Go back to old employer with promotion or take new job with new company???

Some of you may have seen the other thread I posted about a NOC position I'm currently in the running for. Well, I've got a bit of a dilemma here and need some advice.

I've recently heard from a buddy of mine at my old employer about a new System Administrator position they have open and they're interested in me applying for it. I was working helpdesk at this old employer and left it 6 months ago because there was no opportunity for advancement in what I wanted to do (Sys Admin work) AND there were a lot of major problems with the management of that department that were just getting worse and worse, to the point where I couldn't handle it any more. So I left, but on good terms.

Well 6 months later, key people who were a major burden of problems on the department have been let go/quit and from what I hear from my buddy who still works there, things are slowly changing for the better and there is now opportunity to move up, hence why they're interested in me coming back as they know that I wanted to advance but was never given the chance because of certain people who are now gone.

On the other hand, I'm also in the running for a NOC position with a good company with good benefits and what will probably be good pay. I still have to go in for a 3rd interview but they have 2 positions open so I'm kinda confident that I'll land one of them.

So my question is, what should I do?! Here are the pros and cons.

Returning to old company with System Administrator promotion:
PROS:
-Sys Admin position doing more of the type of work I want to be doing.
-Pay will be better than what I was making there as helpdesk.
-I'm already comfortable with the people there, would be able to settle back in quickly.
-Normal 9-5 hours.
-Out of helpdesk, not at the bottom anymore.

CONS:
-A lot of change going on within IT, re-structuring, possibility things could get worse if it's not handled correctly.
-NOC position will pay better than this entry-level Sys Admin job, but not by a lot.
-There aren't any senior level people there who I would be able to learn from/get guidance from, pressure on me to be solely responsible for Sys Admin duties.
-Possibility I could get stuck with responsibilities that don't really pertain to Sys Admin work.

Taking new NOC position with new company:
PROS:
-Will pay better than Sys Admin position at old company, but not by a lot.
-Good company growing fast, opportunity for advancement.
-Will do some Sys Admin work.
-Plenty of senior staff there to learn from and get guidance from.

CONS:
-Possibility significant part of job will be hands-off work like monitoring/escalation, not what I want to be doing.
-12-hour shifts, rotating nights and weekends and on-call status.
-High pressure job supporting mission critical environment. Will be stressful.
-It's not helpdesk but it is entry-level, will have to work my way up from the very bottom.
-Have to go through the motions of becoming comfortable around new working environment and people (absolutely loath this part of starting a new job).

I'm torn here. What's your advice?

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Comments

vinbuck

Take the NOC job and don't look back. You'll learn more in a NOC and have time to work on CERTS which disappears quickly as you advance. If you do well and show that you are a cut above your peers, you'll get noticed by the Network or Server guys and get called up to the big leagues.

Old company would be too much risk career wise...you'll have to explain why you worked there twice and eventually why you left twice

blargoe

I'd take the job that is more in line with what you want to be doing, if all other things were held equal. I'm not sure that I would go back to an former employer unless there were other strong positives for working there.

pitviper

Haunt wrote: »

-There aren't any senior level people there who I would be able to learn from/get guidance from, pressure on me to be solely responsible for Sys Admin duties.

I can’t stress enough how important this bullet is – You can only be the big fish in a little pond for so long before it stunts your growth.

With that in mind, maybe worth the initial trial-by-fire experience, but not good for the long haul.

SteveLord

I agree with pitviper. That was always very important to me.

RoyalRaven

pitviper hit the major point that I see too. If you have guidance/mentoring, it will benefit you tremendously more as time goes by than trial-by-fire. High pressure/stressful can be managed well if you have good teammates and a good atmosphere to work in.

I say look at your next step beyond this one. Which path will give you a better trajectory going into a more senior role? I have been in a role (too long,btw) similar to your old employer (sysadmin work). We have a similar problem - when the problem people go, that doesn't always fix it either for a while as everything needs to be reworked. It's a real drag and people get more burned out rebuilding things out of frustration than if we just had to hit regular challenges.

I also would push the envelope. Settling for something too comfortable (i.e. an old employer) could stunt growth or opporunities as you'll still be under the same old philosophy. New employer = likely more new experiences that will end up being positive learning.

Haunt

Well, looks like the decision was made for me. I heard back about the NOC position and to my surprise, they told me they're continuing with other candidates.....so I guess that leaves me with going back to the old company. I am disappointed but I'm also a little relieved as I had a gut feeling fear that the NOC job would be vastly different than what I expected and would end up not liking it. I guess I won't find out though.

It could be worse I guess. At least I have a backup job opportunity that I can take advantage of. I'm going to continue with my certs and bachelors so that if the position does eventually get stagnant down the road, I'll be better able to move on to bigger and better things.

danny069

Good luck Haunt at least you can say you were looking for better opportunities, many people stay stuck, it's great that you are ambitious.