Well, I think I made a mistake.....HELP!

Rockets34Life

Sorry for the long post.....but need HELP!

Back in April, I was so excited about leaving my last job and getting this job.

http://www.techexams.net/forums/jobs-degrees/65134-potential-job-dealbreaker-help.html

I'm not regretting my last job, but this job isn't turning out how I hoped it would be.

My last job was primarily desktop support/Jr.-to-Mid sys admin role - title was Desktop Administrator. Here was what I did with my last job - http://www.techexams.net/forums/jobs-degrees/62042-need-help-resume-please-help.html

The new job.....same title, and I expected the same duties as my previous job.

Well, next week will be 2 months with this new company and everyday the job feels like I'm going backwards in my IT career. This role is 90% help desk, 5% PC Tech (all Dell Laptops), 3% desktop support (stretching this), and 2% sys admin (just resetting passwords in AD).

When I interviewed, they said there will be some help desk, but I thought it was going to be minimal since the position is Desktop Administrator. I was definitely wrong.

I feel like I jumped the gun needing to leave that job and just chose the wrong job. The team I'm working with and the supervisor is good (definitely much better than what I had to deal with in my previous job), but I'm not learning squat in this position. The only thing I have learned here is they are Win 7 platform and they work with internal/external aircards, no tethering or hotspots. That's it. This role compared to my previous job has diminished me to being a help desk/bench tech. I feel like I'm wasting my talents. Their server/networking team consists of 2 people, 1 on each side....so there is no way I can move over there.

I really want to look for another job and I might have to do it covert, but I run into a 2 dilemmas.....my wife and daycare. First, daycare. The job is located in a perfect area where I can get to my daughter in less than 30 min in traffic going through back roads. Next, the General (my wife). Whenever I tell her I'm looking for a new job or if I'm not happy with my current job, she erupts like a volcano because she is tired of going through my job changes (I don't blame her).

I'm pretty sure I have to put this job on my resume, but I'm going to fudge it up a bit and put the same qualifications like my previous job since my last job is still fresh in my mind and I can convince and do those job skills still even though I've been contained currently to help desk fodder.

Now TechExams world, I'm needing your guidance. What should I do? What excuse can I make to potential employers on why I'm leaving this new job?

Thanks in advance for helping out a lost IT amigo....

loxleynew

Hey I feel your pain. My last job I was a system admin making minimal pay and wanted basically the same job but with higher pay. I took my current job 9 months ago and the pay and location is significantly better but the job is so boring. Every few weeks my responsibilities get dimished (it's a large company so they relocate responsibilities to other teams).

The worst part is that we had a job opening pop up and I applied and they said they were only hiring external candidates even though I am qualified. So I feel your pain. In fact I feel like I'm forgetting stuff because I don't use it. I imagine you feel the same way.

I would say you could put that the job wasn't quite as your expected when interviewing for a new job. Don't bash the job but just say it wasn't the direction you initially thought when you took the job. Either that or stick it out for the 6 month mark and then find a new job. Most people won't question why you change jobs as long as you have been there 6 months. Unless you do this like 4 times in a row.

powerfool

Quick points... I don't think I would list the job, if I could help it.... It just depends on the circumstances. On the wife front... You are the one working the job... I don't get on my wife about her work decisions and I expect the same... But that is my relationship and it may not work for you.

networker050184

Its only been two months, maybe you can give it a bit more time to sort itself out and show you can handle more responsibility.


If you really don't think its for you then just start looking. Explain the situation to whom ever you are interviewing with and hope they understand. Thats all you can do really short of just leaving it off your resume and pretending it never happened.

jtoast

Have you sat down with your boss and asked him for more responsibility? Many companies put their new hires on the helpdesk while they decide whether or not they have any actual technical skills. If you show an interest, they may give you something more challenging to do.

ehnde

If I were you I would try to tough it out another 4 months before moving on, also making sure to give proper notice. At this point you know the job is below the level of responsibility you were expecting, but despite that 4 months can come and go before you know it. Staying at least 6 months makes you look more stable. The pay is still ok even if the job is too easy, right?

