What I do now, where I want to be, and wondering if current path will be successful

To start off, I'm 23 and have an A.S. in Liberal Arts and Sciences and an A.A.S. in Computer Systems Technology. I have the A+, Net+, MTA in Networking, and CCENT. Working on CCNA and taking it next month and then getting the MCSA in Server 2012 by Fall 2015. The job experience I have is from December 2013 to May 2014 in a windows migration contract role that involved desktop support. Then I had nothing until I started my job here in September. I love my job, it is close by and good experience. However, it's basically mutually accepted that I will not be here forever. I'm on a 6 month internship to full time and the pay is not great ($14/hr, they offered $12 originally and living in NJ it's not much money) but I do love the quick commute, free lunch, business environment, and experience I am getting and am not looking to leave here in the immediate future at all. There is basically only the Sr. Systems Engineer aside from myself (2 developers, and the CIO) doing the hands on work. I do 95% of all desktop issues. Research and test products, set up new laptops from images I created, create new users/mailboxes, work with vendors to resolve problems with applications, do some VoIP phone stuff (basic), do the tape backups, manage pushing out our pc updates, set up iPhones with our remote management stuff, etc. Sr. Systems Engineer shows me a lot of stuff, like VMware for example. So it's entry level but far from "Yes I can unlock your account". I plan on staying here while I get the CCNA and MCSA. Am I on the course for a $50k/year Jr. Network/Systems admin job sometime next fall? If not, what should I be doing differently? I would love for our company to grow and my role to grow as well, but if that does not happen I just want to be prepared for the future.

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Comments

Nersesian

First of all, nice job on the self-awareness. Your post was full of detail, back story and relevant data points. If I'm being honest, my first question was going to be what exit you're at on the turnpike as Philly and Camden have a great history of data center work. I know you mentioned you wanting to stay at your current gig, but there seems to be a tone of resignment in your post regarding your desire to progress beyond your station, which I totally get. Tell you what...I'll break this down for you since you came correct out of the gate.

- To start off, I'm 23 and have an A.S. in Liberal Arts and Sciences and an A.A.S. in Computer Systems Technology. I have the A+, Net+, MTA in Networking, and CCENT. Working on CCNA and taking it next month and then getting the MCSA in Server 2012 by Fall 2015.

This is awesome and should not go unrecognized. Well done.

- The job experience I have is from December 2013 to May 2014 in a windows migration contract role that involved desktop support. Then I had nothing until I started my job here in September.

Don't fret about the employment break. The market is tough out there and four months isn't bad at all.

- I'm on a 6 month internship to full time and the pay is not great ($14/hr, they offered $12 originally and living in NJ it's not much money) but I do love the quick commute, free lunch, business environment, and experience I am getting and am not looking to leave here in the immediate future at all.

Props to whatever firm you're at for providing free lunch. I had that at one point in my career and really miss it sometimes.

- I do 95% of all desktop issues. Research and test products, set up new laptops from images I created, create new users/mailboxes, work with vendors to resolve problems with applications, do some VoIP phone stuff (basic), do the tape backups, manage pushing out our pc updates, set up iPhones with our remote management stuff, etc. Sr. Systems Engineer shows me a lot of stuff, like VMware for example. So it's entry level but far from "Yes I can unlock your account".

All good stuff here. I don't see anything out of sorts with the job description or the responsibility breakdown.

- I plan on staying here while I get the CCNA and MCSA.

Excellent plan.

- Am I on the course for a $50k/year Jr. Network/Systems admin job sometime next fall? If not, what should I be doing differently? I would love for our company to grow and my role to grow as well, but if that does not happen I just want to be prepared for the future.

Here is where it gets dicey and I think you know it already. You're at $14 an hour which breaks down to a little under 30k a year. Ideally, you're looking to earn $50k a year which is just over $24 an hour. With the current company setup, I would put your chances at roughly 30%. Looking form their perspective, I'm sure you're a great employee, shows initiative and isn't a pain in the ass but they can get desktop support around $12 an hour. Unless they are willing to create another FTE (full time position) with all the tax implications, paperwork and effort just for you, I would advise to start looking for a Network/System admin position elsewhere while you're working on the CCNA and MCSA. Here's what you're going to do.

1. Continue to be the model employee.
2. Continue working on your certs.
3. START looking and applying for gigs you see today. ONLY apply for the ones you could see leaving your current position for. You're not out of a job, frantic and panicking. You're in the driver's seat here, so make your selections wisely.
4. Obtain certifications.
5. Go to your employer and keep them in the loop with regards to your professional development. Don't be a douche about it, but maybe casually mention a recent accomplishment or three.
6. Once you get an offer letter from a competing employer, its time to man up. Walk into your supervisor's office (or HR or wherever) and discuss the state of the state. Let them know they are potentially loosing a great employee and the onus is on them to entice you to stay. Then, shut your trap and find out what's going to happen.

You're going to need to take an evaluative look at your situation and decide what's important to you. Are you ok with a longer commute if the money is right? Are you willing to put up with a possible a-hole of a boss if the commute and money is right? I would also factor in the Law Of Diminishing Marginal Utility as it applies to compensation. That is some realness you don't know about until you get bumped up in salary. I'm not going to say how much I bring down a year, but rest assured I probably have the same financial complaints you do as it all fades into the background after a while.

