2 Job Offers - Help Desk

teksource1984

Techies,

First of all thanks for helping me with all of my questions. I have finally landed 2 job offers. Both are for help desk roles. Please let me know which company I should work for. Company A or B. I have listed all of the pros and cons.

Company A / Pros


1. Global Reputation / Enterprise Support

2. Over the phone help desk support ( I prefer that over in person support)

3. Great culture, nice campus, and workspace

4. Plenty of room to advance from a help desk role (they have a big I.T department)

5. Salary of $45K


Company A / Cons

1. Commute (60-90 Minutes Each Way)
2. Seems to be a high pressure/stress enviornment


Company B / Pros

1. Fun Enviornment / Good Culture / Seem to be good co-workers
2. Short Commute Times (20 - 40 Minutes Each Way)\
3. Same salary of $45K
4. Seems to be low stress


Company B/ Cons

1. Small Organization (Non-Profit Industry)
2. Not Much Room To Grow (30 People Working @ IT Department / Total)
3. In Person Support (I prefer over the phone)


What do you guys think ? by the way, both of these jobs have been forwarded to me by recruitment firms.

The contracting agency for Company A says that i've been hired and that the hiring manager wants me aboard, however, she has to post the job internally for 3 days and then they will make it official by extending the offer to me next thursday, they have even given me a start date. They are very sure that no one will claim the job and that they will not give the job to anyone else, says he is 100% certain and wants me to fill out the paperwork next thursday. They will bring me aboard full time.

The contracting agency for Company B says that they want me to start next Monday and that the hiring manager might even bring me aboard full time after one of their help desk analysts who will be leaving in a couple of months.


What should I do guys ? ? ? ?

hex_omega

Company B and it's not even close.

Shorter commute, less stress, cool and personable co-workers, and in-person support(which to me seems like it would easier than phone support).

teksource1984

Company B, huh ?

RobertKaucher

+1 for company B. The commute and the company culture seem the major sellers to me. My commute is currently about 60 minutes and I hate it. I get roughly 35 MPG and have to fill up a couple times a week. 20 minutes would cut that cost in half giving me about $50-$75 a month in my pocket.

Lamini

Take your pick

choose A to accelerate your knowledge base (experience) and rapidly improve your communication skills... but have no time for life/family (due to commute) or education (certs/degrees).

choose B to get paid the same to relax, drive a lot less, and have time to work on your certifications/degrees. However, being phone support, your communication skills is easily replaceable by anyone who can mimic a tape recorder in the background. Additionally your rate of experience would be slower at this option.

I would honestly choose B due to the work less get paid the same idea. You could make up for the lack of communication skills and rate of experience by completing certs (technical) /degree (communications) with that time you would be driving on A :P

MentholMoose

If you're commuting by car, definitely go for B. 2+ hours daily commute by car takes a toll on you. Also, the extra commute time and the higher fuel expenditures of A will reduce your real income a lot compared to B.

If the support is in person, it's desktop support, not help desk, which is better for your resume.

snokerpoker

Company B sounds like the winner here.

poriggity

Company B by a long shot.. I can't imagine being in the IT field and only enjoying over the phone support... Isn't hands on, interaction, the real reason we get into this field?

Reseven

Company B.

wweboy

I agree with many others B, the commute alone would seal the deal and why would you want to be stressed out at work all day? I'd also think because its a smaller IT group that you'd get a chance to ask questions and maybe get your feet wet in other areas after a bit.

Good luck.

asurania

Company A - You will get tired of help desk , and will want more pay and better role -company A (easier to move up internally)

BradleyHU

poriggity wrote: »

Company B by a long shot.. I can't imagine being in the IT field and only enjoying over the phone support... Isn't hands on, interaction, the real reason we get into this field?

yeah i was bout to say the same thing. phone support only is blah.

MentholMoose

asurania wrote: »

Company A - You will get tired of help desk , and will want more pay and better role -company A (easier to move up internally)

At a smaller company (i.e. you are more likely to get experience with tasks above and beyond your current role. So, when it's time to move up, you will have some experience to justify an expanded role, though it might have to be at a different company.

At a large company (i.e. A), roles are clearly defined and you won't get much exposure to anything else. It's possible to get that experience, but it will take a long time to accumulate enough to justify a promotion. Also, there will probably be a lot of competition from coworkers who also want promotions.

CrunchyNacho

Another vote for B. Like MentholMoose said, at a smaller company your experience is more likely to be beyond your role. Also, I prefer more direct support more than phone support, but I suppose everyone has their preferences.

jojopramos

Well, it depends on what you really want to do. Phone support or in person support. The best benefit for Company B is you will have an actual desktop troubleshooting. I personally hate phone support as this job really dont do hands on troubleshooting per se. The benefit for accepting company A is that you will be hired by a Multinational / Global company and the IT structure are already in place. By doing phone support, you will have more time on your cert studies. Travel time... Company B wins. Stress...... It depends on how you can handle stress...

Its confusing but I will difinitely choose Company B......lol

Devilsbane

Seems like company B is the big winner here and I would agree. The only thing company A has going for it is possible room for a promotion. But if you work at company B, get the experience and use the time you save driving each day to study for certs, in no time you would find yourself more qualified. At that time, maybe you would even consider going for a job higher up in company A??

dadaji

Company B.
*Less commute, more money in your pocket
*Small company, small IT dept, more things to do, more experience
*In person support, hands on experience, improve soft skills

Its a win-win situation since its same pay.

Basically the same advice as everybody else.

loxleynew

Where do you live that pays 45k for help desk positions??? I want to move there!

BradleyHU

loxleynew wrote: »

Where do you live that pays 45k for help desk positions??? I want to move there!

some places helpdesk is desktop support....and some its really help desk. but here in nyc, a true HelpDesk position would pay between $35k-45k, depending on the company.

phoeneous

teksource1984 wrote: »

3. In Person Support (I prefer over the phone)

Why? I'll take in person versus over the phone any day.

Same pay, I vote B.

teksource1984

thanks guyz. I will get back to my recruiter

I live near seattle,wa thats why i get paid 45k for help desk

loxleynew

BradleyHU wrote: »

some places helpdesk is desktop support....and some its really help desk. but here in nyc, a true HelpDesk position would pay between $35k-45k, depending on the company.

I'm a sys.admin making 36k.. lol

earweed

teksource1984 wrote: »

thanks guyz. I will get back to my recruiter

I live near seattle,wa thats why i get paid 45k for help desk

The cost of living there must be pretty high for 45k desktop support.

BradleyHU

loxleynew wrote: »

I'm a sys.admin making 36k.. lol

move....

teksource1984

Yes! Seattle and the surrounding suburbs is a very expensive place to live.

A decent house in a nice neighborhood retails for $650K maybe more !

Onefive

RobertKaucher wrote: »

+1 for company B. The commute and the company culture seem the major sellers to me. My commute is currently about 60 minutes and I hate it. I get roughly 35 MPG and have to fill up a couple times a week. 20 minutes would cut that cost in half giving me about $50-$75 a month in my pocket.

Ah man, I feel your pain! I have a 60 minute commute ( only been working a few weeks at this company ), and I don't know how much longer I can take it.