The cost of gaining knowlege

So my career has had its bumps the last 5 years. Laid off twice because of the economy, once did system administrator but have been stuck at desktop roles. I currently took a new job on a contract to hire basis. What they called a system admin job is once again a desktop role.

Well a good friend of mine just left his old job after 4 years to move onto consulting. He hand delivered my resume to them and gave them a great recommendation.

I had a phone interview with them a few weeks ago and never heard back from them until last night. They offered to fly me up to Chicago to do a in person interview. I would have to move, but they pay relocation. I am single and eager to leave my state. The job is a true system\ network admin. Working on everything from Windows, Vmware, and cisco products. The money is alright, about the same I can make in Florida. 54K, I will try to get them to 58k.

I guess that is the cost of getting the experience. My friend left there happy, with a ton of knowledge and is refusing job offers in the 80-90k range.

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Comments

2E151

54K in Florida is much different than 54K in Chicago. Just doing some quick comparisons on bestplaces.net; if you make 54K in Tampa right now, to keep the same standard of living you'd have to make 68,000 in Chicago.

Just food for thought, everything increases when you move into the big Northern cities. Food, gas, utilities, and above all: housing & rent.

odysseyelite

2E151 wrote: »

54K in Florida is much different than 54K in Chicago. Just doing some quick comparisons on bestplaces.net; if you make 54K in Tampa right now, to keep the same standard of living you'd have to make 68,000 in Chicago.

Just food for thought, everything increases when you move into the big Northern cities. Food, gas, utilities, and above all: housing & rent.

I understand. It is not a move for money. I've been out of the server game for too long and only calls I get now are helpdesk and desktop. I know the company first hand, have seen their data center and know the experiance I would be gaining. Every time I would speak to my friend I would be "wow, i want your job." While he was migrating over to Exchange 2010 and getting OCS up and running, or converting over to his VMWARE cluster I was removing some virus off some guys laptop because he was looking at **** on a company laptop.

cyberguypr

odysseyelite wrote: »

I understand. It is not a move for money. I've been out of the server game for too long and only calls I get now are helpdesk and desktop. I know the company first hand, have seen their data center and know the experiance I would be gaining. Every time I would speak to my friend I would be "wow, i want your job." While he was migrating over to Exchange 2010 and getting OCS up and running, or converting over to his VMWARE cluster I was removing some virus off some guys laptop because he was looking at **** on a company laptop.

Sounds like you are doing it for the right reasons. Hurry up and come over.

I moved to Chicago 5 years ago and lived comfortably for two years with a wife and daughter on $48,000 per year until my wife found a job. If you get $55-58k you will be OK as long as you don't have to pay for a penthouse with lake view and a Maserati Gran Turismo convertible.

Everyone

Being a single guy that won't be bad at all. You can live a lot cheaper out in the suburbs if you're willing to commute a little. Take the trains and save on gas.

odysseyelite

I look at it the same way as newbies getting into the business. You have to take a cr@p helpdesk job to get started. I'm also up for a new adventure. I have lived in Florida for my entire life. In the next ten years I want to be doing network\security and this seems to be a good step in that direction.

The burbs are fine with me. I know my friend will be able to point me into the right direction. Gas I never pay attention to anyways. I drive a truck because of the utility of it. If getting on the learning curve cuts into my pocket book I'm ok with it. I know I will make up for it in time.

Everyone

Its a good area to be in. Its hard to find anyone willing to pay for relocation these days, so the fact that they will do that is pretty big. If you outgrow the company in a few years, you'll have plenty of opportunities close by. There are always TONS of IT jobs in the Chicago area.

Devilsbane

Congrats! Sounds like a good fit for you.

Have fun with winter

Mike-Mike

i love Chicago, i'd move if I was single

it_consultant

odysseyelite wrote: »

I look at it the same way as newbies getting into the business. You have to take a cr@p helpdesk job to get started. I'm also up for a new adventure. I have lived in Florida for my entire life. In the next ten years I want to be doing network\security and this seems to be a good step in that direction.

The burbs are fine with me. I know my friend will be able to point me into the right direction. Gas I never pay attention to anyways. I drive a truck because of the utility of it. If getting on the learning curve cuts into my pocket book I'm ok with it. I know I will make up for it in time.

Consulting is the fast track to a lot of experience but it is much harder than people give it credit for. People that work fine in corporate IT leave a trail of destruction in consulting. Think of it like the elite of IT (not putting down anyone who works corporate IT), you have to walk into a telephone closet / server room and ask three questions to the staff and know almost everything you need to know about the network at hand including their messaging solution, phone system, internet provider, line of business application, etc. Expect to answer a question about their phonetree setup (they are never satisfied with that) and why they can't scan to email from their huge multi function. Put a good feeling in their stomach and tie their multifunction into Active Directory so they don't have to type the email addresses each time.

Thats why your buddy makes as much money as he does.

instant000

^^^

Realistically speaking, why pay for the Chicago cubs groundskeeper skills to get my yard mowed, when the neighborhood kid can do it for $20?

For everyday labor, companies only NEED someone who can keep things running, and that's about the pay scale you get. The more revenue you can generate for the company, the more you can get.

When you work in house, you are an expense.

When you work for a consulting company, you bring them money.

There is a totally different experience and relationship with your employer.

RobertKaucher

instant000 wrote: »

^^^

Realistically speaking, why pay for the Chicago cubs groundskeeper skills to get my yard mowed, when the neighborhood kid can do it for $20?

For everyday labor, companies only NEED someone who can keep things running, and that's about the pay scale you get. The more revenue you can generate for the company, the more you can get.

When you work in house, you are an expense.

When you work for a consulting company, you bring them money.

There is a totally different experience and relationship with your employer.

Because mowing your lawn improperly on July 25th does not cause your entire yard to crash 3 weeks later brining your home to a stand still causing you to lose thousands of dollars.

But your point is valid, sadly.

higherho

Your single and bored. I would pick up and go in a heart beat. Do it now because when you get married and have a kid your chances go down drastically.

This is why I am taking on any hard challenge that comes my way (even if it might be a little to much but doable).

odysseyelite

Well I interviewed on Monday afternoon. Flew into Chicago from Vegas at 11:30. Got to the office just short of 1pm. Interviewed with the IT team and HR and was on a plane to Florida at 7pm.

Overall I think it went well. This was the first interview in years I have ever been nervous. I think it was because I was doubting myself and my skills. I think my personality and eagerness to learn new technologies really helped. Being a jack of all trades helped as well, because its a shop where you wear several hats. I may not be an expert in an area but I've worked enough with it to either get by or have a good foundation to learn the details.

Now I have to wait and see. I am hoping they make a decision this week before the holiday.

TLeTourneau

Good luck!