I turned down a very technical position opportunity

I am working for an ISP/ICT company. Recently my manager offered me two position opportunities. Both are Helpdesk. One will deal with a lot of server/exchange and other IT stuff. That was what I dreamed of before. But I turned it down because I heard this position was too busy. And I feel very tired after whole day work and the need to deal with child at home. Studying seems to hard now and I'm nearly 40.. I seem to have lost the desire to learn and feel frustrated I am stuck in here.

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thomas_

Turn that frustration of being stuck into motivation to study. This is what helps me crack open the books. 5, 10, 15 minutes each day adds up over time.

NetworkNewb

You turned down a position to do what you would enjoy because someone else said it was "too busy"?? Sounds like you got an opportunity to do what you enjoy thrown in your lap and threw it away because other people said it was hard. And of course your gonna be tired the whole day if you don't enjoy what you do... Not sure what else you could've hoped for. You want an easy position where you'd have a bunch of downtime? Thats not how you are going to advance anywhere.

Never let other people saying something is hard deter you from doing something you want to do! Especially in IT... From my experience there are a large percentage that only like to do the minimum work and don't care to work hard to get ahead. Don't follow in their footsteps. I'd try and see if you can talk with your manager about the position and say you made a mistake turning it down.... Unless when you say "too busy" you mean a ton of extra hours. That would be a different story than.

N7Valiant

Tough thing to juggle, server/exchange might require being on-call.

Would it be unreasonable to take the tougher job and hire a babysitter? If you're 40 and still in Help Desk, that'll be a tough climb.

MalwareMike

thomas_ wrote: »

Turn that frustration of being stuck into motivation to study. This is what helps me crack open the books. 5, 10, 15 minutes each day adds up overtime.

^ this. I know everyone has different experiences in life but try to turn that negative energy into motivation. I like to think good vibrations will welcome good vibrations aka stay positive and positive things will happen!

georgios

N7Valiant wrote: »

Tough thing to juggle, server/exchange might require being on-call.

Would it be unreasonable to take the tougher job and hire a babysitter? If you're 40 and still in Help Desk, that'll be a tough climb.

Yes, I heard they got 15-20 calls everyday and lots of critical issues, that’s insane. Well, I chose easier position because it involves with some firewall and networking is my main interest now. Also I cannot see any future for server guys in an ISP company.

LordQarlyn

It sounds like you are in a rut. Maybe, that job would have provided you the experience you could use to climb higher. In any case, as others point out, it's jobs with lots of downtime that tend to be dead ends. I can't see any of the dream jobs I want entailing lots of dead time, just the opposite, being quite busy, while hopefully leaving a trail of accomplishments and improvements. Nothing good in life comes to (most of us) easy.

To quote from one of my favorite movies, "If you want to advance, do the difficult". Almost everyone wants the easy stuff, but it is those who can do the hard stuff well, that get noticed and move up.

malachi1612

Yep, life rewards the hard working. Not the people who do the bare minimum just to get by.

MeanDrunkR2D2

georgios wrote: »

Yes, I heard they got 15-20 calls everyday and lots of critical issues, that’s insane. Well, I chose easier position because it involves with some firewall and networking is my main interest now. Also I cannot see any future for server guys in an ISP company.

That's honestly not alot of calls to be honest. I am 41 with 2 young kids and maybe get 4 hours of sleep a night on average due to their poor sleep habits. Don't look at that role as being "too busy" and look at it as an opportunity to escape that job for the next better job doing more in depth and more project related work without dealing with calls. You're 40 and on the help desk. You need to plan out your escape from that role into something better. If you had a job that was more fulfilling it wouldn't matter if you are busier or not if you enjoy what you are doing and being challenged. Doing the same stuff and being bored is just a way that will depress you and make you more exhausted and tired.

Yea, I get tired and it's hard to deal with the day at times, but I also take the time to work out nearly every day to recharge my batteries and I also work on improving my skills and study during down time at work or at home. I'll give you some tough love here. It's time to sh*t or get off the pot. You can do better than helpdesk and you need to apply yourself to get off of it by learning some new skills. If networking is what you like, get the CCNA and then get a job doing that.

