of 4 and by myself, my position consisted of supporting 15 clients. I had to drive all over the city to these clients for on-site, remote and off-site support. I handled all IT for each client (help desk, desktop support, server admin, network admin, consultant of their hardware/software, etc.). Position was overwhelming. I was supporting each client day and night. On-call was for 1 week per month with no extra pay. Definitely was not paid for the amt. of work that I did for that position. Eventually, because of company cutbacks, my position was eliminated. They gave me the option of doing help desk, which I declined and left the company. Unless you are desperate for a job, single, and have no life, I would not recommend anyone doing a field engineer position.

The one thing lacking other than my bachelors' and my 9 years experience are certifications. Before my decision in September to go back to school, I looked for jobs. But all I could find that would fit were low paying, crappy help desk jobs. All the desktop support jobs I searched for were needing more qualifications that I had.

So I just finished my A+, Network+, and 70-290 classes at the school (haven't got the certs yet). Next week, I'm starting the 70-291 class. I'm currently working on a specialization at the school for MCSE.

My 70-290 instructor told me to pursue my A+, Network+, MCSA, and 70-620 Vista and go for my CCNA. He thinks that's the best route to become a Microsoft server admin along with getting experience with some network admin work. Is he right?

Unfortunately, before going to school in September, I had taken some CCNA courses at the same school. I had some horrible teachers for my 1st two classes, so I was turned off and had no clue about CCNA. So I moved onto the Microsoft side.

Overall, I'm trying to get away from this persona of being just help desk/desktop support and move on to becoming a Microsoft server admin. But last week, I talked with a job recruiter who gave me thoughts of becoming a database admin.

With my background and what I'm currently doing, which would be the better route - server admin or database admin?

If database admin, what certs/classes I should take to become a database admin?

TIA.

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Comments

Bl8ckr0uter

If I had your background AND I wanted to advance my resume as soon as possible I would knock out the MCSE AND/OR the MCITP:EA. If you truly have 9 years of exp you should be able to do them in weeks. The CCNA is a good general networking cert AND a good into to some cisco topics PLUS it looks good on a resume but IMO it might not benefit you as much as an MCSE would simply because you have 9 years of exp of server work.

A lot of DBAs started off as sys admins. Their are several threads about DBA roles and such.
Here is one off of the top of my head:

http://www.techexams.net/forums/jobs-degrees/47793-how-become-databse-admin-analyst.html

mikedisd2

Are you interested in database administration or is it just a suggestion from someone else? Definitely get the MCSE and check the job boards in your area to see what is in demand.
Aim to upgrade to MCITP, get CCNA and maybe knock out ITIL as it's quite easy and recruiters seem to love it (just my experience).

GrayhenTor

Hmm.. it's tough out there/you've not had the best of luck so far.
I just wanted to say a few things:

- build on your strengths. You're someone whose last role was to manage ALL the IT for several clients at once - that, to me, is more than just a "Field engineer" - don't describe yourself as just a Field Engineer on your CV (how long did you do that role for by the way?)
- you stuck to your first job for 8 years even though it wasn't ideal = loyalty/commitment
- I don't see employers asking for A+ or Network+ for server admins. Aren't these entry level certs? You have it in you to set your sights higher. MCSE/MCITP certification in server products should be your goal, IMO. CCNA/CCNP always goes down well too..
- do you need to spend time and money at school/with instructors? You can probably pass the certs u want at a faster pace by yourself...?

earweed

GrayhenTor wrote: »

Hmm.. it's tough out there/you've not had the best of luck so far.
I just wanted to say a few things:

- build on your strengths. You're someone whose last role was to manage ALL the IT for several clients at once - that, to me, is more than just a "Field engineer" - don't describe yourself as just a Field Engineer on your CV (how long did you do that role for by the way?)
- you stuck to your first job for 8 years even though it wasn't ideal = loyalty/commitment
- I don't see employers asking for A+ or Network+ for server admins. Aren't these entry level certs? You have it in you to set your sights higher. MCSE/MCITP certification in server products should be your goal, IMO. CCNA/CCNP always goes down well too..
- do you need to spend time and money at school/with instructors? You can probably pass the certs u want at a faster pace by yourself...?

+1 And while going to school for these things get the certs. Check out the thread on WGU. It's online, self paced (you can go as fast as you want, Min of 12 units for fulltime) and you get certs for these classes plus your BS

Rockets34Life

Thanks for the replies.

If I had your background AND I wanted to advance my resume as soon as possible I would knock out the MCSE AND/OR the MCITP:EA. If you truly have 9 years of exp you should be able to do them in weeks. The CCNA is a good general networking cert AND a good into to some cisco topics PLUS it looks good on a resume but IMO it might not benefit you as much as an MCSE would simply because you have 9 years of exp of server work.