Everyone

Yeah 2 months is not long enough to make that kind of decision. Most places you start at you're on at least a 90 day probation period. You haven't even made it past that yet.

Rockets34Life

jtoast wrote: »

Have you sat down with your boss and asked him for more responsibility? Many companies put their new hires on the helpdesk while they decide whether or not they have any actual technical skills. If you show an interest, they may give you something more challenging to do.

Nope, there isn't anything more they can give me other than what I explained in the original post.

Believe me, I would ask for more, but they're not going to pay me for it....so I rather just continue doing what I'm doing.

ehnde wrote: »

If I were you I would try to tough it out another 4 months before moving on, also making sure to give proper notice. At this point you know the job is below the level of responsibility you were expecting, but despite that 4 months can come and go before you know it. Staying at least 6 months makes you look more stable. The pay is still ok even if the job is too easy, right?

Believe me, I would love to stay and the pay is ok, but 6 months of doing help desk is just killing me. I want the knowledge from my previous job to stay fresh and intact, but it's slowly disappearing everyday being here. Since moving to this job, there really isn't anything new I've learned except Windows 7 platform and what info I need to adapt to the work environment.

Everyone wrote: »

Yeah 2 months is not long enough to make that kind of decision. Most places you start at you're on at least a 90 day probation period. You haven't even made it past that yet.

Dude, if you were in my position, you would know this was a mistake. Comparing my skillset from my previous job to this job is night and day. What's the point of waiting til' the 90 day period? Nothing will change....


I would love to leave this job off my resume, but if future employers want an explanation of what I was doing from May 2011 to now, what do I say? Won't they be able to search w/ my SSN to see that I held a job from May 2011 til' now?

ehnde

Rockets34Life wrote: »

I would love to leave this job off my resume, but if future employers want an explanation of what I was doing from May 2011 to now, what do I say? Won't they be able to search w/ my SSN to see that I held a job from May 2011 til' now?

That's exactly the problem. What do you say to future employers? 6 months won't make that big of a difference. Your reputation is what is important in this case. You can't count on your employer to help you improve your skillset. They hire you for the skill you already have, not what skill you might have in the future.

You sound like you've already made up your mind to quit, but if you haven't you can always pass the time by setting a goal of getting a new cert during your time there. Good luck!

networker050184

Just tell them the same thing you are telling us. The job is not what you were led to believe and you are looking for somewhere you can use and grow your skill set.

jtoast

Rockets34Life wrote: »

Believe me, I would ask for more, but they're not going to pay me for it....so I rather just continue doing what I'm doing.

I guess thats where we differ. I would ask for more responsibility regardless of the money and then come back in 6 months to a year with an ultimatum...pay me or I walk.

You took the job expecting to work harder than you are for the money you are making now....whats the problem?

ccnxjr

I was in a similar position, stuck it out for nearly 2 yrs.
Some managers will reward hard work, some won't , some appreciate it but aren't always in a position to help you out.

You need a two pronged game plan
1) Do well at your current role (the paychecks still clear right? )
2) Set yourself up for the next career move

Keep Professional, get your bills paid:
-First year is rough, keep your reputation up, however, don't commit more resources than you can afford (time, energy, etc.)
-Don't be afraid to ask for help, if they are leaning on you too heavily let the ball drop, don't burn yourself out, you can still blame it on your "newbness".
-At the same time, prove your value, if the opportunity does come up for overtime, (compensated or uncomped) take it, but not at the expense of burn out, if it's seasonal yes, else no more frequently than one night every 2 weeks or so.
-Be professional, you don't want to burn out but don't drag your legs, commit your solid 8 hrs to being 100% on the job!

