MIS Graduate Needing Advice

cqlove

I graduated with a B.S. in MIS in Dec. of 2009. In June 2010 I landed a desktop support position (contractor) with ExxonMobil. I support five different office buildings and also the chemical and refinery plant. I am a floater,which means I cover all grounds at the complex. It has been a great job and is only five minutes away from my house. But the pay is low and I am growing tired of desktop support. I want to advance in my IT career but am undecided as which path to take. Will this desktop support role help me advance? Any ideas as to which path to take? Any suggestions would be great! Thanks.

whatthehell

That's what I am trying to decide now too. I am over doing support, so trying to find a specialization to slide into, like web dev or networking.

I think taking into classes as a local college would be good to get exposure to other technologies. More certs possibly as well?

Either way good luck to both of us!

Akaricloud

I too am in about the same boat.

I'm graduating in December with my MIS degree and have a little over 3 years experience in Desktop Support.

My plan so far is to start working on my MCITP: Enterprise Administrator and see where it takes me from there..

I'll definitely be watching this to see what kind of advice you get!

veritas_libertas

Yes this is a step in the right direction. Now you need to decide what you want to move into. Below are a few of the typical options:

• Network Infrastructure

• Server Administration

• Web Development

Of course there are many other options. The big questions is what do you want to do? We can give suggestions, but you are the one who has to decide what you like. You might want to buy a server book and a Cisco book then decide if either is of interest to you.

Everyone

I don't know if ExxonMobile has all their IT contracted out, but having been there for a year as a contractor may mean you have your foot in the door. Maybe see if they have any positions that interest you working directly with them. If they contract all of it out, and the company you work for is one of their main contractors, maybe there's something you can try and move up to?

Like veritas_libertas said, you need to decide what path you want to take.

cqlove

No just level 2 Desktop support is contracted out at Exxon. There is a way to get in but it's a recent graduate(within 2yrs after you graduate) paid internship where they put you at desktop support role for 6 months and then you move on to applications/project management/networking/etc... Thing is GPA requirement is high. My GPA is just average. (worked two jobs through college) (programming kicked my butt lol) Maybe being out here already knowing the "Exxon Way" will give me an edge on my mediocre GPA. I am going to meet Exxons IT recruiter face to face in October with my resume and transcript in hand at my University's job fair. (Was told by fellow Exxon IT coworkers that this is the best way to go.) Thanks for the advice!