DatabaseHead

georgios wrote: »

I am working for an ISP/ICT company. Recently my manager offered me two position opportunities. Both are Helpdesk. One will deal with a lot of server/exchange and other IT stuff. That was what I dreamed of before. But I turned it down because I heard this position was too busy. And I feel very tired after whole day work and the need to deal with child at home. Studying seems to hard now and I'm nearly 40.. I seem to have lost the desire to learn and feel frustrated I am stuck in here.

Sounds like you made the right decision. The worst thing you can do is dwell on it.

As far as studying goes, sounds like you are trying to bite off more than you can chew at least from your planning phase. Why not just pick something you are interested in and probe around the internet and research it? Takes 5 - 15 minutes a day and can jump start you.

N7Valiant

LordQarlyn wrote: »

It sounds like you are in a rut. Maybe, that job would have provided you the experience you could use to climb higher. In any case, as others point out, it's jobs with lots of downtime that tend to be dead ends. I can't see any of the dream jobs I want entailing lots of dead time, just the opposite, being quite busy, while hopefully leaving a trail of accomplishments and improvements. Nothing good in life comes to (most of us) easy.

To quote from one of my favorite movies, "If you want to advance, do the difficult". Almost everyone wants the easy stuff, but it is those who can do the hard stuff well, that get noticed and move up.

Unless you use the downtime to study and lab for a sizable cert.

LordQarlyn

N7Valiant wrote: »

Unless you use the downtime to study and lab for a sizable cert.

Even so, if there is so much downtime at the job, how much practical experience is one getting? Some downtime is good, even needed, but too much, no. I would rather be required to use my free time to pursue certs than be at a job that has little work and lots of downtime.

chrisone

There are several complicating factors that may help you in your career.

1. Diet: "stay off the sugar and carbs" It is sapping your energy and making you tired (this is slowly killing you, your career, your children's happiness because dad doesn't feel like doing etc.). You would be surprised of the amount of energy a clean non toxic body produces even at the age of 50+. Take care of your body and your body will take care of you.

2. Organize: You MUST organize your life! Period! Take control of organizing your day by the hour, your week by the day, your month by the week, your year by the month. Organize work, life, meals, family, exercising (could be a family activity), etc. Check these two books out, they have done wonders for me.
Organize your Mind, Organize your Life
CheckList Manefesto

3. Motivation/Drive: you have to be motivated to do what you like. You are not old and 40 is a healthy capable body. You can learn and get certified in anything you set your mind to. Check out these links for a little motivation.
https://www.inc.com/jessica-stillman/17-massively-successful-entrepreneurs-who-started-.html
https://www.fastcompany.com/40562554/when-it-comes-to-successful-entrepreneurs-40-is-the-new-20

4. Family: this is touchy and I am not the type of person to tell anyone how to raise their family, but.....you are responsible for showing your kids a hard/smart working effort in life. They learn so much from us parents. I personally would only ever want my kids to see me working hard/smart and I don't want them seeing me cry or complain about having to work harder. I would not like for them to see dad as a complainer about giving more effort and then thinking that is ok. Sorry I know its not my place and its a touchy subject but I kinda felt maybe it should be mentioned. My apologies for stepping into that subject. I just want you to do it for the kids!