The MCSE and MCITP I will definitely go for because I feel it'll help me in the server field. I know it's a longer process of going to school for my MCSE, but I want to have a better understanding when I'm out in the workforce.

I would love to go for my CCNA, but I might either have to go back through the classes at my school or go through a crash course video-wise, books/e-books, or brain **** class.

The 3 month job of server work (The 9 years with the 1st company were help desk/desktop support) was just a taste for me, but I only understood a little of what I was doing.

A lot of DBAs started off as sys admins. Their are several threads about DBA roles and such.

But will I still have to take some DB courses and get myself familiarized with MySQL, Visual Studio, etc. Is that a good idea?

What DB certs would help while my path to becoming a server admin?

Are you interested in database administration or is it just a suggestion from someone else? Definitely get the MCSE and check the job boards in your area to see what is in demand.

It was a suggestion, but it intrigued me on another area I can work to besides being in server administration.

Aim to upgrade to MCITP, get CCNA and maybe knock out ITIL as it's quite easy and recruiters seem to love it (just my experience).

What is ITIL? Does it help with my path of server administration?

Hmm.. it's tough out there/you've not had the best of luck so far.
I just wanted to say a few things:

- build on your strengths. You're someone whose last role was to manage ALL the IT for several clients at once - that, to me, is more than just a "Field engineer" - don't describe yourself as just a Field Engineer on your CV (how long did you do that role for by the way?)
- you stuck to your first job for 8 years even though it wasn't ideal = loyalty/commitment
- I don't see employers asking for A+ or Network+ for server admins. Aren't these entry level certs? You have it in you to set your sights higher. MCSE/MCITP certification in server products should be your goal, IMO. CCNA/CCNP always goes down well too..
- do you need to spend time and money at school/with instructors? You can probably pass the certs u want at a faster pace by yourself...?

On your first point, the only thing I didn't do was setup the PCs and server(s) for the client. Everything else I was responsible for.

What would you recommend as a title change? And will the employer find out it was really a field engineer position rather than something else?

A+ and Network+ are entry level certs, but I wanted to have them just in case there isn't any jobs available in the server admin field.

The reason why I decided to go back to school is because in the time I've worked, my IT knowledge hasn't changed, the 1st company I worked for didn't believe in rewarding promotions, position upgrades, etc. The 2nd company I worked for, I had to learn everything through googling. It wasn't fun. I feel like I've been labeled as a help desk person and right now without certs, those are the only jobs I qualify for. I'm not much of a book person, except when it involves a teacher and visual learning.

Money wise, I'm ok because compared to universities, I'm paying pennies on the dollar for my classes.

+1 And while going to school for these things get the certs. Check out the thread on WGU. It's online, self paced (you can go as fast as you want, Min of 12 units for fulltime) and you get certs for these classes plus your BS

What is WGU?

Rockets34Life

Admins, could I have this thread moved here?

IT Jobs / Degrees - TechExams.net IT Certification Forums

I just realized looking at this forum that I posted in the wrong area. Thanks.

GrayhenTor

Don't take offense if I answer too bluntly...

On the job title thing. I don't know to what degree your lack of server admin experience, or lack of conformity and automation within the setup of those 15 clients caused you to be working day and night on them but in my limited experience, even with good automation & standardization, servicing 15 client companies with one person doing all their needs (okay you didn't do PC server builds .. but you could do that yes ? If not... teach yourself how to do that quickly ) would be asking too much of one person. Your last employer was taking advantage of you. Maybe they didn't know you were working so much ? Maybe you bit off more than you could chew... Anyway, that's all in the past now..
So..it may be just minor semantics, and maybe that I'm old-fashioned, but to me the job title of Field Engineer has connotations of someone who comes in and services hardware or maybe rebuilds a PC by booting it off a preconfigured CD etc... not someone who has the daily headache of solving random problems at all levels (whether by Googling or otherwise

) and user requests of all kinds. I would call that Network Administrator, Network Consultant, Systems Specialist, 1st,2nd and 3rd line Support, IT Consultant etc .. anything but Field Engineer!
You could just leave the job titles off of your CV altogether. Or change them to something more suitable instead. If future employer finds out.. what's the worst they can do.. not employ you .. so move on. Job titles in IT are a farce anyway, just make sure prospective employers understand that you did much more than 'field engineering'.

There are always jobs in server admin and you'll get them if you aim for them. I personally wouldn't go for A+, or Network+ for the very fear of being pigeon-holed as 1st/2nd line Helpdesk fodder.

