Operation: Get out of Helpdesk

MauriceMoss

So I have been at helpdesk for about 1 year. The client is a federal contractor. I am not new to the work force. This is my first REAL I.T. job but I had plenty of other entry level jobs. I never got fired or anything. My current reviews at my current job are good.

Background: B.S. BA, some CS courses, 4 grad school courses (towards MBA, concentration in I.S. -- state school), Net+, A+
Slowly working on: MSITP

Let me start with what I don't like:
As a federal contractor (not sure if it's the same with EVERY agency but you are reminded that you are 'just a contractor'). It's sort of a caste system. No matter how much you make or your title your 'just a contractor'). The GAL has the title as 'contractor' and the Nameplates have 'contractor'. As a federal contractor you have to constantly kiss ass. The bad part is when someone treats you nasty there is little recourse (which is common in helpdesk). However, if you are a fed there is recourse. I have learned some but the amount of learning is limited where I am at. I am not allowed to physically touch anything outside my area. For the most part, help desk seems like a conceriage. You just forward the problem to people that actually solve the problem. The problems I do solve are B.S. Most of the customers are 'educated' but don't know how to do very basic things. Things that they should know as part of their job function. Most Office questions can be answered with a 'let me Google that for you'. When I first started working there it felt like I was paid to tie shoes all day. Oh yeah, when a floor gets rennovated, we haul all of the computers (stay after hours up to 1AM.. can be like 100 users).

Maybe it's just D.C. (I tend to generalize too much). I have worked at their regional office and customers are much more pleasant than in D.C.

There has been some people that go from contractor to fed at my agency. However, under my department it's underheard of (office politics - I guess it's a my boss doesn't like your boss thing or whatever).

So... my options as i see it...
1) Become a helpdesk type person in another federal agency
2) Upgrade skills and do a fed I.T. position outside of helpdesk

Ideally, I wouldn't interface with end users. However, I am sure being a fed in desktop support is better than a contractor in desktop support. I am less motivated by money and more motivated by being happy where I am at.

Any thoughts or opinions?

Thanks everyone.

IndyLoveless

So...let me get this straight...you want out of the help desk?

MauriceMoss

Sounds about right.

VAHokie56

If you don't want to mess with end users keep working on your specialization certs and toss your resume out there. If you think there is a roof over your head in this job you should start looking else where.

MauriceMoss

Is MSITP and CCNA a good start?

veritas_libertas

MauriceMoss wrote: »

Is MSITP and CCNA a good start?

What do you want to do?

System Administration is all about servers.

Network Administration is all about switches and routers.

If you want to work with servers that do the MCITP:Enterprise Administrator. If you want to work with switches and routers than do the CCNA. So in conclusion, what do you want to do?

MauriceMoss

Good question. I am such a nerd I want to learn both. I have an idea of what an Enterprise Administrator does. It doesn't look like a bad gig. Although, I havent been able to be around the network guys much. I just call them when a port doesn't seem to be activated. Is there some where I could read a "day in the life of" a network engineer? The sanitized BLS and ONet description seem as fake as press on nails.

Thanks.

VAHokie56

search these forums...I believe there where some good threads about the life of a network guy...

I typically come in and check tickets make sure nothing is to pressing, maybe go work a few low level ones. If I am not doing any ticket work ill focus on whatever projects we have going on at the time. This is most of the time interrupted by server people or other fokes coming in and begging me to do stuff without a ticket..or some remote site has issues and I have to start up the jeep and hit the road. Its a fun job I love it feel free to PM if you want more details.

WillTech105

Well seeing how your from the DC area (united states) alot of jobs I've been to is jack of all. I dunno about you, but the path I was taken down IT-wise was take jack of all jobs in order to move up the ladder.

Specailization is great for huge companies, but now with the economy the way it is -- companies are penny pincing more than ever and will fire 2 people and hire one so it pays to know more than one technology.

Alot of the time, you just need to be patient (took me 7 months of looking to leave my first IT job), keep putting yourself out there, make new contacts, and get certified.

Devilry

Welcome to TE!

Stay on these forums and read read read. Then post a bunch in return.

I would just put your resume out there, can't hurt!

If you want MCITP and CCNA, go for it! I know I am.

MauriceMoss

Thanks for the welcome. I look forward to learning from others. I hope to post in return too. Thanks

RouteThisWay

My long lost twin.


I totally understand your situation.

Back in January, I accepted a position as a System Administrator and left my Help Desk job. I too was a Federal Contractor. And the atmosphere was toxic. It was exactly as you described it- a caste system. We would seriously rewrite security policy if Mr. Joe Blow Fed didn't like something that he shouldn't be doing at work anyway. It was ridiculous to say the least.

