Have you ever gotten extremely bored and stressed at your IT job?

Have you ever gotten extremely bored and stressed at your job?

I work at MSP
I work with all of the managed services.
My main job is to close tickets and resolve manage service issues.

I have been working on troubleshooting notebook, so that we can use resolve errors we get for managed services without escalating to the vendor.

My goal they have set for me is to close 20 tickets a day.
However, I usually can surpass that goal most days.

I don’t take calls from our main line or dispatch email.
However, I can email customers and call them if needed.
They can call me as well.

We are moving to a more proactive model, so we stop becoming reactive.
Their goal for me is to someday handle 5,000 or more endpoints.

My issues are
I feel extremely bored and stressed at work.
I feel like I see the same tickets over and over again
I don’t feel like I’m advancing or ever will. However, it does seem like the other techs at the company are advancing.

Same ticket examples:
Someone’s anti-virus doesn't work, we reboot their computer, start a service ect.
Backup doesn't work and it gets a little more complicated than fixing AV, but not much more.

My questions:
1) We have no benefits, is that normal for a small MSP? Is this normal for any IT company?
2) Are you supposed to feel extremely bored at your IT job?
-It feels like I’m troubleshooting the same problem over and over again.
-I feel like I’m hardly ever learning anything new at work. I feel I learn more when I crack open my server 2012 R2 70-410 book, than when I’m at work.

3) I get extremely stressed, because it seems like I can never do enough and they always want more. Is it normal at an IT company, for an employee to do really well and the company to give them more stuff to do and expect them to still meet their goals?

I work with a few guys that have 2-5 roles. They look burned out.
There are several days in a week that I feel burned out.

4) Is it time for me to think about moving on? If so, what would be my next role, help desk?

*I like everyone I work with, we get along, and I feel like they like me.
However, there several days in a week that I feel extremely stressed and bored.

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Comments

techfiend

This sounds exactly what I saw when I interviewed for a small msp in ne mpls. Bored, burned out employees that were looking like they didn't want to be there. After reading your post I'd suggest looking elsewhere, stagnant, bored and not making what you want are all good reasons to move on.

gespenstern

20 tickets a day is a lot, maybe they are too simple

on my last job at a relatively small MSP (200 employees) my goal was 8 tickets a day

and yeah, this job is pretty taxing and has a high turnover, i worked there for 2 years and in the end ~70% of the IT staff changed

there are some tricks that I've used in order to defeat boredom, like, trying to do typical things each time a different way, it's hard to convince yourself to do that cause the easiest way is usually a well-known way, but ultimately it's something that moves you forward. To be specific, let's say that you have to fix an AV and this is something that you've done 10 times already, then go ahead and try to do all the steps using command line only, next try to do that by pure registry/file manipulation, next try to do that powershell only, etc.

Danielm7

NetworkingStudent wrote: »

4) Is it time for me to think about moving on? If so, what would be my next role, help desk?

Yes. What you do next depends on your skill set, connections and ability to sell yourself. But that place sounds miserable.

jerseyIT92

gespenstern wrote: »

20 tickets a day is a lot, maybe they are too simple

on my last job at a relatively small MSP (200 employees) my goal was 8 tickets a day

and yeah, this job is pretty taxing and has a high turnover, i worked there for 2 years and in the end ~70% of the IT staff changed

there are some tricks that I've used in order to defeat boredom, like, trying to do typical things each time a different way, it's hard to convince yourself to do that cause the easiest way is usually a well-known way, but ultimately it's something that moves you forward. To be specific, let's say that you have to fix an AV and this is something that you've done 10 times already, then go ahead and try to do all the steps using command line only, next try to do that by pure registry/file manipulation, next try to do that powershell only, etc.

200 employees is small for an MSP? I never even knew MSP's got that large, wow! That's insane. What type of clients did they have?