Working toward a new opportunity:
So you've committed to your 8 hr schedule, what next? With daycare this may be a bit challenging, however we all know that job hunting in itself is almost a second job!
You need to network (meet people) and demonstrate expertise (show off your Knowledge Skills and Abilities without bragging)
-Volunteer your time, preferably one or two nights out of the week so that you can keep your weekends open for recuperation. This also helps you escape at the close of business, if they know your volunteering at a non-profit you won't be seen as a slacker for leaving at closing time.
-Use your volunteer opportunities well, introduce yourself to others, (it took me over 10 yrs to learn how to talk to a stranger, not quite there yet, but making progress). It helps to show an interest in their lives. Also don't rage **** about your career (do that at a bar), but be frank, your doing help desk type work to pay your bills while looking for something different, blame it on a rough economy.
Have a topic of conversation, watch a little tv, read a new book.
-Demonstrate expertise by giving a class. Some libraries or schools offer intro or beginner level courses in various things, and many of the teachers are uncompensated. From your own experience you may realise that not all people who teach are subject matter experts. Also, in developing a lesson plan, and giving a class you work on presentation skills, and you may also do research into your weak areas, since your volunteering and not a professional teacher you don't have that "pressure" upon you.

It's been said that people are more likely to hire you if you already have a job, which puts you in a position of power.
That's part of the formula, but they can also smell desperation on you, so even if your buckled down at your current position, your still not approaching it from an empowered position.

Additional notes, save up some $ for a decent lab ($300-$400), so you can say you have the "hands on" experience. I'd say get the lab before cramming for certs.
Get experience in at least one or two network monitoring applications (Nagios/SCOM).
Diagram up a small network using Visio, budget it out, try to simulate it using Virtual Machines or emulators and move up to progressively larger systems.

kiki162

Hate to say it but you are gonna have to suck it up for while..at least a year or so. Think about it like this, if you are going out and interviewing for another job while being at this one for a short amount of time, do you think that companies want someone that job hops like that?

Employers also do background checks and employment checks, plus they are going to ask what have you done between the times you havne't worked. What are you going to tell them that you quit your job and was waiting for another? That doesn't look good.

Remember that there is always going to be a plateau in most jobs. Feel blessed that you do have a job and can pay the bills for now. For me, I have to drive 75 minutes 1 way to my job, and I have no choice at the moment. I love what I do, but there are some things I can't get training on...mainly because of budget issues.

I completely agree with ccnxjr in that you need to come up with a game plan to set yourself up in a good position to move into a real sys admin position. Create some labs at home, install a copy of VMWare Server, and create labs out of that on your PC at home. Make a plan to get some certs under your belt and some training, plus you will have plenty of time while you are riding this out.

If you have an idea on where you want to be job wise, maybe you should post it up on here. There will be plenty of people that will give you ideas on what path you need to take.

Rockets34Life

jtoast wrote: »

I guess thats where we differ. I would ask for more responsibility regardless of the money and then come back in 6 months to a year with an ultimatum...pay me or I walk.

You took the job expecting to work harder than you are for the money you are making now....whats the problem?

I took the job expecting it to be a challenge and to forward my career to system administration.

Pay is not really an issue with this job.....it was being conned into thinking this was a help desk/desktop support/sys admin job and then doing primarily the same crap when I started my IT career. Plus, there are no advancements to any other depts. with this job.

Another dead end job = search again for the right job.

Ask for more help desk crap? No way.

kiki162 wrote: »

Hate to say it but you are gonna have to suck it up for while..at least a year or so. Think about it like this, if you are going out and interviewing for another job while being at this one for a short amount of time, do you think that companies want someone that job hops like that?

Employers also do background checks and employment checks, plus they are going to ask what have you done between the times you havne't worked. What are you going to tell them that you quit your job and was waiting for another? That doesn't look good.

I have sucked it up the 1st 8 years of my life doing help desk/desktop support hybrid. After dealing with that, I finally received jobs that have helped plateau myself to Sr. level desktop support and Jr. level sys admin work. I admit I made a mistake and got this job thinking I was going to continue moving up education/experience wise in my career, but instead went back to redundant help desk garbage.

Yes, employers will do background/employment checks and the only gap I have - I chose voluntarily to take time off to go back to school. During interviews, I tell them while I went to school, I took the time to get certifications related to my experience and my schooling. That's how I got my previous job before this one.