You said that your knowledge hadn't changed in the time you've been working.You need to make sure it is changing/increasing... whether it comes from your employer or not (and these days it is more often not). It's natural to feel in your first job that your employer would help you along a bit I guess... Anyway, I guess I'm saying that you take control of your own development now...

It's good that you are in a position to take instructor led training - it's the best way to learn - but as a future server admin you will often need to pick up a big fat manual on the latest version of Microsoft BlahBlah and just read through it all with nobody around for you to ask questions. So, if I were in your shoes, I would do the instructor training and also study something else "straight from the books" (maybe the CCNA?) by, and for, yourself during lunch or for an hour or two in the evenings..

Sorry to be a bore but it's actually because I really feel for you .. it's incredible that your first employer didn't advance you along a bit more in those 8/9 years if you are as keen to improve yourself as you come across here. When you've just left uni you have loyalty to , and financial need of, your first employer.. so I understand why you stayed there so long.
You're making positive steps now. I hope you win through and that you let us know, here on TE forums, how you get on...

earweed

Rockets34Life wrote: »

What is WGU?

Western Governors University There's a thred with info on it here
Western Governors University Questions and Answers / Threads related to WGU
but this may not be the route you want. You're taking classes but not getting certs? A lot of people here have self studied for their certs.
I've gotten all of mine through WGU but it's still self study. They give me a course of study (like a syllabus) and maybe links to online videos or tutorials and supply some of the books. The books they don't supply are online through books 24x7. Your tuition covers the cost of the cert test so it's at least as good as what you're doing now.

Rockets34Life

GrayhenTor wrote: »

Don't take offense if I answer too bluntly...

On the job title thing. I don't know to what degree your lack of server admin experience, or lack of conformity and automation within the setup of those 15 clients caused you to be working day and night on them but in my limited experience, even with good automation & standardization, servicing 15 client companies with one person doing all their needs (okay you didn't do PC server builds .. but you could do that yes ? If not... teach yourself how to do that quickly ) would be asking too much of one person. Your last employer was taking advantage of you. Maybe they didn't know you were working so much ? Maybe you bit off more than you could chew... Anyway, that's all in the past now..
So..it may be just minor semantics, and maybe that I'm old-fashioned, but to me the job title of Field Engineer has connotations of someone who comes in and services hardware or maybe rebuilds a PC by booting it off a preconfigured CD etc... not someone who has the daily headache of solving random problems at all levels (whether by Googling or otherwise ) and user requests of all kinds. I would call that Network Administrator, Network Consultant, Systems Specialist, 1st,2nd and 3rd line Support, IT Consultant etc .. anything but Field Engineer!

You could just leave the job titles off of your CV altogether. Or change them to something more suitable instead. If future employer finds out.. what's the worst they can do.. not employ you .. so move on. Job titles in IT are a farce anyway, just make sure prospective employers understand that you did much more than 'field engineering'.

Server admin experience - didn't have any the 1st 9 years, only gained it in the 2nd job. And currently, they are doing that to all the people working as field engineers in the company. When I got hired on, I thought I would get training for my job (pretty sure they were desperate for bodies). I got nothing. They made me shadow one of my team members for 2 weeks, but even he wasn't helpful. He taught me little and told me to get my answers off of google. When I would call into the help desk to get help, the guy that was assigned to our team was very short with me over the phone and expected me to know it already. His answer was also to just google it.

What would you suggest to change my title to?

There are always jobs in server admin and you'll get them if you aim for them. I personally wouldn't go for A+, or Network+ for the very fear of being pigeon-holed as 1st/2nd line Helpdesk fodder.

I just wanted to get the A+ and Network+ just so if server admin work doesn't come along, at least I can get into a desktop support role and have certs to back it up. Then with that company as a desktop support role, I could migrate my way into their server administration group/dept.

You said that your knowledge hadn't changed in the time you've been working.You need to make sure it is changing/increasing... whether it comes from your employer or not (and these days it is more often not). It's natural to feel in your first job that your employer would help you along a bit I guess... Anyway, I guess I'm saying that you take control of your own development now...

I just got too comfortable in my 1st full-time job and I thought the company would help out, but I was dead wrong as the economy went into the toilet.

It's good that you are in a position to take instructor led training - it's the best way to learn - but as a future server admin you will often need to pick up a big fat manual on the latest version of Microsoft BlahBlah and just read through it all with nobody around for you to ask questions. So, if I were in your shoes, I would do the instructor training and also study something else "straight from the books" (maybe the CCNA?) by, and for, yourself during lunch or for an hour or two in the evenings..