OP,
1. Yes, there will be times of overlap. It's just not possible to be doing something different all the time. However, if you're not doing anything different at least twice a week, that's not good. I'm not meaning anything huge, maybe it's just smaller things.
2. That seems like an MSP that is just terrible. That's how my old job was, it was terrible. I left 7 weeks ago, and since I left, 4 other people have as well.
3. Yes, people will always want MORE out of you. That's at any IT company.
4. Yes, find a new job for sure. Start applying and get the heck out of there. Sounds like it's ruining your experience in IT.

gespenstern

jerseyIT92 wrote: »

200 employees is small for an MSP? I never even knew MSP's got that large, wow! That's insane. What type of clients did they have?

What about Avanade with their 20 000 employees? Of course not of them do managed services, but still.

For the most part SMBs and some projects for enterprises and government.

jerseyIT92

gespenstern wrote: »

What about Avanade with their 20 000 employees? Of course not of them do managed services, but still.

For the most part SMBs and some projects for enterprises and government.

That's crazy dude, damn.

--chris--

jerseyIT92 wrote: »

That's crazy dude, damn.

Or Dell or HP, which both do contracted IT support & project work for large organizations (Ascension health, Chrysler, Ford for example).

@ OP, this sounds like my first job. You asked if low pay and no benefits are common in small MSPs. My experience has been the opposite. When I worked Dell, it was $15/hour and no benefits. No annual raises and they were actively seeking ways to cut costs further when I left.

I left there to work at a small MSP of a dozen people. Big raise and full benefits.

At Dell I felt a lot like you and performed a very similar role. I Remember closing 15-20 tickets in a day, most of them the same thing I did yesterday and the day before that. The only thing that I really liked about the job was the people and that I worked 10-7 PM (two hours later then everyone else). This gave me a good 1-5-2 hours a day to study while at work if it was slow, which it was most of the time. I never had to do homework at home

It sounds like you need to start network. Polish up that resume, start searching the sites and wait for that one perfect move.

IIIMaster

Too be honest, im starting to feel stress out. I just took the rest of the week off. The tickets have jump up big time.

iBrokeIT

Getting bored and seeing the same tickets over and over? Look into the root cause instead of just getting it back up and running. Challenge yourself and try to automate some of the work. That's how you will get recognized and advance.

Why are you stressed? From what I gather it sounds like the technical work isn't the issue. Work at comfortable but steady pace and if the work isn't getting done then that's on them to hire more staff.

If you are still bored work on developing some high paying skills so you can leave that company for a better one. Take that book with you to work.

hellolin

IIIMaster wrote: »

Too be honest, im starting to feel stress out. I just took the rest of the week off. The tickets have jump up big time.

It's time to jump out the help desk role, I am studying up programming and amazon web serivces right now and getting my degree soon. That's about help desk everywhere though, not just in MSPs. Infrasturctures are changing as well, make sure you study for the cutting edge techs not some VCP and CCNAs who is going to go away soon in the next 10 years or so.

Thacker

I can't express how terrible most MSP's are to work for. I've worked for three, and now that I am job hunting again unless a MSP comes at me with a ridiculous salary I won't be going back into that field.

MSP's are great for getting to touch a lot of technology in a very short amount of time. With that said most people use them as launch pads to move onto their next gig.

First MSP I was 21, I was paid 16/hr as a MSP Engineer. My job was fair, I was paid decent for the work I did and I even got overtime pay. I was there over a year, one day boss came in said they were relocating and two weeks later my commute went from 30 miles one way to 62 miles one way. That didn't last.

Second MSP was a small franchise based operation with me and 2 other techs, owner, dispatch girl and accountant. I've never really worked so hard in my life. I was "salary" and consistently put in 60+ hour weeks. It was extremely shady. The account manager would constantly hound us to add 15 minutes here and there for billable time and we were always on call. I got $25/week for UNLIMITED use of my car to client sites and there was no reimbursement for cell phone and we had to provide our own laptops. I lasted 9 months.

