Hired as a Help Desk Engineer

Zicco

Greetings all,

I got an offer on Friday for a Help Desk engineer position and I gladly accepted it.

I do have few questions regarding career path.

Now although my degree is not in computer science field, I did take Cisco & MS courses in the past. With all honesty, I was aiming to kick in the IT project management section instead of the hands on technical.

Starting as a help desk, where can my career be in 3-5 years? Assuming that I'm not looking to achieve any technical certification (Cisco, MS, Comptia... etc).

I know this question should be answered by me, which is in project management.

However, I'm trying to gather general information on how I could kick in the IT project management field starting as a help desk engineer.

Thanks,

phonic

To answer your first question - where can your career be in 3-5 years - the answer is simple. Not in help desk.

While some people may like that job, most don't and use it as a stepping stone. In general, people usually get out of it as quickly as possible (1-2 years). However, most of those people move on to other technical roles (engineer, admin, etc.). If you're still there in 3-5 years, you are doing something wrong.

You didn't really give enough information about your prior job history or current company to give very specific advice, so I'll speak in generalities.

If your goal is to get into IT project management, you should certainly focus on relevant certs. What those are, I'm not sure. Maybe ITIL? However, unless your new company has need for someone with those skills, you might have to do it on your own time. Many companies prefer help desk staff to focus on training relevant for that position or to move up in that environment.

My personal advice would be to use the time you have in a help desk role to also learn as much as you can about the technical side of things. Even if you don't want to be in a technical role, understanding how things works and the skills required will make you much better equipped as a project manager.

Polynomial

ITIL is service management.

I'm in the same boat. As my goal is management rather than some tech I can certify into the water is a little murky as what I can do besides degrees to make me a better candidate. I mean, I like certain technical areas more than others but ultimately I'm aimed for management. So while I feel completely capable of getting a CCNA or MSCE I'm unsure if that's actually going to propel me towards my goals.

The only relevant project management certification is PMP really.

DissonantData

What was your previous (unrelated) experience? What certifications have you gotten? I am also looking into getting a helpdesk job, but I have no job experience whatsoever aside from tutoring. I also don't have a related degree, but I do have my CS minor.

Jackace

If your aim is Management then you should focus on a degree. If you have that then focus on management oriented Certifications like ITIL and PMP. Other than that you just need some experience with projects and/or group leadership and then probably start working on a Masters. That would be the path I would take if I was in your shoes.