Job/Experience: another advise thread

Hi guys,

I'm having a delema as of late. I've been at my current job for a while now (August will be 3 years) and I'm finding myself having a hard time deciding if I want to stay. I like my job, but from other posts, I don't like my boss. Needless to say he talks down to me, bullies me, and treats me like I know nothing. being that he treats me in this manner has made me start thinking of moving on as of the recent, I just don't know if I got enough experience and certifications to land something better now. I mean I'm confident in my abilities but I'm just not sure...

When I started here I had only basic IT knowledge and my people skills weren't that great. (I was one of those people that thought IT would mean I could sit in a cave with no human interaction) Over the past 3 years I've had such a steep learning curve it's insane. I've now learned strong people skills, networking, printers, budget management, 2008 R2 administration, Sonicwall security, Cisco routers, HP Procurve Switchies, Dell Equalogic SAN's, Cisco Controllers, Cisco AP's, Honeywell VX9's, basically I've become a all-around system/network administrator without any REAL certifications. I call myself a Jack-of-all-trades more-or-less though.

Only in the past year I've got my CompTIA Trio finished and I'm current pursuing my CCENT/CCNA. I tried to do the MCSA study by 70-640 was a utter bear since I only work in a single domain environment at work and I don't have much experience with AD CS and AD FS. I'll probably get the MCSA after the CCNA but it's probably going to be really hard, I want it but I just don't have the hands-on. I've basically gone from a newbie in IT to fully managing a 900+ user network between 3 locations 80 miles apart while somehow managing network/system upgrades on top of certification study. I really don't know how I do it; I do know my troubleshooting skills are very strong so that probably helps. But I feel that I should move on to something that I have more say in things and a place were my knowledge is more appreciated. Being here they will always see me as the newbie that knows IT by figuring it out....

My biggest concern is with my real work experience the past 3 years and my current certifications and pursuits in the future could I land a better job? What do you guys think?

Thanks.

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Comments

Jon_Cisco

It sounds to me like your already confident in your abilities you just need to get up the nerve to move on.

Good Luck!

Khaos1911

Bro, Certs my ass. You have the experience and skills alone that would entice an employer.

kriscamaro68

The only way to know if your ready is to start applying and see if the job market agrees. I don't see how at the very least a Desktop Admin or JR. Sys Admin role is out of the question. I think at this point the only person holding you back from getting a better job is you. JUST DO IT! as Nike says.

Tom Servo

I'm of the opinion that after 3-4 years, if you are not moving up at a company, that it is time to find a new job to move up. There is no sense in allowing your career to stagnate. Unfortunately, to get paid more, get more responsibilities, learn more, it often has to be done at a different company. The days of staying at one company for your entire career is long gone.

Deathmage

I sometimes think my daily skills aren't marketable. I mean I do network troubleshooting daily, printer repair, corrupt profile recreation, ranging to complete HP Procurve network design with vlans and stp, I do daily backups. There is just so much that I do it's crazy.

I'm just wondering when a good time will be for me to move on. I don't think I will be here 2 more years since I'm becoming comfortable and I want something new but I also don't like the direction they want it to go... I'm basically being told I will do more IT management and less hands-on on which is honestly not me... having mixed feelings about it since I've come to know many very well. Anyone know what I mean?

YetAnotherITGuy

@Deathmage - I speak from your position. I am taking my first Microsoft exam in a month and I am looking to jump ships because I am stuck like you are. I am looking for a company that will force me to certify and possess a diverse clientele.

My suggestion ... Apply for job positions. Attend interviews and see what you get. Look for a position that will pay you more than what you currently get and place you in a position that gives you hands-on experience. There are companies out there, just keep trying!

Just do not sell yourself shot and do not give up. Go through your contacts and see if you can find a company that can help! While you are at it, just keep learning for your certs, whatever you are comfortable with and the sun will shine tomorrow. Good luck!

lsud00d

What you need to do is apply for jobs you want and tailor your resume to fit. If it's a sys admin/engineer job, or even networking, leave the desktop support off. You should have plenty to talk about aside from that if you are serious about the next level of jobs.

dopedsmurf

lsud00d wrote: »

What you need to do is apply for jobs you want and tailor your resume to fit. If it's a sys admin/engineer job, or even networking, leave the desktop support off. You should have plenty to talk about aside from that if you are serious about the next level of jobs.

I completely agree with this. The job description tells you exactly what a particular company is looking for, so use it to your advantage. Just to be clear, I am not recommending providing false information, but instead reflect back on your previous jobs/experience and find out what skills you've developed that are being seeked out by potential employers. After you identify what those things are, highlight them on your resume. If nothing else, it will at least help you land job interviews.

ccnpninja

Khaos1911 wrote: »

Bro, Certs my ass. You have the experience and skills alone that would entice an employer.

lol, so true nowadays!

Deathmage

I think what I'm going to do is hunker down for a bit and finish my CCNA pursuit and maybe get the VCA-DCV cert and then start looking.

My biggest issue at my job and it's because of my stint here is my boss still sees me as the guy who knew nothing about IT 3 years ago and now doesn't take my technical advise seriously and when **** hits the fan he overlooks me to get it fixed. But when our outsourced IT firm is late to get things fixed I'm the bad guy cause of a decision he made to not get me to get it fixed. Basically I'm dammed if I do, I'm dammed if I don't....

I do know a crap ton about servers, management, people skills, networks and the in/out of managing them, and best practices I just don't get the credit here and it blows really.

Just going to complete my year till August for a full 3 years here and get my CCNA finished and start looking.... I would think with the CompTIA trio and a CCNA plus my experience that should be marketable especially in the Tri-State NYC area.

Dakinggamer87

You have great skills and experience certs are just icing on the cake

Deathmage

Thanks guys. You're words of encouragement are awesome.

I've been looking and I'm surprised by how many offerings are in my area. Updated my LinkedIn as of the late and countless recruiters have been messaging me so go figure, did someone spike there interests? O.o

I think now that the idea or seed has been planted. I'm going to finish my CCENT/CCNA pursuit and then seriously apply to other places. August will be 3 years so my goal is to get my CCNA by August. 3 years on a resume in my mind looks good. Shows I'm dedicated to a job. Just don't want it to be too short.