After that I went to work for a senior level position with another MSP in a high cost of living area. I needed a job so I didn't negotiate salary and came in at a low rate. I was promised flexible scheduling and a bonus every quarter. First day I got 6 hours training on everything they did including their ticket system and processes... and I was put on the phones for 2 hours at the end of the day. My. First. Day. While I like being thrown to the wolves... this was overkill. I needed at least a week of shadowing another tech... but billable hours are king in MSP work even if you aren't solving anything. 3 months into it, my schedule was still locked to 8-5 so I was driving in the Atlanta traffic at the worst time and the bonuses were "put on hold". They fired a tech shortly after I came on and their dispatch girl had quit so all the technicians were solely responsible for the ticket Q. Answering the phone and having to pick tickets out of a Q was terrible. I was always used to having work assigned and initial contact being handled by someone else. I would get an hour into a problem and the phone ring and it was my turn so my attention went from the problem I was trying to solve to this new clients issue which of course had to be resolved while he had me on the phone. I put in multiple 15 hour days and every time I was on call the world felt like it was ending. Salary again so no OT. I would spend my days at work and since they always pressured us to be billable I would try in the evenings to investigate issues further to eliminate root causes as a desperation hail mary to slow down the work during the day. This never really worked because most environments had either been inherited from others and never fixed or so half assed when they were put together that it was amazing they ever worked at all. There was no standardization between clients and every customer was completely different from the last. After 3 months I was already burnt out and stated that I would like to change my schedule around and try and figure out why this position turned out to not be like it was sold to me initially. I was told that if I "didn't like it I could leave". This escalated into an argument and I was fired. Company fought me through two appeals and the state of GA denied my unemployment. Worst job related situation I've ever been in... so I reiterate again I will never work for another MSP again barring some ridiculous compensation package.

There are I am sure good MSP's but everyone I've worked at has been so ridiculously shady. Senior IT guys which use the same passwords and credentials for all the clients, absolutely piss poor documentation so every new issue has you digging through text files and scattered words docs and excel sheets trying to find where the tech from two years ago hid their IP information or installation information for some off the wall piece of software.. middle managers who think an open office environment is conductive to problem solving when you can hear everyone elses conversation within 10 feet of you... aging IT equipment or them trying to get you to provide your own... the issues go on and on.

/RANTOVER

slee335

i feel the same here at this noc job at a datacenter its super duper slow and i don't see any advancement. i spend have the time surfing the net. i use my to study for other certs. but i'm not learning anything here but catching up on shows. so i've been looking for another job.

hellolin

slee335 wrote: »

i feel the same here at this noc job at a datacenter its super duper slow and i don't see any advancement. i spend have the time surfing the net. i use my to study for other certs. but i'm not learning anything here but catching up on shows. so i've been looking for another job.

I have been working something like this on a help desk internship for over a year now, but instead at an amazing local company, they are small, but they ran like Google, treat their employees like kings, free lunches and fun activities and such. But that does not help me as they pay me well and don't put any great tasks to me( Combined that made me really lazy and too relaxed), so after a year or so I didn't learn anything, actually my IT skill decreased a little before I went in, as I was an intern for a busy MSP before. So now I am about to graduate college with a year and half of help desk experience, but no real skills to show for. Company didn't end up offering me a FT position as I don't want to be a help desk tech forever either. So now I am stuck to pick myselves backup again, studying Python language and AWS, trying my luck to break into the new Devops sense since the traditional sense of network/system administration is going away.

gespenstern

Thacker wrote: »

I can't express how terrible most MSP's are to work for. I've worked for three, and now that I am job hunting again unless a MSP comes at me with a ridiculous salary I won't be going back into that field.

Helluva story, man. I agree, work for MSP is something like that. Amazingly enough, I always enjoyed this lifestyle when it seems that everything blows up constantly and depends on your ability to fix it, etc.

I wouldn't say that work for a larger MSP is much different, procedures are somewhat better, but everything else is pretty much the same. Add to this flying all over the country all the time, eating junk food, sleeping in cheap hotels, ridiculous amounts of time on the phone with clients, etc.

kurosaki00

That sucks man... sadly most entry level jobs are very, VERY repetitive. How much experience you have?
Hang in there, get some experience, get certs and get out.