Figuring out my next move

bball1989

Hello all, been lurking for a while, great website!

Here is where I'm at. I am almost 23, male in MA. I've been into computers since I was about 13. I built my first computer at 13 and went from there. I then worked (paid and volunteer) with the IT department at my high school. Very basic work - basic help desk, some hardware/software deployment, remote image installation and some basic user profile maintenance. I don't really even mention that job anymore. After high school I tried college, and did not like it. Honestly, had a bad attitude towards school when I was 18/19. I've always enjoyed actually doing things and not memorizing the books. I then found another IT job in a healthcare environment.

I have been at my current job for 5 years. I have been extremely lucky to have this job for so long. My boss is great and I will really miss him, though it has become time for me to move on. During my time here I have grown tremendously - both personally and professionally. I am in the process of making a new resume. But here is an idea of what experience I have.

- Responsible for all staff setup/support - Windows XP/7, hardware deployment/repair, software installation/configuration, Group Policies, desktops, laptops, touch screens, BlackBerry, printers, switches, basic wiring for Ethernet and phone

- Extensive experience troubleshooting/configuring wireless connections

- Windows Network Administration - Active Directory, Server 2003/2008R2, Hyper-V, Cluster Shared Volumes, Failover Clustering, Exchange 2003/2007/2010, DNS, DHCP, Cisco routers, Cisco WLAN controller, HP ProCurve switches, BlackBerry Enterprise Server, Nortel Phone Systems

- Security - design and deploy IP based surveillance cameras. Configure motion detection and recording

- Responsible for ensuring operation of systems at three facilities supporting 100+ patients each while head of IT is unavailable

Projects
- Assisted with planning/deployment of upgrading three facilities physical servers to using Server 2008R2/Hyper-V to implement a virtualized environment with High Availability and Failover Clustering. Developed backup and disaster recovery strategies for the environment

- Assisted with planning/deployment of wireless infrastructure for three facilities using Cisco equipment, including physical installation of all required hardware, IP addressing, configuration of the WLAN controller and end-user level devices

- Disaster Management - I have, on many occasions, successfully recovered from disaster when I am all by myself. Boss will be out of state, say 15 hours away. And we have had servers crash, hardware fail, blue screens, and network outages. DNS issues. Corrupted Exchange 2010 database. Servers locking up then become corrupted. ISP line's going down. Power failures. NAS failure.

I also take pride in that I will do whatever it takes to get the job done. I have come in earlier countless times, stayed late countless times. Given the nature of healthcare, there is never a good time to shut down all the servers. So I've come in late on weekends countless times for that type of work. I've also come in the middle of the night (1AM) during failure to ensure my staff gets back up. We have 300 patients between all the buildings that rely on me getting services restored so that our medical staff can provide them the healthcare they need.

I never get negatively affected by stress. I thrive on it. All the times our servers have crashed or other issues have been, apologize for my language, kick ass times for me because I love working under that pressure. I just feel good about myself kicking ass and handling these problems. I maintain a positive, can-do attitude and never give up on figuring something out. A man much older than myself told me that whenever I am working for someone that I should never say “I don’t know” but instead say “I will find out and get back to you”. I always follow through people’s requests no matter how small they are. I guess I feel that one of my biggest strengths is that I always figure it out. I may not always know exactly what to do off the top of my head but I know how to teach myself what needs to be done.

So, I have received two thirty cent raises in my 5 years here. I receive very few benefits. I’m making about $12.70/hr. I was fine with that when I first took the job but now I would really like to be able to “start real life” and it is very difficult to do so on that salary. I have since returned to school, with a brand new far more positive attitude towards school (I’ve grown up a lot these past few years). I’m taking online classes at a community college and should hopefully be done by next summer, possibly sooner if I can make enough money to take more classes at a time. I would really like a Network Admin position but I just feel like I won’t even be seriously considered because of my age. I feel that I have a lot of solid experience and can do that job but my age is a hindrance.

I’ve found two jobs in my area that look good. The first looks mainly like help desk work, but they are offering around $50k salary + good benefits, 401(k) match and I figured with my experience I would take $50k minimum. Only downside is this is help desk work which quite frankly I’m a little burned out from but I could really use the money.

The other position seems to be half help desk half network administration. Pay is roughly $40k which is still probably double what I’ve been making. They also seem to be a team of guys that really care about IT and furthering there skills and they wanted someone who is serious about that as well which I am. The salary is less, but they said they will pay for some school, certification exam costs, book costs, etc. and that would also be a very nice for me.

I guess I’m trying to figure out my next move and looking for some opinions from those of you who have already been down this part of the trail! Thanks for reading!

