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Career Advice... What should I do!!!???
carseneau
Registered Users Posts: 1 ■□□□□□□□□□
Hey guys, apoligizing in advance for a long post, but when I start typing I can't stop lol.
I'm currently working as a "Technical Support Representative" for a small (30 employee) software company making 35k/yr. I started working at this company after a year of a Computer Systems Technology program in college (Canada). Due to my brick and mortar school not offering a very good night school program (i need to work to support myself, debt payment etc....) I've since transferred my credits to Athabasca University where I am working on my bachelors degree through correspondence.
The problem is is that when I was hired I thought I would be working in more of a helpdesk support role (while also learning networking and systems, etc....) but instead we get very little support requests, so most of my time is spent creating SQL reports and doing custom programming for clients. I've gone from zero programming knowledge to a half decent amount by working here, so it's not all for nothing.
What I am worried about though is spreading myself too thin, while my schooling was focused mostly on the systems and networking side, my work has focused on the database and programming side. I like programming and I like systems, I guess I just can't make up my mind which way to go. And also, I really need to make more money, at least 40k/yr, but realistically more.
My options that I can think of are as follows:
1) Stay at my current company, ask for a raise and hope for the best, not really get any hands on experience and just keep working on my degree
2) Get a job at another company that has more structure in the helpdesk, maybe a company that gives me room to grow, that seems like more of a lateral move though, so I don't know
3) Try and land a job at a software company as a junior developer, I think the wage for a jr developer seems to be similar to what I make now, I would aim for 40k at least
4) Apply for jobs that are more on the system admin side even though my experience doesn't really apply (I have a lot of knowledge from school and personal experience, but not working experience)
I guess I just don't know which kinds of jobs I should be applying to with my experience and all.. Also I don't have any certifications and was wondering if it would be worth it to pursue a few for now, as my degree will take me a few years to complete at least. I'm good at retaining knowledge for tests, so I could probably bang off a few basic certs pretty easily.
If anyone of you experienced TE members has any ideas for me, please let me know!!!
Thanks!
I'm currently working as a "Technical Support Representative" for a small (30 employee) software company making 35k/yr. I started working at this company after a year of a Computer Systems Technology program in college (Canada). Due to my brick and mortar school not offering a very good night school program (i need to work to support myself, debt payment etc....) I've since transferred my credits to Athabasca University where I am working on my bachelors degree through correspondence.
The problem is is that when I was hired I thought I would be working in more of a helpdesk support role (while also learning networking and systems, etc....) but instead we get very little support requests, so most of my time is spent creating SQL reports and doing custom programming for clients. I've gone from zero programming knowledge to a half decent amount by working here, so it's not all for nothing.
What I am worried about though is spreading myself too thin, while my schooling was focused mostly on the systems and networking side, my work has focused on the database and programming side. I like programming and I like systems, I guess I just can't make up my mind which way to go. And also, I really need to make more money, at least 40k/yr, but realistically more.
My options that I can think of are as follows:
1) Stay at my current company, ask for a raise and hope for the best, not really get any hands on experience and just keep working on my degree
2) Get a job at another company that has more structure in the helpdesk, maybe a company that gives me room to grow, that seems like more of a lateral move though, so I don't know
3) Try and land a job at a software company as a junior developer, I think the wage for a jr developer seems to be similar to what I make now, I would aim for 40k at least
4) Apply for jobs that are more on the system admin side even though my experience doesn't really apply (I have a lot of knowledge from school and personal experience, but not working experience)
I guess I just don't know which kinds of jobs I should be applying to with my experience and all.. Also I don't have any certifications and was wondering if it would be worth it to pursue a few for now, as my degree will take me a few years to complete at least. I'm good at retaining knowledge for tests, so I could probably bang off a few basic certs pretty easily.
If anyone of you experienced TE members has any ideas for me, please let me know!!!
Thanks!