Has this ever happened to anyone else?

vCole

I guess I just need some career advice....

Let's go back a year and a half ago. I had been working at a company for a year - they loved me. However, the pay wasn't enough and I wasn't being challenged enough any longer.

I moved on to a company who was promptly bought out by a Fortune 10 company. So, I needed to find a new job. (I had enjoyed my job and pay at this position, Sys Admin work.)

I took a IT Manager/Sys admin position at a company I really ended up disliking, the pay was ok but working 80 hour work weeks, was not. So I left, and took a position doing small biz consulting. I ended up having a boss who belittled me and stuck me doing desktop support. Which, was very frustrating for me - as I had been doing Sys Admin work for a few years now. So, I took a contract job which was AWESOME. Unfortunately, I ended up having to move over 2 hours away to be with my significant other. After 6 months, I parted ways.

Now, I have a sys admin position once again. But, I feel like I have lost all the knowledge I once had. I realized after working for the small biz consulting firm that I was having a difficult time doing simple desktop troubleshooting, etc. I learned a lot at my contract gig (Sys Admin work.) but my brain didn't seem to absorb the information like it once had. I have not taken a cert exam since Sept 2010 when I finished my MCSA.

I'm fairly young (25) and about ~4 years of experience in IT. I am no longer "learning" or "progressing" like I once had. It's leaving me frustrated, and feeling like a failure. Has this happened to anyone else? I used to be able to learn technologies on the fly and management could always rely on me. Now, I feel like I'm barely fit for Help Desk...

Version4

I believe you answered your own question on why you may perceive that you are not advancing, "I have not taken a cert exam since Sept 2010...". Continual learning is always required in IT, mini breaks are acceptable, but if you want to stay at the top of your game you have to push forward and invest in yourself at every opportunity you get.

Turgon

Your post is a bit confused. Forget the past, you are young and can recover. I suggest you concentrate on a 5 year plan moving towards what you want to be doing for living when you are 30, and find a company that will support you so you accomplish that. I wanted to be a Network Consultant or Architect and had a long term plan to be that. It happened.

vCole

Turgon wrote: »

Your post is a bit confused. Forget the past, you are young and can recover. I suggest you concentrate on a 5 year plan moving towards what you want to be doing for living when you are 30, and find a company that will support you so you accomplish that. I wanted to be a Network Consultant or Architect and had a long term plan to be that. It happened.

I guess what I'm trying to say is - it's more than burnout. It's almost like I'm incapable of doing things I once was very good at. Maybe since I was beat down so severely by the consulting biz boss (would come in screaming calling me stupid, worthless, etc.) I have just kind of shut down?

Slowhand

I think I understand where you're coming from. I've had the very same feeling for the last few years, particularly now that I'm back in school. I'm 29, and I'm sometimes I feel like I'm just banging my head against a brick wall when I'm trying to study math, physics, or even the material for the 70-680 exam, (which I failed miserably.) When I was younger, I could have slept through these classes and still gotten A's, all while learning every shred of the material. When I sat for my MCSA exams, I barely had to study at all and I passed with flying colors. Now, I find myself pouring over material again and again, I feel completely lost sometimes when I try to lab things out for IT certs, and I have to go back and re-learn way too much that I used to know.

It's much easier to learn when you're younger, that's just a fact of life. What you have to do now is figure out exactly the method you need to use to learn things at this stage in your life. For me, I used to glance at my math book and pass all my tests with A's. Now, I need to do all the homework twice over, brush up on things that might be a little trickier, then find a second resource to learn from so I can review and really "get" the material before my tests. When I sat for the Windows 7 exam a few months ago, I failed because I didn't follow this pattern. I read through the book, watched a couple of CBT Nuggets videos, and BOMBED IT. . . badly. Once I have some more time on my hands, I'll need to go back and do it right. Believe me, it's not a fun thing for me to have learned, going from a prodigy to a 'slightly above average learner' in something like five years.

