What to do

MrMike83

This has been done to death but I guess I'll pose the same question:

Where do I go from here?

I have been in IT now almost 10 years.. does that mean I have 10 years of experience? Maybe but not really.

I've been working on computers since a young age and have been fixing them and what not for awhile now. My first job was in 2002 where I worked as a programmer, back when I was a teen I always wanted to program - I did C/C++ for a little while, Perl, Bash but I was never great at it, but able to solve most issues but nothing complex.

I quit IT for awhile and went and worked odd jobs and nothing much materialized. I joined the IT workforce again in 2005 where I started as a desktop support technician. I worked as a contractor for approx 3 years doing various projects and contracts from day to day support to migrations etc.

I then got on full time with a company in 2008 in their helpdesk - I took a pay cut for the FTE spot but I ended up working there for about 3 years. I was able to really get my understanding Active Directory and Exchange down and scripting power shell to run reports against AD and make bulk changes to different systems, Oracle (a little bit) and managing other systems. I was the SME for pretty much every application.

I left the helpdesk and moved into a NOC for more money and a change of pace - increased salary was 27% and I would work on ISP related issues, routers, switches and voice trouble calls. Felt pretty comfy in this role but moved on to another company for more money approx 1 year later.

Moved to another NOC at another ISP and it was similar to the NOC I just left, but was more of an answer monkey job - I quit fairly soon after.

I've been focusing more on Cisco at the moment but loathe it. I dont mind it, but it's not something I get my rocks off on and find it rather boring. I liked it in the NOC because it was more "structured" I guess, rather than setting up LAN/WANS/VPN etc to different requirements the NOC was pretty cookie cutter - check X, Y, Z, if this, then that - it had room for learning the actual technologies but it was limited to the structure at the NOC, for instance: T1, T1 Delivery, MPLS (our setup), vrflite, routing, switching - but it was all geared toward how we did it.

Since I left the first NOC I've been bouncing job to job like a mad man. I dont stay anywhere more than 6 months and constantly trying to increase my salary. I've been able to go from 30K in the helpdesk to 65K doing Cisco where I am now, but I am not happy. I'm not happy doing Cisco. I am not happy working for a VAR - I want my old life back where I loved my job and was good at it. I loved the help desk / desktop and the NOC - I miss the structure, the ability to clock in and out and leave work at home, no more projects where I need to manage it and implement it, scope out pricing and deal with the customer.


Maybe this is more of a rant, but I'm looking for some solid advice on how to proceed. Do I quit my high paying job and go back to something that may be paying less but I'll be more happy in? or do I grunt through it and just hate my job for the rest of my days. Am I even cut out for IT any more? Am I destined to just be a first or second line support guy? I'm so confused.

Just so everyone knows. I have my CCNA and do not wish to persue any Microsoft certifications.

paul78

Hello and welcome to the TE forums.

As you noted, the question that you asked is common but also very individualized. So while the theme is common, the possible paths are endless.

From your description, you sound like someone that enjoy the one-on-one interaction that goes with working on a help-desk and interactions with helping end-users. Depending on where you live, perhaps you don't really need to take any paycuts at all. There is always a need for skilled troubleshooters on a helpdesk. And frankly, I come across folks that make a comfortable career working at a help desk.

You mentioned you like working at a NOC as well - what type of NOC environment do you like? If it's about the troubleshooting - there are definitely many network operation positions out there where skilled and experienced individuals who can solve problems are valued. And the likelihood of having a good paying job is higher.

I suppose one thing that I would ask - what is it about IT that is keeping you in this profession?

If you don't have family obligations, a mortgage, etc. right now, perhaps just keep experimenting until you find the area that you enjoy. Life's too short to be stuck someplace you don't like if you don't have to be there.

One caution though - just be careful about too much job hopping. Unless you are a contractor, it can look odd on your resume and could impact your future prospects.