Job 1 vs. Job 2

Job 1:

Small 65 bed hospital located 10 minutes away from my home. They have a 3 man IT dept. and are looking to add a 4th. I was told the new hire would do alot a server administration (alot being relative to the 10 servers this hospitals runs) on several different platforms (2k3, 2k8, linux, SCO)with other varied roles thrown in. I have limited server experience so this would be good for me. They also have alot of new construction going on, so this 4 man team would be implementing VoIP, the hospital's first vmware server, new medical equipment, automatic badge scan doors, some server to run the cable tv's??, etc, etc. So, there's alot of exciting stuff going on there....but given the size of the hospital I'm assuming there's not alot of room to move up in the organization.

Job 2:

Large 535 bed hospital located 40 minutes from my home looking for a desktop support tech. The job role wouldn't be too glamorous starting out I'm sure, but this is a much bigger organization with much more room to move up.

I haven't talked about salary with either organization, but chances are the large hospital will probably pay the same for the desktop tech position as the small one will for the admin. So, assuming pay and benefits were the same would you take Job 1 for the immediate experience with new technologies, or Job 2 for the growing room?

As a side note, I'm studying for my CCNA and really wanted to steer toward networking long term, but I feel like either of these could help me get where I want to go.

Edit to try and add a poll....I don't see the option after posting through

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Comments

RouteThisWay

Interview for both, see what offers you get. Don't count your chickens before they hatch.

If you are offered both, then compare compensation, take into account gas saved for drive time at the closer one, vacation time, sick time, benefits, etc etc. Honestly, if the compensation was the same, I would take the closer one if you are comfortable with doing some server administration. That experience would pay off sooner than desktop support. Nothing wrong with desktop support, but the whole point of taking that job is to get to a system administration job.

But that is merely my opinion.

fly351

I would go with #1, better experience from the start and closer to home.

But yes, interview for both

xenodamus

I've done some work for the smaller hospital on an hourly basis with my current job so I know a couple of the IT guys. I met one of them yesterday to drop of my resume and he introduced me to the CIO. I felt it went well. I've got an interview scheduled with him.

I applied to the bigger hospital a couple of weeks ago and happened to get my first correspondence from them yesterday as well. They sound interested and want to schedule an interview as well.

Honestly I'm hoping the local job will offer a nice salary and it will be no contest. I'm just afraid of what their budget looks like. Last time I heard about an opening there it was a similar position but paid in the 30's.

Bl8ckr0uter

RouteThisWay wrote: »

Interview for both, see what offers you get. Don't count your chickens before they hatch.

^^^^Truth.

If all else is equal, see where the money falls. In a smaller shop, you might get your feet wet in more things but the scope of the tech used may not be as high.

In a larger place, you might get to see a true enterprise, but roles might be so divided that you might be doing nothing more than reseting passwords and making tickets.

joey74055

JOB #1 ALL THE WAY! Why go to job #2 and WAIT to move up when you can go to job #1 and be immediatly where you need to be. If you are looking at moving up and advancing your skill set to me this is a no brainer, job #1. Plus you are only 10 MINUTES FROM YOUR HOUSE! How awesome is that.

earweed

#1 sounds like you may get more experience. It may be a smaller operation but you'll learn more there. At #2 you may be stuck at help desk your entire time there. I'd interview both, and if both offer, weigh the difference in pay with the difference in experience you'll gain.
Good luck, we're all rooting for you.

xenodamus

Thanks for the input. Just scheduled an interview with #2. Looks like it's hourly pay with the range starting at $38k (more DOE - I've got 8 yrs). I'm making $45k working 2 jobs 6 days a week right now, so if I can squeeze something similar out of this offer it's a running contender......

Honestly, I'm excited about the idea of working 9-5, 5 days a week if nothing else..lol

TechJunky

I work in a large hospital. I would take the larger hospital. You will get way more problems in the helpdesk position to deal with and understand more about interfaces etc in the larger hospital and be more marketable in the future. Plus if you are any good opportunities always arise. We go through helpdesk people about every 6 months. They either take a better job or move up in the company.

xenodamus

Just went on the interview for the larger hospital this afternoon. It sounds pretty nice for a desktop support position. Pay range is $38-53k DOE.....highest I've seen for a desktop position yet. They have an awesome benefits package as well. They also told me most of the techs eventually move on to system/network admin or application support positions. Sounds like a great opportunity if everything lines up. Now comes the worst part, though........the WAIT..........(to be continued)

earweed

xenodamus wrote: »

Just went on the interview for the larger hospital this afternoon. It sounds pretty nice for a desktop support position. Pay range is $38-53k DOE.....highest I've seen for a desktop position yet. They have an awesome benefits package as well. They also told me most of the techs eventually move on to system/network admin or application support positions. Sounds like a great opportunity if everything lines up. Now comes the worst part, though........the WAIT..........(to be continued)

Good luck. Sounds like a dream job

xenodamus

Well, the HR lady from Job #2 wants to call my current employers....before I have an offer or salary figure. Is that normal? I feel like I should have an offer and a number in hand before I let them call my current boss and jeopardize my job. What's the normal process in these situations?

She basically told me that they want to hire me, but would it be out of the ordinary to ask for a solid offer before I let them call my boss?

ipconfig.all

I would personally go with job 1.