The point, though, is that it's not the end of the world, nor the end of your career. It's just another challenge to overcome, and you can overcome it. Don't let it get you down, don't let it knock you out, work your way through it and figure out what you need to do in the here and now to be a rockstar again. I plan on being a PhD by my mid-thirties, and I fully expect to still be here on TechExams talking to you about how your career is still, and always was, awesome.

elTorito

It may very well be possible that your previous boss' demeanor may have had an impact on your current functioning. Even the toughest people eventually crack when exposed to verbal abuse long enough.

Don't fret it though. I went through a very similar situation a few years ago (before I even started in IT), working under a very demanding, petty boss. This guy was eventually fired for mismanagement and being generally clueless, but not before causing burnout in two colleagues, and an almost-burnout to me. The firing was a small measure of justice, but even so, my self-confidence was shaken, and for the longest time I didn't think I was capable of doing anything right. It was at this time that I decided to make a change in career, applying for a Helpdesk job first, working my way up to Desktop Support and now Systems Admin... all in three years time, without previous experience in IT. Moral of the story is, you will recover in due time. Skills that you've gained in the past won't suddenly go away. You just need to nurture it, and a good way to start is to begin reading again.

ehnde

Perception is 9/10th's of reality.

You may have forgotten some stuff and gotten out of your learning routine you had back in 2010, but somehow you've deluded yourself into believing you've lost more than just your edge. The best way to get over that is to pick a cert that will help you progress and go for it.

the_Grinch

I'd venture to say that it is perhaps the fact that you settled into a routine. I know in the three months that I switched from helpdesk to NOC that I have felt like I lost my troubleshooting edge. But when I get those random helpdesk calls and a little pressure, bam everything starts to click again. So perhaps you lost some edge, but it's like riding a bike. Give it time, work into the troubleshooting skills routine, and before you know it you will be back where you were. Troubleshooting is like a muscle, gotta exercise it or it gets flappy, but you can always sculpt it back! Good luck, relax, and start studying again it will help for sure (though I'd suggest studying a topic that truly interests you, not just for work or cert purposes).

eserfeliz

vCole wrote: »

Maybe since I was beat down so severely by the consulting biz boss (would come in screaming calling me stupid, worthless, etc.) I have just kind of shut down?

The one piece of useful advice my father gave to me was:

Never, ever, ever let another person dictate your feelings of self-worth. That which exists inside of you is something that no other human being has the right to impugn.

As someone else stated, perhaps it's time for you to get back on the cert train again. I made a promise to myself while going through a very difficult career period (five years spent in a helpdesk role after nine months of being a network analyst). I made a pact with myself that I would get at least one new cert every year. The past two years have been difficult: starting a new family, trying to finish up school, and finally receiving that promotion that I'd become desperate for. The last two certifications I haven't really had time to study for, but I took the risk and I kept my promise to myself.

So. Perhaps you might benefit from doing something to validate the knowledge that you've amassed over your career. Whether it's going back to school, or doing a cert, it sounds like you could use a boost to shake off that experience.

Best of luck to you.

joehalford01

You can pick yourself back up dude. At one point before IT I worked for a Real Estate agent that was a total driver. He ran my self confidence into the ground. I had no self worth and put on 25lbs working for that guy. Luckily I was young, so it was a valuable lesson. If you let someone treat you that way, they will. I'm gentle by nature but I learned then that if someone starts belittling me, put them in their place. Boss or not. It can be done without being rude, and it's done wonders for my career and social life. Like everyone here said, give yourself a challenge and knock it out. Keep boosting yourself back up.

CheesyBread

Jumping jobs a lot can be a big red flag when you finally land the interview that could really be a turning point. I almost didn't get the job I have now because I had 3 jobs in 9 months. Being young has a lot of advantages in the work force, especially if you have good credentials. You should try to use these positives as an advantage and not let your perceived lack of direction deter you.

