Is anyone else's job like this?

Hello TE,

First off, I am a IT System Administrator Assistant though I am the only IT person for the department so I am basically the System Administrator, just not paid like one. Is anyone else here titled something they are undeserving of? Secondly, is anyone else required to note a list of every task/job they did for the day and email that to your manager every day at the end of your shift? Is anyone else required to let your supervisor know when you are leaving your cube/area for ANY reason? IE. To go help a user, go to lunch or even use the bathroom? I’m also not gaining that much experience due to doing NON IT related tasks when the work flow gets slow. I’m planning to take a job as a HelpDesk Associate with better pay and experience and what seems to be a much better work environment. What do you guys think?

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Bokeh

I had a job like this. Was doing sw/hw support for a niche industry. Boss made the two support folks to email him at the end of the day with the times, ticket #s, and how long it took to resolve each issue. He couldnt be bothered to look it up in the software himself.

Some places just really love to micro manage.

snokerpoker

I haven't worked in an environment that extreme before. Most companies (if not all) always want you to keep MGMT and other executives in the loop on high priority items, and communicate updates/ resolutions with them. I think everyone in this forum would agree that follow up/ follow through is necessary for anyone in IT to be successful but to require that you notify MGMT if you are going to use the restroom tells me something else is going on here. One scenario could be the employee before you could not be trusted and always left the cubicle area to screw around or went home early. Now your manager is paranoid and being a bit controlling to cover their own a$$ so that upper executives don't get on him for his department being out of control.

It sounds like you don't care for the job and I would suggest moving on to the Helpdesk job as it is better pay and will be better experience.

snakeuptilit

The sad thing is I enjoy the department and job but the supervisor makes everyone miserable. I also should note that my Boss is the office supervisor and has no IT backround. I once argued with the supervisor for about 25 minutes because she did not understand the difference between Adobe Photoshop and Creative Suite. It's just a really crappy situation. I am the 5th person in this job in the past 2 years, been working it for 9 months now.
Thanks for the replies guys.:)

ehnde

My organization reviews our job descriptions annually to ensure they are still accurate. I have a primary and secondary position, and they are both a reasonably accurate reflection of what I do. This is a success not on my part, but the organizations. We have little control over stuff like this and at the end of the day regardless of what they call you, isn't it nice to get a paycheck?

VAHokie56

snakeuptilit wrote: »

Hello TE,

First off, I am a IT System Administrator Assistant though I am the only IT person for the department so I am basically the System Administrator, just not paid like one. Is anyone else here titled something they are undeserving of? Secondly, is anyone else required to note a list of every task/job they did for the day and email that to your manager every day at the end of your shift? Is anyone else required to let your supervisor know when you are leaving your cube/area for ANY reason? IE. To go help a user, go to lunch or even use the bathroom? I’m also not gaining that much experience due to doing NON IT related tasks when the work flow gets slow. I’m planning to take a job as a HelpDesk Associate with better pay and experience and what seems to be a much better work environment. What do you guys think?

That sounds absolutely awful and I would of been hitting the job boards months ago

cyberguypr

God alive! And i complained about a weekly status report at my old job. Seriously the OP needs to move on. Too many things going on. First of all a place that treats employees like elementary school students, showing no respect or trust towards them. I understand accounting for time to some extent but this is plain absurd. Second, if you are solo, then you are definitely not an assistant. They should promote you to Sys Admin or hire one. I am curious as to what happened. Did the Sys Admin leave at some point?

Edit: I just read your response. 5 in 2 years is insane. Get out now. How's your experience and skill set?

And last, welcome to TE.

snakeuptilit

The previous employee which was a Sys Admin left because of the same reason. Then I was hired for the same job but as an assistant. 4 year degree from a great college, 3 years of solid experience in desktop support. Also I am a long time TE member just my other username was to revealing and you never know. The helpdesk associate pays 10K more a year, should I jump ship cause of this one bad egg?

Thanks

xenodamus

VAHokie56 wrote: »

That sounds absolutely awful and I would of been hitting the job boards months ago

+1 to this. Life is too short to deal with a boss like that.

snokerpoker

snakeuptilit wrote: »

The previous employee which was a Sys Admin left because of the same reason. Then I was hired for the same job but as an assistant. 4 year degree from a great college, 3 years of solid experience in desktop support. Also I am a long time TE member just my other username was to revealing and you never know. The helpdesk associate pays 10K more a year, should I jump ship cause of this one bad egg?