5. Mentors (READ): Definitely look for mentors or other people striving for the same goals you are. We don't have access to people like Jeff Bezos, Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, Gary V, Charlie Munger, Buffet, MLK, Sam Walton, etc in order to guide us and teach us. But we do have is there bios, books, guides. Obviously if you don't have the energy to read (see option 1) then you won't feel like reading. Remember there is a HUGE difference between feeling and wanting. I want to do a lot of things, but if I don't feel like doing it then its not a motivational issue, its an energy/physical, bodily issue. What is killing my feeling when I clearly am interested but just can't get up to doing it or putting in the time? (see option 1)

6. Mental health: it IS important to take 10-15 minutes twice a day to meditate, clear your mind, walk in silence (without thinking about anything). If you organize your time you will have plenty of opportunities to think about issues, tasks, dilemmas, projects, meetings, etc. However you need time to just not think about any of that stuff. Quiet walks, quiet naps, mediations, give your brain some rest during the day for several minutes. Mindfullness meditation will help you focus on just silencing your mind and concentrating on your breathing.
https://www.pocketmindfulness.com/6-mindfulness-exercises-you-can-try-today/
https://positivepsychologyprogram.com/mindfulness-exercises-techniques-activities/

7. Exercise: I believe part of taking care of your body is exercising. You have to take care of your body in order for it to perform the way you want it to. You are not going for Mr. Olympia and you don't even need a gym card. You can start here, but organize your time and be consistent.
https://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/beginner-body-weight-workout-burn-fat-build-muscle/

8. Focus (Remove Distractions): One key component to getting things done is removing distrations. Social media, entertainment, internet addictions, movies movies movies, netflix, tv series, etc. Seriously the amount of time we have spent on these things is tragically enormous! I recommend this book for this topic. You can youtube many of Cal Newport's many talks.
Deep Work: Rules for focused success in a distracted world.

You can find many guides, tutorials, life hacks, videos online. You just have to be willing to research and accomplish your dreams/goals.

Check this out:

Some Gary V videos:
There's plenty of time to get ish done: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5efhZEN89tE
5 minute plea to DO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OIO0nMY4X3U
Work!: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AF_QUyEVRBQ

Goodluck! I care!

Welly_59

^ top post!

volfkhat

Welly_59 wrote: »

^ top post!

It's true.

In the past 28 months, i have earned a mcsa, vcp, jncia, f5 associate, & yet another ccna...
all by studying only 30 minutes a day.

The momentum builds upon itself (i don't think i could stop even if i wanted to. lol).

If you want a change... start taking baby steps toward that change.

malachi1612 wrote: »

Yep, life rewards the hard working. Not the people who do the bare minimum just to get by.

Kinda disagree :]
Hard work yields no guarantee of future reward.

Work Smarter... not harder.
Focus more on the long-term... not the short-term.

LordQarlyn

volfkhat wrote: »

Kinda disagree :]
Hard work yields no guarantee of future reward.

Work Smarter... not harder.
Focus more on the long-term... not the short-term.

Work harder / work smarter either way it still means doing more than just the bare minimum and doing it well lol. And there is not one thing in life that is guaranteed, not a single thing. Working smarter than the smartest person still doesn't guarantee any positive outcome or future reward, at best it only makes it more likely. I have seen plenty of living examples of that.

georgios

Wow, I’m deeply touched. Thank you all, especially chrisone for typing so much.

Diet and workout are definitely something I need to improve. And as others suggested, I do plan to get CCNA/CCNP in the future. And I know our tier 2 engineers deal with a lot of firewall issues so just hope I will get a position in that team with this helpdesk experience and certs. Well, they are 24x7, that’s new challenge.

EANx

Hard work beats talent when talent doesn't work hard.

"They" got 15-20 calls per day? How many people were working on that team handling 15-20 tickets?

Personally, I want to stay busy. I've only taken one job in the recent past that had noticeable downtime. It had other tangible career benefits and I used the downtime to do homework for my Bachelor's so I stayed busy even if the job wasn't keeping me busy.

Sometimes we just get burned out. If you're mentally fried by the end of the day, you owe it to your family to find a non-work solution.

georgios

Oh, I mean 15-20 calls per person per day. And SLA for critical issues which I think very stressful.

N7Valiant

chrisone wrote: »

Check this out:

I like how you just assumed our work week stops at 40 hours.

LordQarlyn

N7Valiant wrote: »

I like how you just assumed our work week stops at 40 hours.

Or we manage to get 56 hours of sleep a week lol.

