Anyone else stuck in a Hardware Tech/Desktop support role?

DNM

I have been in the same position for 6 years. It sucks. I do basic hardware support for my company. I have been trying to branch out into other positions, but none ever open. I would love to get into network administration with an emphasis on security, but I cannot find any postions that would even allow me to increase my skill set. My current company posts jobs for senior techs which I am unqualified for, even when they already have too many seniors. I currently have my MCSE 2003, A+, and SEC +. I was thinking about upgrading my MCSE to the MCITP, but it seems kind of worthless since my MCSE certificate would be better used as toilet paper. I decided to begin working on my CCNA instead, since I feel that having Cisco knowledge would be more beneficial then updating my MCSE. I would also like to go back to college, but the tuition reimbursement at my company is completely worthless; they wont reimburse you unless the course is job related. If I take an advanced networking course, I would not be eligable for reimbursement because I don't actually do much networking at my current job. Since the tuition reimbursement sucks, and I don't make enough money to go to college and complete my degree, I am pretty much stuck. I am talking to a few recruiters now, but it seems I just keep getting offered more desktop support roles. I would even be happy with an expanded desktop support role, one that would allow me to branch out and would have more upward mobility. I really don't know what to do, other then just keep at it everyday until someone wants to take a chance on me and I can move onto a better company. Anyone else deal with something similar?

doobies

N2IT wrote: »

You need to position yourself better. You have plenty of certifications, you need real world experience. Someone mentioned providing your services for low pay, that's a solid idea. Move sideways to get a head. If you are not able to move up in the environment you are in then you need to position yourself so you can. While you are at it apply for junior sys admin jobs if they are out there. If not go for another environment with the intent of moving up. Do this while you have a job. One of the helpdesk job I took about 5 years back had a networking element to it. It was a really sweet deal. I ended up monitoring all the networking using all these toolsets. The job was labeled as helpdesk but I gained more out of it than that.

this... sounds like they don't want to let you go.. which is a good thing. Don't be afraid to ask for more duties.. don't worry about pay.. just get the xperience. (Or strong arm for more duties)

i went from a lotus admin/dev -->networking stint--> a cpu tech ---> security liscense and policy enforcement .. this was a 4 year internship.. was a dream... and i got to touch everything from security, to db proggie to networking and system development..

from there... i moved to a new locale b/c of school. and got stuck at a helpdesk for 2 years... then a tech support desk as a tier two with a telecom firm.. (which really was network admin.. while there i took advantage of being able to work in a virtual noc environment. I didn't realize it at the time as they dumbed it down for us in training manuals.. but i did everything from resetting trunks to kicking off rougue devices.. analyzing netflow..etc..)

i moved again and got stuck back in the helpdesk role... however i made a point to take advantage of every op. that came up. Seriously.. our admins network, systems and server were overworked or lazy. They were happy to pass off duties to us.

eventually i was running backups, performing restorals, imaging again, networking, blackberries issuing and securing, managing accounts. monitoring servers for hicups and uptime... aka sys admin stuff.

tangent ed into a job i really can't describe and then got another job as an sr analyst.

I found the more generally named positions are prone for exploitation as there is not clearly defined job roles. that works to the advantage of those lacking experience and disadvantage to those with experience. You probably want to look for those. aka system analyst, computer engineer, information security system support.. etc etc..

As an analyst i did everything... and was pretty competitive (literally went to cold war) about getting taskers when the client provided them. I moved back into sys admin duties and networking. True sys admin duties .. performing patch management.. fixing dns trust issues, building servers, patching servers, workstations, implementing security measures etc... during this time i got my msce.. and other certs.. I did so much that my PM took some duties from me to avoid a central point of failure..

also moved into vmware environments.. setting up blades and testing labs and security software.

a true sys admin will have a foot in info security... and i didn't hesitate to jump on anything security related. I became the poc when the cert group called to inquire about systems that popped on logs. Got into the inc handling side of town, vuln assesments, spam/phising id and reporting, malware analysis and removal... encyrption of devices etc. etc..

now im all the way red teaming and trying to get over to the blue side...

pt is .. take advantage of every opportunity. ANd push the limit... even if the admin grits his teeth at it. Worse they can say is no... and that will be b/c of their own job security. Write down everything you do.. keep a breathing resume as you'll forget things every now and then. and you'll never know how they might tie into your dream job (lulz at that) when it comes. Look at what you do currently and figure out if it is truly what it is. I performed network admin duties while getting paid as an tech support tier 2 rep. As an analyst i did everything under the sun... as a helpdesk i performed sys admin duties.



protip: WHen cross training .. approach it.. or pose training ops to management and senior coworkers as you being the alternate for them when they want to take vacation... time off.. are sick etc. That comes off better than... i want you to train me so i can take your job later.


*edit*.. this didn't seem to long when i was writing it... lol stay positive..