Just my two cents of course...

kriscamaro68

I would say that you are on your way to a higher paying job. How much that job will pay will depend on the company and how well you can sell yourself. If you can sell yourself very well then maybe it will be a $60k job if you can't then maybe is a $35k job. If you can backup your knowledge in an interview then you are likely to get the higher paying jobs. As for the skills you are learning they all seem like a valuable asset to have in working with a business. If you are going to be taking the MCSA maybe start looking over the exam objectives for the 3 exams you want to take and then talk with your Systems Engineer about maybe implementing some of those.

If you are currently using 3rd party software to deploy images then maybe look at imaging the MS way using WDS or MDT. What are you using to push out updates? If not WSUS start looking at that. Get more involved with GPO creation, AD management, Storage, Hyper-V, Failover Clustering. Maybe if there are a couple of offices and both offices use the same files but you are mapping drives everywhere then maybe look at setting up DFS. It sounds like you have bits and pieces of MS tech at your company now. Look for ways to implement more of it to both make your lives easier in the long run and also learn the technology for your benefit. Being a smaller company they may be more flexible with you taking on these types of tasks then in a larger organization.

hurricane1091

I'll be honest, my server skills/understanding are lacking. I took a Server 08/12 class in college before I understood anything and none of it made sense. It makes way more sense now but the actually methods of doing things and all that will come when I get the MCSA. I do have a great understanding of networking from the CCNA studies so the server side of networking is what I need to work on next. I understand all the basics, just forget most of the configurations (and have zero powershell knowledge). Sr. Systems Engineer goes in depth about some stuff, like showing me around the vSphere client and updating the DC and some stuff and explaining it. That's why I like where I am at. I am able to work close to home, get a tons of hands on work which will demonstrate my troubleshooting abilities to future employers (hopefully) and they'll see I have good CCNA/MCSA knowledge and despite the lack of work experience in that area, hopefully will take a chance at me. And yes, the pay is low considering I made $17/hr on the migration role and anyone could of done that (most laid off before desktop ticket phase started) but I've been told the pay will be better after the 6 month internship phase ends. Again, pay is not everything right now though.

Thanks for the input so far.

lsud00d

Have you vocalized that you would like to not only learn more, but take on more duties? If the Sr. Sys Engi is overburdened then he may be very open to this. What do the devs work on? Is there any MSSQL db maintenance you can help with? It sounds like you're on a good track for growing with experience while adding to your certs. Does the Sr. Sys Engi handle any networking, or is that outsourced? Perhaps there is room to move into a 'network/systems engineer' role if that interests you. Do not be afraid to speak up, vocalize, and offer ideas.

MSP-IT

hurricane1091 wrote: »

I'll be honest, my server skills/understanding are lacking. I took a Server 08/12 class in college before I understood anything and none of it made sense. It makes way more sense now but the actually methods of doing things and all that will come when I get the MCSA. I do have a great understanding of networking from the CCNA studies so the server side of networking is what I need to work on next. I understand all the basics, just forget most of the configurations (and have zero powershell knowledge). Sr. Systems Engineer goes in depth about some stuff, like showing me around the vSphere client and updating the DC and some stuff and explaining it. That's why I like where I am at. I am able to work close to home, get a tons of hands on work which will demonstrate my troubleshooting abilities to future employers (hopefully) and they'll see I have good CCNA/MCSA knowledge and despite the lack of work experience in that area, hopefully will take a chance at me. And yes, the pay is low considering I made $17/hr on the migration role and anyone could of done that (most laid off before desktop ticket phase started) but I've been told the pay will be better after the 6 month internship phase ends. Again, pay is not everything right now though.

Thanks for the input so far.

I read through, at a fairly quick pace, your posts. I didn't see any points that you made stating where you wanted to be in 2-3 years. Have you been thinking about any specific positions you'd like to target? It sounds like you have a great experience/certification/education (I call this the trifecta) upon which to build. If I were you (I'm also 23), I'd continue to work toward the CCNA, drop the goals of the MCSA (I have some gripes with Microsoft exams), and instead work toward expanding/creating your VMWare and Linux (LPIC/Linux+ or RHCSA) knowledge. While there are higher paying roles within the Microsoft realm, I tend to think that Linux experience garners more respect (and is actually more interesting, to me at least) within the tech world. Read up on a target role, look at responsibilities and requirements, and target those specifically.

EDIT:

It's not granular or too specific, but the average salary for general "Microsoft" knowledge is $95,000 in New Jersey, while "Linux" claims $106,000.

hurricane1091

The VMware thing would be helpful but the class is like $3k and if you don't know anything about Windows Server I feel like you'll just be a field consultant setting the virtualization up, which is not what I want. Dev and Dev Intern do work on some SQL stuff I think but I'm pretty busy and that's just something I don't think I have time to get involved in currently.

I did not say where I want to be specifically I guess because I'm unsure. Jr. Network OR Systems Admin/Engineer is what I want in the next year (CCNA & MCSA) and I know they are not the same thing but I'd be happy doing either one and having the knowledge of both makes me have a better understanding in my opinion.

We use PatchLink and not WSUS and that was passed off to my duties from the S.S.E. We have an outsourced CCIE do our networking. I do try to learn what I can (which is why I got the hour run down of VMware last week) but sometimes I am just so busy. I'm at work right now and am setting up a new laptop for someone, have already helped 4 people and have 1 with some issues I need to get to next, and I have to do the PatchLink stuff today. Sometimes I'm just busy so it's tough. I want to learn everything but it's impossible, so that's why I am doing the CCNA/MCSA route to get a career bump. I'd love to have my employer pay for me to get the VCP afterwards.

Thanks again all.