I ran into a lot of flak from some of the "lead" members of my team here this year. I work in a kind of strange S-NOC-ish environment where there is 3 "lead" people and basically a bunch of us grunts. The lead folks are the kind of people that thrive on being the go-to guys, and they don't want anybody else to learn and grow because they don't want to lose that. I took some Xtreme initiative this year and earned almost 40 semester credits and got 2 Cisco certs and now they are all feeling very threatened because now I'm the official Cisco guy, one of only two people in the whole company with a current CCNA. Needless to say they are making it very difficult for me. If I ever have any down time, normally I read Cisco books. At first they didn't care because they didn't think I would make it. Now, if I even crack a book they give me some bogus busy work to do.

I guess what I'm saying is, you're always going to get people to give you a hard time. In my experience, it's because a lot of the know-it-all guys are really threatened by a young person with credentials and a strong drive to succeed. They know WE are the future.

powerfool

Hang in there. I think the five year plan is a good idea. Maybe before you do that, though, set yourself a a few short term goals... maybe over the next six months. You need a few "wins" to get yourself motivated.

As you stated, you haven't "achieved" since SEP2010. I am feeling under personal pressure to get some exams under my belt and I have only been idle, in that regard, since JUL2011.

Keep on keeping on.

terryfera

I can relate to the feeling... I worked for a software development company that saw me as an expense rather than a part of the team so they decided the IT department should be self-sustaining by performing client work as well. This wouldn't have been a big issue other than we ended up working 50+ hour weeks and were torn between supporting our users and our clients. My boss was a developer who was a talented developer who understood enough server/networking to be dangerous and constantly question my abilities when things weren't working.

After a year or two of that I felt like my brain just didn't want to absorb anything new and I would sit there staring at simple things I learned in school like they were Greek. Eventually I decided I needed out and found a helpdesk+ job (helpdesk/sys admin/network admin/training/etc.) that was 9-5 with no after hours and a great team of people. After a month there I felt fantastic and started back on the cert bandwagon, was interested in most aspects of work and happier overall.

You just need to rediscover what you enjoyed about IT in the first place and run with it. I remembered how much I love tinkering with technology and slowly get yourself back in to learning mode.

I forgot to mention that I'm almost in the exact same age range/career position as you. 25 with ~4 years of IT experience out of school with various sys admin jobs so I can definitely relate to the change in how I learn now as opposed to a few years ago.

vCole

terryfera wrote: »

I can relate to the feeling... I worked for a software development company that saw me as an expense rather than a part of the team so they decided the IT department should be self-sustaining by performing client work as well. This wouldn't have been a big issue other than we ended up working 50+ hour weeks and were torn between supporting our users and our clients. My boss was a developer who was a talented developer who understood enough server/networking to be dangerous and constantly question my abilities when things weren't working.

After a year or two of that I felt like my brain just didn't want to absorb anything new and I would sit there staring at simple things I learned in school like they were Greek. Eventually I decided I needed out and found a helpdesk+ job (helpdesk/sys admin/network admin/training/etc.) that was 9-5 with no after hours and a great team of people. After a month there I felt fantastic and started back on the cert bandwagon, was interested in most aspects of work and happier overall.

You just need to rediscover what you enjoyed about IT in the first place and run with it. I remembered how much I love tinkering with technology and slowly get yourself back in to learning mode.

I forgot to mention that I'm almost in the exact same age range/career position as you. 25 with ~4 years of IT experience out of school with various sys admin jobs so I can definitely relate to the change in how I learn now as opposed to a few years ago.

That's exactly how I feel. So, I guess I just need to get a small "win" to boost my confidence and get back on the horse....

Slowhand

vCole wrote: »

So, I guess I just need to get a small "win" to boost my confidence and get back on the horse....

You'll be amazed at how much a victory, even a small one, will help. I was pretty down and out at the end of 2007 when I'd been slugging away at school for years, (kept having to drop classes because work was overwhelming,) and I'd been spanked by the CCNA (640-801) more times than I care to admit. Finally passing the CCNA gave me such a boost, it was like the sun was shining for the first time in years.