So while I continue working this gig (I know they need me for this position because the last person that worked this job according to them was an idiot), I'm going to keep my eye out for the right job that is going to advance my career and help my family.

kiki162 wrote: »

Remember that there is always going to be a plateau in most jobs. Feel blessed that you do have a job and can pay the bills for now. For me, I have to drive 75 minutes 1 way to my job, and I have no choice at the moment.

I'm very blessed I was able to get a job after my long gap during the recession. Times were tough when I stepped away from work and went back to school. God was watching over me during those times.

I worked my tail off for the past 10 years, but it's finally paying off. My experience, bachelor's degree, and certs has made me marketable to get another job.

When I started to look for jobs when I had my previous job, things were looking up because I was getting calls left and right. It may have not been the right jobs I wanted, but I knew I made the right decision to take time off to go back to school and pick up certs that would match with my work experience.

kiki162 wrote: »

I love what I do, but there are some things I can't get training on...mainly because of budget issues.

kiki162 wrote: »

I completely agree with ccnxjr in that you need to come up with a game plan to set yourself up in a good position to move into a real sys admin position. Create some labs at home, install a copy of VMWare Server, and create labs out of that on your PC at home. Make a plan to get some certs under your belt and some training, plus you will have plenty of time while you are riding this out.

If you have an idea on where you want to be job wise, maybe you should post it up on here. There will be plenty of people that will give you ideas on what path you need to take.

This I agree with. With my current job and taking care of my 5-month old daughter, it's been tough to create the lab, get VMWare, etc. setup. You just want to crash after getting back from work and taking care of your daughter for the day. I had plans to setup something like that for a room in the house, but that got converted to her room, so doing that has been put on hold. When and if I find the spot and the time, I want to definitely jump on it.

I have posted a few threads on what I need to do career wise and the gurus of TechExams have come through. I just have to put the plans into motion.

powerfool

Yeah... someone mentioned the first year.... sometimes it can be rough and it can improve once you have gotten past one year. That has certainly been the case for me on multiple occasions. My last job was like that and I actually quit right at my one year mark before my review; they were shocked to say the least. They asked me not to talk to my coworkers about it (although I had already been talking to them about it before I submitted my notice). Anyhow, they offered me a substantial increase to stay. Normally I would not have accepted, but I did and I stayed for two more years.

While I was the technical lead, I started taking on more responsibilities from the IT Director. Eventually, they canned him. We were without an IT Director for nine months. I applied for the job and they turned me down. While I was certainly upset about that, I was very happy to have had the opportunity. I grew a lot in that job.

Rockets34Life

Well, I'm deciding even more and more that I'm going to leave this gig. It frustrates me, even during this holiday weekend that I got conned into this job.

Now that I'm going to search again for another job that hopefully fits my experience and my ongoing plan to system administration, the problem I'm going to have is giving excuses for face-to-face interviews.

The operation is run with me and 3 other guys on a team. The 1st guy comes in at 7-4, me and another guy is 8-5, and the last guy comes in at 9-6. My lunch is from 12-1. Since it's being run like a help desk, it's all about coverage. I know there will be multiple future face-to-face interviews, so what are the best times through my 8-5 day I can do interviews? And what are good excuses to make?

higherho

Rockets34Life wrote: »

Well, I'm deciding even more and more that I'm going to leave this gig. It frustrates me, even during this holiday weekend that I got conned into this job.

Now that I'm going to search again for another job that hopefully fits my experience and my ongoing plan to system administration, the problem I'm going to have is giving excuses for face-to-face interviews.

The operation is run with me and 3 other guys on a team. The 1st guy comes in at 7-4, me and another guy is 8-5, and the last guy comes in at 9-6. My lunch is from 12-1. Since it's being run like a help desk, it's all about coverage. I know there will be multiple future face-to-face interviews, so what are the best times through my 8-5 day I can do interviews? And what are good excuses to make?

Regarding the excuses part. Many individuals (including myself) state to future employers that their was no room to grow within the company and that I was in a stagnant position.

I also stated in a interview once (for the job I'm with now) that my previous job stated stuff I was going to do but it never turned out that way. After I stated this, the employer went on to state that you will be doing this for sure and listed my responsibilities.