E Double U

georgios wrote: »

That was what I dreamed of before. But I turned it down because I heard this position was too busy.

Excuse me for being harsh, but this makes me think you are lazy. You don't want to pursue your dream because you heard it was too busy? Does that mean you only chose that dream because you thought it would be idle and quiet?

georgios wrote: »

And I feel very tired after whole day work and the need to deal with child at home.

The life of a working parent - welcome to the club!

georgios wrote: »

Studying seems to hard now and I'm nearly 40.. I seem to have lost the desire to learn and feel frustrated I am stuck in here.

I'll be 38 this year and sometimes I may feel a little bit of burnout from continuous studying, but I think about my goals and just tough it out. If you really have lost the desire to learn then you either need to accept that your current frustration will continue for many years to come or just make peace with where you are. You are not stuck where you are - you are simply choosing to stay there.

N7Valiant

LordQarlyn wrote: »

Even so, if there is so much downtime at the job, how much practical experience is one getting? Some downtime is good, even needed, but too much, no. I would rather be required to use my free time to pursue certs than be at a job that has little work and lots of downtime.

Might be a "grass is greener on the other side" perception, but at my MSP job most if not all issues have their roots in not having enough time to dig into root cause analysis, preventive, and proactive work.

For example:
-Everyone still does a full manual installation of Windows 10, 45 minutes from start to finish.
-The support@ mailbox has tons of automated alerts, I typically have to manually sort through about 200-300 messages Monday morning to their respective folders.
-We have to manually unlock Bitlocked data drives on 3 client servers remotely whenever they reboot(generally whenever Microsoft releases a patch).

I've automated the first 2 and our new SysAdmin identified a built-in setting that automates the drive unlocks so it doesn't require manual intervention every time. He asked "how many years this has been going on?", sort of my first thought about the first 2 issues.

The reason why everything is bound together with duct tape and MacGyvered is because our work environment leaves little to no downtime and so I was only ever able to work on trying to automate things if I worked on them beyond a 40-hour work week. Unless you're in a work environment where you can't even fart without permission then downtime to me means an opportunity to refine processes and create thorough documentation.

nisti2

Really like the post.

Never is late to learn. You have to challenge yourself on what you are looking on your IT career.

For example I'm always learning and studying something, and in the job if I dont like it I just change it.

Dont get frustrated about things that you dont know, you can do labs and learn on the way.

LordQarlyn

N7Valiant wrote: »

Might be a "grass is greener on the other side" perception, but at my MSP job most if not all issues have their roots in not having enough time to dig into root cause analysis, preventive, and proactive work.

For example:
-Everyone still does a full manual installation of Windows 10, 45 minutes from start to finish.
-The support@ mailbox has tons of automated alerts, I typically have to manually sort through about 200-300 messages Monday morning to their respective folders.
-We have to manually unlock Bitlocked data drives on 3 client servers remotely whenever they reboot(generally whenever Microsoft releases a patch).

I've automated the first 2 and our new SysAdmin identified a built-in setting that automates the drive unlocks so it doesn't require manual intervention every time. He asked "how many years this has been going on?", sort of my first thought about the first 2 issues.

The reason why everything is bound together with duct tape and MacGyvered is because our work environment leaves little to no downtime and so I was only ever able to work on trying to automate things if I worked on them beyond a 40-hour work week. Unless you're in a work environment where you can't even fart without permission then downtime to me means an opportunity to refine processes and create thorough documentation.

I see your point and hey I didn't say I was against all downtime or that a job should be nonstop busy. Of course some downtime is good. People would get burned out otherwise. Also, downtime isn't necessary to come up with creative ideas to improve work, at least not for me. Sometimes while drudging away at something is when I thought of ways to make it easier and faster. But when a job is 90% or 80%, or even 70% downtime, sorry, for me, that's way too much for me. The ideal for me is 80% busy 20% downtime, that way I can still have time to pursue certs and still gain real world production experience to back up these certs.

LOL yeah I worked at places you couldn't even wipe your nose without a signed permission letter countersigned by security.