I started that job with A+/Net+ and some break/fix experience on desktop hardware. I spent 2 1/2 years at the job learning pretty much everything I could about Active Directory and Windows Server. Fortunately, my manager at the time was an AMAZING one. He went to bat for us, gave me a ton of experience on the servers there, and overall- taught me quite a bit of tech.

A sys admin job opened up there and I applied for it- long story short, the CIO who managed us (a Fed) felt I was too young (23 at the time) to handle that responsibility and I spent the next 3 months training a guy who was 10 years older than me how to do the job I supposedly couldn't do.

So in those 3 months, I decided to really crack down on the job hunt. I sat for the MCTS: Active Directory (70-640) exam and just started applying. I ended up getting this job that I absolutely love with a medium-size business that I absolutely love. I was talking to my boss the other day during our quarterly and asked him "why me?". I saw the resume's of the guys I beat out on the file server, and to be honest- I was very impressed. They all had BS or Masters degrees, etc etc. I have an Associates.

Here is why my manager hired me and I think these tips may help you:

1) I showed an eagerness to learn. I attended night school and also had a few certifications under my belt. These showed that I was willing to improve outside of normal work hours. And let me tell you, after hours are when work can become the most important hours.

2) Upward climb. My experience showed that I was willing to work bottom of the barrel (shipping/receiving in a warehouse) and work my way up a company to get the experience I needed. My work history showed growth of technical skill and responsibility.

3) Personable. I was friendly, polite, and could talk to non-tech people about tech. My first interview after the phone screen was with the COO, CFO, Directory of IT, and the Accounting Manager. They needed someone who could speak to them on a level that they understood. There is a fine line between talking above someone and making them feel stupid, and then dumbing it down so much they feel stupid. You need to be able to relay information to senior management that makes them feel that they know what you are talking about without seeming like you are trying to confuse them with fancy tech talk.

4) Results. I was able to demonstrate specific events in my career so far that had a results outcome. The business world is very results oriented. People like to check boxes, cross lines, etc. Being able to show a proven history of tangible results is important. Use facts when detailing them. Provide numbers. Provide the outcome.

I would say #3 was the most important. So many people do not address soft skills, people skills, or whatever you wish to call it. Being able to communicate effectively in a business environment can do wonders for a career. I wasn't the most educated, experienced, or brightest guy that interviewed. But I was able to demonstrate technical competence, a thirst for knowledge, a business-minded attitude, and proven successful results- and in the end, that won me the job.

A degree didn't get me out of Help Desk. Neither did certifications to be honest. Experience, maybe. But my experience up until now was very Help Desk oriented.

You are in the DC area right? There are a ton of Jr lvl Admin jobs around there. Also, here is some advice someone gave me:

Apply for jobs you feel you are not qualified for. Honestly, I almost didn't apply to the job I am in now. But interviewing is never a bad thing. It gives you experience in the interview process so you know what other similar positions may be looking for, calms you down, gets you pointed in the right direction of things you may need to learn, etc. I interviewed for quite a few jobs that I didn't get- but it helped me realize my strong/weak points of interviewing and gave me the opportunity to brush up on my tech.

That is just my story and what I identified I needed to do to get out of Help Desk. (Which btw, working for a small or medium business- you will probably still do Help Desk to some extent lol).

Turgon

WillTech105 wrote: »

Well seeing how your from the DC area (united states) alot of jobs I've been to is jack of all. I dunno about you, but the path I was taken down IT-wise was take jack of all jobs in order to move up the ladder.

Specailization is great for huge companies, but now with the economy the way it is -- companies are penny pincing more than ever and will fire 2 people and hire one so it pays to know more than one technology.

Alot of the time, you just need to be patient (took me 7 months of looking to leave my first IT job), keep putting yourself out there, make new contacts, and get certified.

Largely correct, at least in terms of the operations space. But you really want to be punting at the design/architect space for longivity.

MauriceMoss

Solid advice RouteTheWay. Thanks. What is your stress level now vs when you were a federal contractor?

advanex1

Maurice,

I understand the help desk idea, I talk with our contractors on a daily basis and they say the same thing. In turn, we kind of feel like they aren't pulling their weight for being paid $100k a year being deployed. However, I will say the one thing they serve well is being the middle man and there HAS to be one. Otherwise, you would have some really dumb end users calling your LAN/WAN Engineers, your IAM's, etc. etc. Having a middle man to forward tickets and serve as a mediary to the ones higher up is a necessity (here at least). So while you may feel you don't serve in a noteworthy capacity, I can assure you that you do and you probably don't get paid as ridiculous as these guys over here - which is why I have even more respect for what you do.

