From Service desk to...?

alson

I have recently came to the US and now i'm working as a service desk engineer. I used to be a helpdesk engineer for a very long time, i used to move around and troubleshoot different and various problems for users. I used to do that over the phone, email but mostly by walking to user's office and see what's going on. Now, because i'm working as a service desk engineer, I have to stick ALL my shift on the phone, receiving calls, the maximum i can do is to remotely access user's computer.

This is not the career I need, I need to move up to more administration or more "real" troubleshooting, I need to "think", I need to "struggle" with real problems and challenge to resolve them, i need to gain genuine experience not to think how to escalate issues or submitting requests to Tier 2!!

I read on the internet that I need to gain experience by volunteering in a church, school, universities where they have networks and many servers. How can i find those places?

My question is, if i want to be a network administrator for example, what are the first steps i should take? what certificates?
I don't know "how to start"!!

I really need guidance.

gbdavidx

I am currently a service desk analyst, not an "engineer" and my next move is hopefully a NOC analyst then network engineer. if you are new to networking a lot of people start w/ Network+ then CCNA, or you could do Ccent then CCNA (cisco) and some even get a junos cert too

[Deleted User]

Some good certifications to pursue would include CompTIA Network+: Network certification, CompTIA Network+ certification, CCENT/CCNA: CCENT - IT Certifications and Career Paths - Cisco Systems Juniper: Juniper Networks Certification Program Tracks. Maybe some VMware DataCenter certifications: (VCP5-DCV) VCP-Data Center Virtualization Ultimately, where do you wish to go exactly with being a network administrator? How big of a company do you wish to manage? Small-Medium Business/ Enterprise grade networks? To get some exposure to a small-medium size network, I would recommend volunteering at a church. Then after obtaining your Network+/CCENT or CCNA, then look into going to a school/university.

alson

So what's the difference between service desk analyst and my position "service desk engineer"?

networker050184

Position names could mean anything. Concentrate on what the actual duties are. Help desk analyst, engineer, service desk, technician. All of them can mean the same exact job or vastly different jobs.

alson

kMastaFlash, Small-Medium Business would be ok for now. So again, I see it's the Network+ as a start.

alson

ok, so how can i find such churches? I have only one church in my area and i will check it out. are they any other ideas on how to reach these churches?

gbdavidx

I reset passwords and do first line of troubleshooting, basically help desk but no hardware, basically for me or anyone to get out of help desk you need certs and more experience, so networking is what interests me the most and pays well once you get through the ladders

alson

Hopefully i can find my way on that... thank you all.