Rockets34Life

higherho wrote: »

Regarding the excuses part. Many individuals (including myself) state to future employers that their was no room to grow within the company and that I was in a stagnant position.

I also stated in a interview once (for the job I'm with now) that my previous job stated stuff I was going to do but it never turned out that way. After I stated this, the employer went on to state that you will be doing this for sure and listed my responsibilities.

Sorry, I may have misspoke, but that advice is good to use for interviews. Thanks!

I meant what excuses can I give my current employer to go to these face-to-face interviews? If I had been there for a while, the excuses would be easy to use. But since I've been there under 2 months, it's going to be a little tougher.

higherho

Rockets34Life wrote: »

Sorry, I may have misspoke, but that advice is good to use for interviews. Thanks!

I meant what excuses can I give my current employer to go to these face-to-face interviews? If I had been there for a while, the excuses would be easy to use. But since I've been there under 2 months, it's going to be a little tougher.

No problem,

I would also give the same reasons to your current employer. Maybe this will spur them to give you more responsibilities / new position to try to keep you their. You can also use the pay excuse if you want to barter for more money.

Rockets34Life

higherho wrote: »

No problem,

I would also give the same reasons to your current employer. Maybe this will spur them to give you more responsibilities / new position to try to keep you their. You can also use the pay excuse if you want to barter for more money.

See, the only extra responsibilities I will receive will be more help desk related, nothing to what I want to do that will progress me to system administration.

Pay - I don't think they will budge since it's not a big company.

Frankly, I'm just disappointed. I thought I would be doing the same role as my previous position, but instead it's just been 100% help desk and PC Tech. The title is the same as my previous position (Desktop Administrator), but the aspect of desktop support and system administration is very, very minimal.

I'm just needing some good excuses to plan out my time to go to these future face-to-face interviews.

SteveLord

Rockets34Life wrote: »

The new job.....same title, and I expected the same duties as my previous job.

Well, next week will be 2 months with this new company and everyday the job feels like I'm going backwards in my IT career. This role is 90% help desk, 5% PC Tech (all Dell Laptops), 3% desktop support (stretching this), and 2% sys admin (just resetting passwords in AD).

When I interviewed, they said there will be some help desk, but I thought it was going to be minimal since the position is Desktop Administrator. I was definitely wrong.

I'm confused. Is this really as cut and dry as you make it sound to be? How did you not know what the was involved with the position through the job description and interview?

Rockets34Life

SteveLord wrote: »

I'm confused. Is this really as cut and dry as you make it sound to be? How did you not know what the was involved with the position through the job description and interview?

When I was in the interview, I told them what I did. They weren't really cut and dry on the position, but the way they explained the position, it seemed like the same job as my previous position.

Anytime there is a desktop administrator position, you would think help desk, desktop support and system administration. This is clearly not it.

thomas130

Hi

Reading this thread remind me of my currently job. I basically drop down from supporting multiple domains up to date system to a company that won't even have a domain.

But rather than be pissed off about it I using my time to build other skills. Since starting this job I have learnt linux, shell and powershell and just starting asp.net to create a system for them.

For me it's not the job but what you make of it. I be honest I could go there everyday and I would'nt learn anything. However I set myself project to expand my skills and build my repuation. I believe this is what you should do.

I probably start looking for a job as well within the next year

shednik

Rockets34Life wrote: »

Anytime there is a desktop administrator position, you would think help desk, desktop support and system administration. This is clearly not it.

Not necessarily a job title at one company could mean something completely different at another, no offense but you probably should've gotten some more concrete details before taking a position.

Another thing to note, I don't know your company but is there a chance you may be able to find another internal position after a year? At my company you can apply for any position internally and it's usually easier for someone internal to get the position. Generally they want to see that you were in your current role for about a year.

Don't get me wrong I understand how you feel, I've definitely outgrown my current role but I'm not going to jump ship for anything I get. How are the benefits at the company? Do they pay for training? Do they promote career planning with your manager? Tuition reimbursement? You need to consider more then just doing more system admin type work. You have a family and that should be your priority, you can do other things to try and advance your career. I know you said the network and systems teams are small but have you made friends with them? I used to bug the network guy at the company I was at before and he ended up having me help him on some of his projects. Right as I was leaving he was working to have me moved over to his group but the new job I got was way to good to turn down.

