Career Advice

[eth_jones]

***Not sure if this is the right place to post this, so let me know if not!***

 

Last month I turned 22 years old. On my 16th birthday, I started work in a large manufacturing company as an IT Helpdesk Technician Apprentice. After moving through the apprenticeship and eventually completing, they hired me permanently. Eventually though, I felt that I had learned everything I could from the place, so I left. In June last year, I moved to another manufacturing company ( a lot smaller ) and started work as the IT Support Technician. This is a lot more hands on. But now I am considering moving on again. Things are changing in my business, and I just want to know what my best option/path would be if I do decide to leave. 

 

I don't want another 'support' job to be honest. But at the same time, I'm not completely sure what I actually want. That's why I'm asking you guys today. With 6 years support experience, where could I potentially go in my career next? What doors might be open to me? 

 

If you need to know more about my experience or qualifications then I will be happy to share.

Thanks!

[wojtepanik]

4 minutes ago, eth_jones said:

***Not sure if this is the right place to post this, so let me know if not!***

 

Last month I turned 22 years old. On my 16th birthday, I started work in a large manufacturing company as an IT Helpdesk Technician Apprentice. After moving through the apprenticeship and eventually completing, they hired me permanently. Eventually though, I felt that I had learned everything I could from the place, so I left. In June last year, I moved to another manufacturing company ( a lot smaller ) and started work as the IT Support Technician. This is a lot more hands on. But now I am considering moving on again. Things are changing in my business, and I just want to know what my best option/path would be if I do decide to leave. 

 

I don't want another 'support' job to be honest. But at the same time, I'm not completely sure what I actually want. That's why I'm asking you guys today. With 6 years support experience, where could I potentially go in my career next? What doors might be open to me? 

 

If you need to know more about my experience or qualifications then I will be happy to share.

Thanks!

Where do you live ?

[eth_jones]

Just now, wojtepanik said:

Where do you live ?

In England, in Wolverhampton.

[wojtepanik]

Just now, eth_jones said:

In England, in Wolverhampton.

If you are into tech, solving problems, then you should be an administrator, get some steady job and do CCNA from cisco, then move to some more advanced stuff, maybe devops, cloud services, writting scripts, virtualization.

[eth_jones]

10 minutes ago, wojtepanik said:

If you are into tech, solving problems, then you should be an administrator.

When you say administrator, what exactly do you mean?

[Stormseeker9]

1 minute ago, eth_jones said:

When you say administrator, what exactly do you mean?

I assume he means like a network administrator or similar (I could be wrong)

[wojtepanik]

36 minutes ago, Stormseeker9 said:

I assume he means like a network administrator or similar (I could be wrong)

In companies I work and I used to work, admin division was doing all stuff from setting up virtual servers, managing standard hardware like laptops, setting up networks, deploying software to servers.

[eth_jones]

7 minutes ago, wojtepanik said:

In companies I work and I used to work, admin division was doing all stuff from setting up virtual servers, managing standard hardware like laptops, setting up networks, deploying software to servers.

Hmm okay,

 

So in my first place, we had 1st, 2nd and 3rd line support. I worked in 1st, which was taking calls from customers and working with a helpdesk system etc. I guess the admins there would have been the 3rd line guys.

 

My current company is a lot smaller and I am the only support guy, but I do all of that stuff already. It's just not on a massive scale. Roughly 200 staff, 7 servers.

[Guest]

I'd say keep your job and get some certification, like the CCNA which has already been mentioned.

 

With what is coming at your door in 3 months, you don't want to jump jobs right now. Get some training, keep your job and when things are going to settle down, look around you.

[Lurick]

Depends on what kind of IT specialization you want to take up. Just a few off the top of my head:

Networking: Cisco CCNA or Juniper equivalent are a good place to start

Server/Microsoft stuff: MTA or MCSA/MCSE

Security Stuff: CCSP, CCNA Security, and eventually move towards your CISSP

VMWare/Virtualization: VMWare certs

[dalekphalm]

One thing to keep in mind: You worked at your previous job for 5 years - and your current job for only 1 year.

 

Staying with a job for such a short period of time is not a habit you want to develop. It's okay every now and then, but if you find yourself frequently jumping companies after only a year or two, you'll quickly find that companies will see that as a red flag.

 

When you're hired, that's an investment in you - it's expensive to train people, and annoying to replace them frequently. Sometimes it cannot be avoided, but if you're interviewing for a new job, and they see you're constantly hopping between companies, they're going to look less favourably on you.

 

So, I suggest you keep your current job until you know exactly what it is you want to move on to.

 

I'd suggest doing some online learning courses on different specializations within IT to see if any of them piques your interest. Find something you like, try and do some certificates to get yourself more qualified.

 

Then you can pursue looking for a new position that will challenge you more.