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Comments

mapletune

TBH, i wish my comment could appear a bit lower in the list so that the comments from other people in TE can appear a bit higher up. I'm sure they'll chime in with better advice and stories.

In any case, I can really relate to you. I just dropped out of college last year, also because I've always had a more "practical" side of perspective. However, as you may have noticed yourself, a degree can really bump you up a notch, just enough for many minimum requirements.

From here on, I'm just thinking out loud:

I would go for the 40k/yr without benefits and 401k match, etc. Why? Let's see the pros cons.

50k+401
Pro : more money; better benefits.
Con : you are kinda tired of help desk since you've had 5 yrs of related exp already.

40k
Pro : Enthusiastic IT team; they are willing to pay for some education, certs, books, etc.
Con : Less salary, fewer benefits.

From our limited information about you and these 2 jobs, I'd take the 2nd one in a heartbeat.

Here's why:

it has become time for me to move on.
I would really like a Network Admin position

The first job sounds like a regular good company with good benefits scenario. They need a helpdesk person right now and they are willing to pay to hire one. If you take this path, you'll have to study whatever it is you'd like to get into (networking) in your own time. Work and Future will be a bit in their separate domains.

Now, the 2nd job, from what you wrote, sounds like a great place to start an IT career. They are enthusiastic, and WILLING to train you. They want someone serious, and want you to continue your education, get certs, read books, etc. And why? Just so that you can serve in a Help Desk capacity?

at least that's how i think of the situation, just my humble opinion. Let's wait for better comments and advice =D

paul78

Hello and welcome to TE.

Did you actually get a written offer yet from either prospective employer? If not, it's probably a bit premature to decide which job to take.

Besides the description of the role of both jobs, what else can you describe about either company? For example, what industry and sector does the business operate, what is the size of the company, how old is the company, is it private or public? My suggestion is to also have those dimensions be part of the decisioning process.

While you are still early in your career, you may want to give some thought about which industry you may want to work in. While IT is very transferable to many industries and sectors, my experience is that having the domain knowledge about a particular business sector only enhances your value to an employer. It sounds like you were supporting health-care, if you enjoyed that sector, it is certainly one that will be always around.

You mentioned that you spend some time in college, how much time did you spend and what did you study?

bball1989

paul78 wrote: »

Besides the description of the role of both jobs, what else can you describe about either company? For example, what industry and sector does the business operate, what is the size of the company, how old is the company, is it private or public?

Both companies are Managed IT Services. To be honest, I would prefer to leave Healthcare IT. Not sure if it's just my organization but IT in the healthcare environment presents several unique challenges and I also feel that problems on the healthcare side of the business frequently cause problems for me.

paul78 wrote:

You mentioned that you spend some time in college, how much time did you spend and what did you study?

1-2 years, admittedly half assed. I've completed all my general education classes and some IT related classes (intro to IT, web design, programming, etc.)

I suppose I'll also ask another, general IT related question. This particular issue has left me occasionally contemplating leaving the IT field altogether! Now it may just be my company or the work of a help desk technician, but it is normal to be treated with zero respect from coworkers? I understand that help desk is often "putting out fires" but when I'm treated like crap by coworkers when all I'm trying to do is fix the problem it's quite a turn off from the field. Again, perhaps this is just my current company.

EDIT: The Help Desk position is now offering 60k! This is a great deal of money to me. While I understand and agree with mapletune, I do have to be honest that having another 20k a year would be very beneficial. As much as I hate it, I've come to accept that money makes the world go 'round and that everything is easier with money, hence why even though I don't enjoy the work as much the extra 20k is significant. I would really only plan on grinding out a year or two to build a nice egg nest.

matt333

60k for help desk?! I think you would really have to justify that salary if they where going to offer you 60k. But your experience seems very good and 4yrs in IT is probably about right for 60k a year so maybe you can earn that much.

I would go for the Help desk position because of the difference in money and the fact that unless you are in a dark room re-imaging computers all day with no one to talk to, the job can essentially be whatever you make of it. work hard and you will move up to more "fun" things and you can always talk to your boss and ask for addition projects that you find interesting.

mapletune

with that salary, it's quite an incentive! O_O Unless the 2nd company is friggin Google-type kick ass, I might be swayed to go for 60k as well.

Whatever you do, don't forget to manage your own private time well and make the most out of it

Jackace

I find myself in the good pay situation you are talking about here. My job pays me very well to do a job that is really pretty easy. The problem is there is little or no growth potential. They will not challenge you and will not promote you. The pay is good, and I can study on my own, but there comes a point where you have to get experience. After being in this situation 2 years now I would gladly take a pay cut to get some experience doing what I want to do instead of answering phones. As long as you go into the job with your eyes wide open to the true costs and benefits then you are already doing better than I did.