So what I'm saying is, things may not look great now but keep your head up and look for any opportunities withing your current company. I'd give it at least 6 months if not a year, I don't know how much time you have under your belt but jumping from job to job never looks good.

best of luck to you with whatever you decide!

joe

N2IT

Rockets34Life wrote: »

Sorry for the long post.....but need HELP!

Back in April, I was so excited about leaving my last job and getting this job.

http://www.techexams.net/forums/jobs-degrees/65134-potential-job-dealbreaker-help.html

I'm not regretting my last job, but this job isn't turning out how I hoped it would be.

My last job was primarily desktop support/Jr.-to-Mid sys admin role - title was Desktop Administrator. Here was what I did with my last job - http://www.techexams.net/forums/jobs-degrees/62042-need-help-resume-please-help.html

The new job.....same title, and I expected the same duties as my previous job.

Well, next week will be 2 months with this new company and everyday the job feels like I'm going backwards in my IT career. This role is 90% help desk, 5% PC Tech (all Dell Laptops), 3% desktop support (stretching this), and 2% sys admin (just resetting passwords in AD).

When I interviewed, they said there will be some help desk, but I thought it was going to be minimal since the position is Desktop Administrator. I was definitely wrong.

I feel like I jumped the gun needing to leave that job and just chose the wrong job. The team I'm working with and the supervisor is good (definitely much better than what I had to deal with in my previous job), but I'm not learning squat in this position. The only thing I have learned here is they are Win 7 platform and they work with internal/external aircards, no tethering or hotspots. That's it. This role compared to my previous job has diminished me to being a help desk/bench tech. I feel like I'm wasting my talents. Their server/networking team consists of 2 people, 1 on each side....so there is no way I can move over there.

I really want to look for another job and I might have to do it covert, but I run into a 2 dilemmas.....my wife and daycare. First, daycare. The job is located in a perfect area where I can get to my daughter in less than 30 min in traffic going through back roads. Next, the General (my wife). Whenever I tell her I'm looking for a new job or if I'm not happy with my current job, she erupts like a volcano because she is tired of going through my job changes (I don't blame her).

I'm pretty sure I have to put this job on my resume, but I'm going to fudge it up a bit and put the same qualifications like my previous job since my last job is still fresh in my mind and I can convince and do those job skills still even though I've been contained currently to help desk fodder.

Now TechExams world, I'm needing your guidance. What should I do? What excuse can I make to potential employers on why I'm leaving this new job?

Thanks in advance for helping out a lost IT amigo....

I have a rule of thumb I go by. If you aren't satisfied with your job by the completion of month 3 you aren't going to like it. This is just a rule of thumb I go by. I think you should give this job another month and if nothing changes and you can't stand it start looking for another.

Just my two cents.

Market is at 12000 last time I checked, I suspect jobs to tighten up again. If I were you start looking for another gig while companies are still hiring. One short term job on your resume isn't going to kill you. Several on the other hand will.

Rockets34Life

One thing I'm going to try at my current job is to schmooze with the server team. The only problem is.....there is only one person that handles the servers. The other 2 handle Exchange and the network. And he is also a manager that works hand-in-hand with my supervisor.

I would like to talk to the guy about movement there or show interest in going there, but don't want to make it as if I want to abandon my team to join his.

Any advice on what I should say? From all my previous jobs, I've never talked to another dept. covert before while working in another dept, especially if both depts communicate with each other.

Rockets34Life

thomas130 wrote: »

Hi

Reading this thread remind me of my currently job. I basically drop down from supporting multiple domains up to date system to a company that won't even have a domain.

But rather than be pissed off about it I using my time to build other skills. Since starting this job I have learnt linux, shell and powershell and just starting asp.net to create a system for them.

For me it's not the job but what you make of it. I be honest I could go there everyday and I would'nt learn anything. However I set myself project to expand my skills and build my repuation. I believe this is what you should do.