I never understood why a help desk individual as a contractor in Iraq made 6 figures or very close to it, without any certifications and very little prior knowledge. They just knew someone who knew someone and got the job. It's interesting to me that I have to work some of the basics of basics and take it out of their hands when they are paid to be on the front lines and disseminate traffic.

Just my little rant about the ones here - I'm sure you're much better and I wish you the best of luck into finding something much more enjoyable for you.

MauriceMoss

advanex1 wrote: »

Maurice,

I understand the help desk idea, I talk with our contractors on a daily basis and they say the same thing. In turn, we kind of feel like they aren't pulling their weight for being paid $100k a year being deployed. However, I will say the one thing they serve well is being the middle man and there HAS to be one. Otherwise, you would have some really dumb end users calling your LAN/WAN Engineers, your IAM's, etc. etc. Having a middle man to forward tickets and serve as a mediary to the ones higher up is a necessity (here at least). So while you may feel you don't serve in a noteworthy capacity, I can assure you that you do and you probably don't get paid as ridiculous as these guys over here - which is why I have even more respect for what you do.

Thanks for the rant. I don't make ANYWHERE near that salary. I make very entry level. Where do you work again? I don't even think my immediate boss makes that. I don't know if helpdesk is typically just putting in tickets or solving some things. We solve desktop issues....beyond that...that's it. If it's to do with the network or telecom/AV that is routed else where. We could do that stuff but they don't let us have access to everything. A lot of "issues" are bullcrap. They are suppose to have somewhat of a tiered system I, II, III but we all answer the same questions. We never "escalate" to each other. From talking to my coworkers when you do get a "promotion" it's very little. I do my best before routing out to someone else. I want to solve problems...

RouteThisWay

MauriceMoss wrote: »

Solid advice RouteTheWay. Thanks. What is your stress level now vs when you were a federal contractor?

Stress is still there, but it is much more manageable. And different.

One thing that I absolutely love about working for a company in a non-govt sector is the tangibility of it.

I can see the product of my work. Being able to see my hard work come to fruition via hard cold numbers is greatly satisfying. That is the problem that I had with working for the federal government at the facility I was at. We didn't produce anything. We didn't sell anything. We didn't offer a service. We existed solely to acquire our budget for the next FY, so we can once again get it again for the next year. Our sole purpose was to justify our existence so we could continue to justify it. Tax dollars at waste. I remember at the end of the 2 FYs I was there... we would blow 30-80k on IT equipment we would never use. We had to use it or we would lose it. And at least where I was at, Feds were judged on their ability to spend their budget. If you didn't spend your budget, you weren't doing your job. We seriously had an $80,000 SAN that sit for over a year in a rack that did nothing. They just had to spend the money so they could get the same amount in the budget for the next year.

Now, we have a budget that isn't guaranteed. In fact, one of our sales people lost a big account and now- we have to make cuts. Finding ways to cut costs in my dept is one of the challenges I enjoy. Because, in the end, it contributes to that bottom dollar. And that is why business exist- to make money. Implementing a new data analyzing product that helps our sales force sell more and actually seeing numbers go up across the board because of the implementation I did is an amazing feeling.

It is that tangible feeling I love.

Now about Help Desk vs Sys Admin. I would say it is more stressful as a Sys Admin. You are responsible for much more. I have come in on countless nights/weekends because of an issue. Last month, I pulled 32 hours in a row working from Thurs at 8AM until Friday at 5PM. That is excessive, but my company pays me well and in fact- my boss is pretty much making me take comp time off a few days this week. I like that. They don't abuse my willingness to do what it takes to maintain business continuity with our systems and to keep a high level of uptime on our systems.

We recently hired a help desk guy to work 30-32 hours a week about.. 3 months ago. Seeing things from a higher level perspective really gives me a different point of view. People may feel Help Desk is entry level and worthless but damn, I really appreciate it when our help desk guy does a great job. It keeps people off of my back so I can do higher level things. He has the ability to use his own discretion on solving problems and working through issues or to escalate things to me when he can't figure it out. So far he has taken advantage of that opportunity and has def learned a lot. Since I was once doing Help Desk for a couple years- I have the utmost respect for him and I am very appreciative when he tackles an issue that keeps me doing what I was hired to do.

So more stress? Yes. But more rewarding? Definitely.