Experienced IT Pros: What are your regrets?

Maybe you thought you should've changed jobs every couple of years to gain more skills and income. Perhaps you wish you would've taken a different specialty (e.g. DevOps instead of Networking). Some probably wish they have taken certs or finish their degree early on. If you could go back, what would you change in your career and why?

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UnixGuy

Not sure if I can call it a regret, but I was very career focused in the beginning of my career that I ignored other parts of my life. Sure, it helped me career wise, but I know better now

Polynomial

As a 24 year old I find this very insightful!

RouteMyPacket

I have done really well but I should have dug deeper through study and certification much earlier on in my career.

Master Of Puppets

I have always wished I started with coding and networking earlier in my life. However, if that was the case, I probably would't have been so determined and focused right now. I see people my age who didn't live out those moments out with friends when they were younger and are partying their ass of right now while I am kind of over that phase and know there are more important things.

Zorodzai

Two really:

1. Would have focussed on my degree whilst in my 20s and got that out of the way instead of trying to do a hundred certs at once in 50 completely unrelated fields. Have missed some really good opportunities just because I could not get past the HR screen

2. Would have chosen my area of specialisation earlier (Windows and SQL) instead of constantly getting sidetracked - there was a time when I wanted to do every single cert I came across (CCNA,CISSP,MCSE,RHCE,CWNP,SAP......I basically wanted it all SMH).

ccnpninja

Cert Poor wrote: »

I agree with a lot of the life lessons already posted (and can identify!)

* Don't let insecure co-workers tear you down. I called some out on it, but changing their character is their own responsibility. (They haven't changed. Not my problem.)
* Do NOT be loyal to a company. Do not sacrifice your time and health to a company. Do not work overtime on salary when you should just go home.
* Always negotiate salary. Also, just because the salary is "in writing" on a job offer letter doesn't mean it's set in stone, especially if you never negotiated. Negotiate salary anyway before you sign. After you sign, they "gotcha" and it becomes impossible to negotiate after the fact.
* Do not be afraid to job hop in IT for better opportunities. It's good to get promoted from within, but if your next promotion doesn't exist, promote yourself by looking elsewhere. You'll likely get a much larger salary bump too by changing companies every couple years.
* Just because you're in IT, don't let your programming knowledge wither away. Keep up with your Computer Science studies and hardcore programming on your own.
* Learn Linux, Unix, and BSD sooner rather than later. Specializing on Microsoft is fine, but don't ignore the *nix world for too long.
* Bring your lunch to work instead of always eating out. You'll be healthier and wealthier.
* Make time to get away from work and go to the doctor and dentist instead of never going. Otherwise you're throwing those premiums away.
* When you have a vacation day, turn off your work cell phone. Do not check your work e-mail because you're bored or out of habit. Truly disconnect.
* Don't let others try to take advantage of you or use you. There are self-serving human predators in every job it seems. Some workplaces are more toxic than others, and some workplaces have a lot of good people.
* Avoid the donuts and junk food at work. Bring your own healthy snacks like fresh fruit and nuts.
* Cut back on the cycle of coffee addiction. You'll sleep better at night.
* Exercise, even if it's just going for a walk.

Wise man!

W Stewart

Who am I kidding, I've got plenty of regrets.

Besides the one mentioned above, I regret not going to a 4 year college and getting a computer science degree so I could have a potentially solid footing in the job market as a developer.

I regret leaving a NOC job after a month that would have given me solid experience in the networking field.

I regret passing up on an opportunity to get experience in IT security.

I would say I regret taking the night shift when I started this job but they might not have made me a jr admin if I didn't.

I regret changing my shift from Wed-Fri to Sun-Tue because I'm even more bored on this shift than I was on the other but at least I had a talk with my manager about changing that.

I almost regret not taking that contract to hire linux admin job for the city of St Petersburg making $30/hr but my wife told me not to and she always ends up being right about everything. Everything except taking that paycut to work on linux point of sales systems. I gained valuable experience that keeps me employed so I'll never regret that one.

Jon_Cisco

I first considered switching careers about 12 years ago. I took my A+ cert and could have passed the Net+ but didn't sit for it.
Not changing careers then is currently my biggest regret.

I took a job opportunity in my current printing career. I like the work I do but the internet has changed the printing industry considerably. I would have been much better off having switched careers 10+ years ago when I could afford it. This at least keeps me focused on learning which I have always enjoyed.

LionelTeo

Not studying on my first year of my career
Took 1 year to study my CEH!
Study too hard for my 3rd and 4th year
Not knowing about mediation much earlier

Hypntick

Getting such a late start.

wallpaper_01

I'm 28 and still looking for my first networking job. I feel like I should have got it 5 years ago. My regret is staying here for too many years where there are no jobs. Hopefully 29 will not be too late to start in networking...

kohr-ah

Adding on to what I said before :P

I wished I was more careful about my career hop choices. I am glad I hopped jobs, dont get me wrong, to get the pay I am at now because it has given me a chance to give my family a better life. I just wish I had asked different questions and been more selective and taken my time so I didnt have to stay at a company so it didn't hurt my resume. I ended up in a few roles where it wasn't anything like I was told by HR or the recruiter. It also has taken its toll on me as a person. Now I just really want to be happy more than anything and not care about what is coming in 2 years. Worry about what is going on now.

I will always be able to find work I'd hope, but instead of worrying about it I need to be happy with where I am at now and just look to be happy with my family and when it is time to go worry about going there when it is time to go and find that next hopefully permanent home.

Deathmage

I wish I actually took my CCNA/MCSE 2003' exam back in 2005 when I graduated college, I took two classes for the prep work but I never took the exams. If I did I'd probably be a different place in IT now. I landed my current job 3 years ago, but if I got my CCNA/MCSE in '05 I could have been in IT for 5 years already by then...

However this is mainly probably why when I took the Net + exam I got a 870 as a score, because it all came back to me from the CCNA course study 5 years earlier.

PurpleIT

MSP-IT wrote: »

Do you ever plan on leaving?

Yeah, but there are a few complicating factors:

My family and I want to move out of state. We hate it where we are, but it is exponentially harder to move a family than it is as a single guy or a young couple. We have one market in mind and I had two job offers there last summer, one of which I had accepted. Due to a couple of personal reasons my wife and I decided we could not make the move. Both of us were able to retain our jobs even after we gave notice.

We are ramping up to try again this year, I will probably start sending resumes out in a month or less and then we will see what happens. There was the possibility of some great new projects with my current job, but if I keep hanging around because of those I will never leave.

One other obvious question would be why haven't I taken another job in the same town? Well, the market here is BAD. There aren't many jobs that I am qualified for and those that are available would require a large pay cut (think 20%). If we make the move, the cost of living is higher, but I will be looking at a 20% raise based on the two offers I had last year.