Just offered my first IT job(s)!

Today I had my first interview after looking for jobs the past couple of months. I originally applied for a field tech position with this company that would basically be 6 months of going to different hospitals installing a system to monitor temperature where they keep vaccinations. After 6 months of that I'd fall into an IT role there at the company.

The interview went very well, and they (3 from the IT department) seemed impressed with me. I was told they had the field tech opening as well as a Jr. Windows System Admin role open and basically offered me my choice of the two jobs. I'm more than happy with either job and really had no preference... there seem to be upsides to both positions. The field tech job would maybe earn me a little more money (they offer $.50 per mile traveled to techs), but not having to travel and stay at the HQ (only 3 miles from my apartment) and getting more server experience seems appealing too. The boss had to leave near the end of the interview to deal with some issues with the CIO, so we were kind of cut off early. The other two guys told me he should be calling me soon to ask which position I want, salary, and give me a start date.

I'm interested to see what those with experience in the field would suggest. Should I take advantage of the system admin job being open (may not be open when I finish the 6 month contract) or go with the field tech job? What salary should I ask for?

All in all very happy about today. Didn't expect things to go so well considering I have zero certifications and my military IT experience wasn't all that impressive. They said they could tell I had the passion for IT and seemed like a great people person.

Thanks for any advice

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Comments

kenoo

jr sys admin all the way

lordy

Go for the Jr. System Admin position. I think this has way more potential.

Dakinggamer87

Congrats on new job!!

Jr. Systems Administrator position is my vote

sieff

I'd go with the field tech position. I started in IT around 1995 in the military and that experience was good gettng hands on exposure to satellites and cabling, etc. I then later got my first civilian job working as a NOC Engineer managing SONET rings, ATM, Frame Relay and MPLS switches and circuits. I was basically doing heavy layer 1 and 2 troubleshooting. I stayed on this job for about 7 years. I thought I knew alot and was pretty knowledgeable. I left that job and became a field engineer at a consulting/engineering firm. In 1 year as a field tech I gained more knowledge than in 12 years of "IT". In my opinion you can't replace field knowledge. I sit in on interviews occassionally and finding someone that has hands on experience with routers, switches, disaster recovery, VoIP, storage, wrieless etc is a rarity. If the field tech position gives you the ability to broaden your skill set I'd say go with it.

Bokeh

Take the admin position.

.50/mile is ok but the wear and tear on your vehicle isnt worth it. Youre only 3 miles away? Id bike to work unless the weather was bad or had errands to run afterwards.

kingslayer

Sysadmin 100% will gain more experience field tech you will spend a lot of time travelling not much time actually working and gaining exp.

Congrats on the job, pretty soon you'll wish you picked another career

sieff

You'll have to factor in the driving I suppose. Working in the field does have some perks, you may be able to work from home some days and have more flexible hours. If you'll be making more Texa$ as a field tech, then maybe you can afford a German car ;P A Merc or an Audi can flip 200K miles with no problem .... ;P

ck86

I'm leaning more toward the jr sys admin role for a couple of reasons. The field experience would be nice, but it's specifically dealing with something I doubt I'd find a job doing again. That, and my V8 mustang really isn't too gas friendly. I'm going to inform them I'd prefer the jr sys admin role.

What salary should I be aiming for?

sieff

I have no idea ... I guess it depends on your area. If you're in NJ/NY I'd ask for $60-70K as its a Jr. Admin role. The Jr Sys Admin role, may allow you a lot of study time. Either decision is a good one. The ability to work in the field you have a passion for is a blessing within itself. Best of luck, man.

Zartanasaurus

sieff wrote: »

I'd go with the field tech position. I started in IT around 1995 in the military and that experience was good gettng hands on exposure to satellites and cabling, etc. I then later got my first civilian job working as a NOC Engineer managing SONET rings, ATM, Frame Relay and MPLS switches and circuits. I was basically doing heavy layer 1 and 2 troubleshooting. I stayed on this job for about 7 years. I thought I knew alot and was pretty knowledgeable. I left that job and became a field engineer at a consulting/engineering firm. In 1 year as a field tech I gained more knowledge than in 12 years of "IT". In my opinion you can't replace field knowledge. I sit in on interviews occassionally and finding someone that has hands on experience with routers, switches, disaster recovery, VoIP, storage, wrieless etc is a rarity. If the field tech position gives you the ability to broaden your skill set I'd say go with it.

Not exactly sure what he's going to learn installing thermometers in hospitals.

sieff

totally overlooked field tech for hospital. hospital fied tech vs field engineer for Cisco Gold Partner ... big difference. "Jr Sys Admin all the way".

N2IT

Admin admin admin!

Seriously congratz!

Devilry

Junior admin without a doubt, man! Good for resume, experience and future all together. The other position sounds like basic learning and dead end after 6 months.

Devilry

By the way, i forgot to say, congrats on your first IT job!

Essendon

Congrats! Another vote for the Sys Admin position. Once you get it, learn as much as you can.

SteveLord

No brainer. Admin role. Seriously.

toshinden5

have to agree with everyone, admin role is the best way to go. congrats by the way!

whatthehell

Congratz on the position and I say sys admin all the way!

Xcluziv

Congrats man!!!

I definitely will go for the Jr. System Admin position. You will gain more experience that will be benficial to oyu in the long run

jamesp1983

congrats! jr sys admin! That's a no brainer. That's pretty sweet that you have the choice though. I would ask for around 60k.

My first job was as a field engineer for a large bank. It was a great gig, but we were handling IT needs for all of the branches, not installing thermometers. I learned a lot there (routing/switching, server install/repair, pc and printer maintenance, ATM repair/rebuild, etc).

RockinRobin

Congrats on the offers! Sysadmin 100%!

tearofs

Field engineer for Cisco Partner is THE best place to go if you are a networking guy.

ck86

Just to update, I was called back and officially offered the job for the field tech. The HR rep told me that the IT boss received my email and thinks it's better for me to start with this position and warm up admin role when I'm in the office between the field tech jobs. The official job offer letter stated that once the field tech job was complete (6 months) that I would then begin working as a Jr. Windows Systems Administrator. So, even though I didn't get the admin job right away, I will be doing it in 6 months.

Tomorrow morning is my first day and I'm extremely excited to get back to work. Very pleased I landed this job given the job economy in my area. They offered me a starting salary of 45k. Not a ton but seems solid given my lack of degree/certifications and no past IT experience outside of my military time.

Thank you guys for the advice.

Mike-Mike

congrats, sounds like the best of both worlds

andy4tech

Congrats Man...................

TLeTourneau

Congratulations!:D