I probably start looking for a job as well within the next year

I don't know what's going on with me, but for some reason, I've just got into this lazy state of just wanting to work and come home. I don't want to call this an excuse, but motivation isn't also there because I have to take care of my 5 month old every evening when I pick her up from daycare. By the time my wife and I put her to bed, it's past 10pm. I've got all the material to study, just no push internally in me to do it.

shednik wrote: »

Not necessarily a job title at one company could mean something completely different at another, no offense but you probably should've gotten some more concrete details before taking a position.

Believe me, I'm kicking myself everyday I come to this job.

shednik wrote: »

Another thing to note, I don't know your company but is there a chance you may be able to find another internal position after a year? At my company you can apply for any position internally and it's usually easier for someone internal to get the position. Generally they want to see that you were in your current role for about a year.

It will be 2 months in a couple of days. I'm already regretting this role. Lasting a year.....I highly doubt I want to be in this position for that long. And this company isn't that big (2000 employees max) and there are only 3 people that run server, network, and Exchange. High chance there won't be a position available unless one of them leaves. Other than that, there isn't anywhere else to go except where I'm at.

shednik wrote: »

Don't get me wrong I understand how you feel, I've definitely outgrown my current role but I'm not going to jump ship for anything I get. How are the benefits at the company? Do they pay for training? Do they promote career planning with your manager? Tuition reimbursement? You need to consider more then just doing more system admin type work.

Benefits - they are ok and I just qualified for it last week. Will sign up for it, but if I find another job, then it's pointless.

Training - Haven't asked, but I doubt it since there isn't any time for me to do the training on the job and off the job.

Career Planning - There isn't much to get promoted to since there isn't anywhere else to go since all the slots are filled.

Tuition Reimbursement - Not that I'm aware of, but I'll check. I'll have to do online courses since I can't go anywhere after work.

shednik wrote: »

You have a family and that should be your priority, you can do other things to try and advance your career. I know you said the network and systems teams are small but have you made friends with them? I used to bug the network guy at the company I was at before and he ended up having me help him on some of his projects. Right as I was leaving he was working to have me moved over to his group but the new job I got was way to good to turn down.

Believe me, my family is #1. I always strive to make sure our lives are comfortable.

I just asked about needing advice on how to approach them and how to speak with those folks to help my movement there. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

shednik wrote: »

So what I'm saying is, things may not look great now but keep your head up and look for any opportunities withing your current company. I'd give it at least 6 months if not a year, I don't know how much time you have under your belt but jumping from job to job never looks good.

best of luck to you with whatever you decide!

joe

I'll try to stretch this thing out to 6 months, but more and more I'm here in this role, it might be half that.

N2IT wrote: »

I have a rule of thumb I go by. If you aren't satisfied with your job by the completion of month 3 you aren't going to like it. This is just a rule of thumb I go by. I think you should give this job another month and if nothing changes and you can't stand it start looking for another.

Just my two cents.

This is what I'm thinking, but I got to get something lined up. Got to make the right excuses with this current job to get out for face-to-face interviews. Got any?

N2IT wrote: »

Market is at 12000 last time I checked, I suspect jobs to tighten up again. If I were you start looking for another gig while companies are still hiring. One short term job on your resume isn't going to kill you. Several on the other hand will.

I took my resume off Careerbuilder, Dice, etc. after I got this job. I didn't notify any of the agencies I was working with, but haven't received very many calls from them as of yet.

Got one a couple weeks ago that I'm currently working.....a Jr.-to-Midlevel Sys Admin job near my house, but it looks tough since I'm mostly a Jr. Level sys admin from my previous job. I took 3 exams last week to test my Server 2003, Exchange, and Active Directory. Didn't do so hot.....so we'll see this week if I advance for interviews.

I'm hoping maybe this week or next week I'll open my resume up again to the job search engines with this current job on there. Hopefully I'll get some bites, but if you're right about the market, I might be stuck with this gig for a while.

Is 2 jobs in 1 year by the end of this month too many short-term jobs?