You are correct. I love having the instructors teach the knowledge I need, but I'm also getting video training programs and books to also get more in-depth on the subject(s).

Sorry to be a bore but it's actually because I really feel for you .. it's incredible that your first employer didn't advance you along a bit more in those 8/9 years if you are as keen to improve yourself as you come across here. When you've just left uni you have loyalty to , and financial need of, your first employer.. so I understand why you stayed there so long.
You're making positive steps now. I hope you win through and that you let us know, here on TE forums, how you get on...

I appreciate you understanding my situation. It's been tough with this help desk/desktop support label and I freaking hate I can't go into anything else. That's why I had to put my career on halt and just learn something new. My last job was crap, but it was an eye opener into a new career.

And by the way, what do you think of database administration? I went onto Microsoft's site and they had certs to become a MCDBA. I know I have zilch experience on it, but that's another area I'm interested in. Should I continue my server certs and then work on the MCDBA?

Rockets34Life

bump...

pinkydapimp

I wouldn't think so poorly of your Field Engineering position. I agree that you can definitely make it sound better on your resume depending how it is listed. I work as a Field Engineer(definitely dont have the insane pressure or hours that you did) and i enjoy being able to work in different environments every day. I personally think it is beneficial to be able to see how different IT infrastructures are setup and would be beneficial to any person who wants to become a sysadmin in the future.

I would be careful of changing your title because something like that could be verified with HR of your company. Thats just me though. But im curious, do most people change their titles as they see fit? Is this commonplace?

Rockets34Life

pinkydapimp wrote: »

I wouldn't think so poorly of your Field Engineering position. I agree that you can definitely make it sound better on your resume depending how it is listed. I work as a Field Engineer(definitely dont have the insane pressure or hours that you did) and i enjoy being able to work in different environments every day. I personally think it is beneficial to be able to see how different IT infrastructures are setup and would be beneficial to any person who wants to become a sysadmin in the future.

I would be careful of changing your title because something like that could be verified with HR of your company. Thats just me though. But im curious, do most people change their titles as they see fit? Is this commonplace?

I don't think of the position poorly because it opened my eyes to different areas of IT that I can move on to rather than rot as a help desk cronie. The stupid employer called it a field engineer position, but I felt like an account manager handling every single IT detail for each client. I enjoyed every minute being on-site and helping out the clients, but the extra work beyond that was just insane.

That's what I was afraid of....the HR of the future employer trying to find out if I was a field engineer title or something else.

And your question is legit....I thought just like you that I have to keep the title that was given to me. Would it count against me if I change it?

pinkydapimp

Rockets34Life wrote: »

I don't think of the position poorly because it opened my eyes to different areas of IT that I can move on to rather than rot as a help desk cronie. The stupid employer called it a field engineer position, but I felt like an account manager handling every single IT detail for each client. I enjoyed every minute being on-site and helping out the clients, but the extra work beyond that was just insane.

That's what I was afraid of....the HR of the future employer trying to find out if I was a field engineer title or something else.

And your question is legit....I thought just like you that I have to keep the title that was given to me. Would it count against me if I change it?

I understand where you are coming from. My position was called Technical Field Manager for about 4 years. Then a few people on our team wanted to formally change the title and they decided upon Field Engineer. I preferred the previous title, however many in the group said they thought Engineer sounded better on a resume. In my case, i wouldn't feel shy to use either because i have an offer letter with the previous title.

Either way, regardless of how the title is listed, you can easily in a cover letter/resume or interview explain that what you did was similar to an IT consultant/Project Manager/Sys admin. So i wouldn't sweat it too much.

Where are you located by the way?

Rockets34Life

pinkydapimp wrote: »

I understand where you are coming from. My position was called Technical Field Manager for about 4 years. Then a few people on our team wanted to formally change the title and they decided upon Field Engineer. I preferred the previous title, however many in the group said they thought Engineer sounded better on a resume. In my case, i wouldn't feel shy to use either because i have an offer letter with the previous title.

Either way, regardless of how the title is listed, you can easily in a cover letter/resume or interview explain that what you did was similar to an IT consultant/Project Manager/Sys admin. So i wouldn't sweat it too much.

Where are you located by the way?

I think instead of the cover letter, I might just cover the position at the interview process. I think it's a lot easier for me to explain then.

I'm from Texas. You?

pinkydapimp

Rockets34Life wrote: »

I think instead of the cover letter, I might just cover the position at the interview process. I think it's a lot easier for me to explain then.

I'm from Texas. You?

NJ here. Either way, sometimes its nice to have the flexibility to do that.