Thanks

Yes, jump ship as soon as you can!

eserfeliz

snakeuptilit wrote: »

Hello TE,

First off, I am a IT System Administrator Assistant though I am the only IT person for the department so I am basically the System Administrator, just not paid like one. Is anyone else here titled something they are undeserving of? Secondly, is anyone else required to note a list of every task/job they did for the day and email that to your manager every day at the end of your shift? Is anyone else required to let your supervisor know when you are leaving your cube/area for ANY reason? IE. To go help a user, go to lunch or even use the bathroom? I’m also not gaining that much experience due to doing NON IT related tasks when the work flow gets slow. I’m planning to take a job as a HelpDesk Associate with better pay and experience and what seems to be a much better work environment. What do you guys think?

Nope. My place of business is disorganized and frustrating, but every time I feel like complaining about my job, I'll just log on and re-read your post.

jameshardy2012

there is a saying in the UK - people leave managers, not a job.. Have you spoken to your boss about this at all? is there an HR department you could perhaps approach and explain the issue with? what about your bosses boss?

there are a few options - some serious, some not!!

1. Leave asap
2. Make your managers life hell such as asking them what they are doing every 5 minutes - so he has to leave
3. make a formal complaint to HR
4. Take your boss outside and give them a good kicking - make sure there are some stairs nearby to blame
5. plant some incriminating evidence in his desk
6. delete all the managers user accounts
7. sabotage the mail server to spam them constantly
8. the next time when asked where you are going - reply "to get a gun to shoot you"

Seriously though - if you have the knowledge and experience to get a new role then get it but let your HR dept know exactly why your leaving. Also sometimes you need to get a bit brave and stand up to these people, nobody has a given right to abuse and hassle others. defend yourself.

Good luck

snakeuptilit

LOL James. thanks for the laughs. It's an institute with a lot of politics. There is no way to getting past the supervisor. The helpdesk place just pitched me an offer that is a 17,000 salary increase... I was a little weary at first because I did not want to do helpdesk after college but for this money.. I think it's worth it and move to the network team in giving time.

powerfool

Get. Out. Now. Or. Sooner!

Geek1969

Nope. My place of business is disorganized and frustrating, but every time I feel like complaining about my job, I'll just log on and re-read your post.

+1

I would consider staying there to be "Career Limiting"

RUN!!!!

Valsacar

Yup, move on. If they give you a chance to do an exit survey, make sure you are completely honest in it. I know my company actually reads them, I had to talk to HR because a guy that quit complained about our boss so they tried to confirm it (most of which was crap, the guy that quit was just completely useless and looking for excuses).

blargoe

I would definitely start looking elsewhere now. I would not settle for a "Help Desk" position just yet though. You have some experience with sysadmin level tasks, even if on the "Jr." level so you might be able to find something in the Jr. Admin or Desktop Support realm. Even if it's contract or contract to hire...

Blargoe

snakeuptilit wrote: »

Hello TE,

First off, I am a IT System Administrator Assistant though I am the only IT person for the department so I am basically the System Administrator, just not paid like one. Is anyone else here titled something they are undeserving of? Secondly, is anyone else required to note a list of every task/job they did for the day and email that to your manager every day at the end of your shift? Is anyone else required to let your supervisor know when you are leaving your cube/area for ANY reason? IE. To go help a user, go to lunch or even use the bathroom? I’m also not gaining that much experience due to doing NON IT related tasks when the work flow gets slow. I’m planning to take a job as a HelpDesk Associate with better pay and experience and what seems to be a much better work environment. What do you guys think?

onesaint

My company has always kept tabs (daily reporting) on employee tasks/projects. Last year they had the idea to make the reporting hourly. So, at first I was ticked off and thought that my tasks varried to much to be tracked like that. Then I thought about it and actually became interesting in what I was doing with my time. Now, I keep a log for personal tracking and then report it to the Office Manager. That said, some days its 20 minutes just to note down all the random Tshoot / research / Etc. things that happen in a day.

As to the reporting your whereabouts constantly, I'd jump ship if the opportunity is there. Reporting your time spent is one thing, constantly having to report your movement is extremely excessive. If possible though, I'd wait till a year has passed. It will look better on your resume to have a year with a company as opposed to xx months (IMHO).

Ryan82

That sounds awful. I do have to submit daily reports of my work, partly as a means of turnover for the oncoming shift and partly to assist my supervisor in generating a Monthly Status Report.

As others have mentioned, if you have the means, find a new position. Life is too short to be miserable.

jameshardy2012

Jump now buddy - you wont regret it.