where to go from GeekSquad?

[gsburner]

Hi guys, hopefully this is the right place to put this forum post. Also burner, since my coworkers probably browse the forums.

 

I've been working at GeekSquad for a while now, and I while I like it and all, I would like to take the next steps in my career, although I'm not sure what that should be. I know a lot of webdev stuff, Python, Java, *Nix, server management, hardware configurations, etc etc. I feel like I know a good bit for each path but not enough to commit to one thing. At GS, I'm mainly CA, so I'm mostly checking in and out devices, doing diagnostics, basic stuffs but nothing engaging, not as much as I would like or am capable of. But every job I try to look into that asks for what I know, wants a degree and 5 years of work experience.

What would be a good job to look for to further my career? I want to be able to utilize what I know, while still learning more. I don't want to work customer service and I also don't want to work a job where I'm expected to know absolutely everything (IT would be one thing, but I don't think I could join a software development company or anything)

 

[Shimejii]

I mean what exactly do you want to do? IT almost always deals with CS in some sort of way. Could always make your own company that does IT consulting and such, or other stuff. 

 

Most companies want someone they can sign to a cheap contract, its one of the main reasons i avoid Schools, they pay garbage, they have pretty shit budgets, and you have to deal with people who dont understand how to use the tools. Not worth the headache.

 

Do you want to work in a server system management? Usually that takes working at a company a while before they would trust you with critical server stuff.

 

 

[tkitch]

Start at helpdesk somewhere there would be a chance for upward mobility.

 

your geeksquad time in directly applicable, and if you have other skills you can try to ply them for promotions later.

[Yoinkerman]

I used my similar experience to become a communications tech for the railway.  Hours suck sometimes but the pay is leagues better than. Geek squad 

[silencer12]

I have a degree in IT. Not all jobs want a degree with IT, though they may say it. They will take comparable or no experience at all (if you have someone put in a good word for you within the company.)

 

 Example with no experience - Friend's girlfriend got a job doing helpdesk for Cisco in 2015 - 2018, but she had no experience whatsoever. Another friend of hers put in a good word for her, while I also applied at the same job. She was given the job at Cisco. Personally, someone who was qualified should have been given it, if not me. I still have the e-mail of the job opening. She now works at Credit-Suisse in a help-desk role making $20 an hour. At this job, she is called a goddess. But again, no degree or certifications. She was pursuing phlebotomy.

 

 

 

A degree is still good though. So are certifications.

 

I would like to be doing Geeksquad or some job handling computer hardware.

 

I did helpdesk for USPS website (Contractor). Most time I troubleshooted stuff, told customers to go contact their post office, or explained things on  the USPS website. I resigned after 5 years to do another government contract which I resigned the first day thinking that I was not qualified for said role. It was a remote position (Work from home), watching training videos, watching meetings that lasted 2-4 hours (2-3 meetings a day to train you and keep you up to date). It was also overwhelming.

 

Tkitch is right on your experience being directly applicable.

 

 

Edit -  Apologies if I strayed off-topic. 

[derr12]

Find a small internet provider company (before all the big players gobble them up).  

You will quickly become superstar #1 once you take your current skills and learn networking. Start in support/web dev weasel your way into a sysadmin role.  

Small companies often don't care about your educational background provided you learn well on the job and show talent for it.  

 

You may have to move somewhere rural to find one, but that's what I ended up doing back in the day. 

[Neroon]

They always want a degree and x amount of work experience.

 

I'm not saying it's all untrue, but you might as well give it a shot. You could always mention you are open to get a degree in combination of working there etc.

 

I remember seeing this sign where I lived, grocery story was looking for vacation help, 16-18 years old (cheaper) with 5+ years of experience... yeah.  I mean sure maybe they will find someone who had a paper route (though official minimum age is 12 here I believe), but it's generally just BS. 

[wseaton]

Certification in SharePoint trumps any degree right now. Azure for MSPs.

 

BA only helps if you are competing with other young pups, or a mgnt position. 

[Talamakara]

My honest opinion. Go back to school and get a degree in business. I have a bachelors of science in computer information systems, have worked for little companies, transport companies, and hell even did a stint at IBM. (That was a shit show) Right now working in IT for any company is dead end career, and yes I am including jobs like IT security which some say is "booming" right now, but there are three reasons IT today is a dead end career in my opinion.

1) If you are not working for a major cloud provider like Amazon, Google or Microsoft, you will end up fixing desktops and nothing more even if you have a dozen security certs, because all the major corporations are moving to cloud systems to try and save them money and responsibilities to infrastructure. Cloud infrastructures (public/semi/private) are going to destroy what we as support are worth as a whole. Until the storm comes and crashes the cloud systems, this won't change. (anyone catch my storm joke? I know it's hard to broadcast lol)

2) The money just isn't there. The corporations are blind to our real worth. If they were to find themselves without anyone to keep their email running for one week, maybe that would change, but as it sits we as IT are seen as a cost center, not a revenue generator. It's a completely ignorant way to look at it, but thats how companies see it, and they see us as easily replaceable in comparison to the people who "make the money", not really know just how shit some of the IT "technicians" really are and with cloud technologies coming in hard and fast, we will be paid even less. Yet we are still the assholes that take the 1am phone calls cause the user has locked their account or the building has turned off the water and we have to rush in at 1am and save the servers from turning into melting slag. (yes i know they would shut down first, but i've seen weirder things) but that don't matter to those in charge after the crisis has past.

 

3) Rights and Respect. Skipping off the money issue, most of said "revenue generators" are currently at the point where they believe they have a right to a computer, and that you are there to facilitate that right. Once they have their computer you are not even a human being anymore, you are to disappear. We have had people "revenue generators" throw stuff at IT staff cause they were busy helping someone else and didn't immediately answer an email, when we complained, it was brushed off cause the guy was on a "big deal and stressed" like that makes it ok, he eventually did get reprimanded but he didn't care or change. If the industry is to survive we need to re-align people to the fact that having a computer is not a right but a privilege and the IT staff are not just "cost centers" but actual valued members of the team as a whole. That includes salaries and other gratuities the same as "revenue generators" esp if we have to put up with them.  

Long and short of it, get out of IT now, I think we will all be unemployed in 10 or so years anyway.

[Roswell]

Entry level help desk work for the same pay you're making now is your only real option if you won't get a degree. You'll never get anywhere significant without one. Maybe if you're lucky you can move up the help desk chain and eventually earn $18~/hr but you'll never get out of help desk into an actual IT role.

[Talamakara]

2 hours ago, Roswell said:

Entry level help desk work for the same pay you're making now is your only real option if you won't get a degree. You'll never get anywhere significant without one. Maybe if you're lucky you can move up the help desk chain and eventually earn $18~/hr but you'll never get out of help desk into an actual IT role.

With many years in the IT industry and dealing with "technicians" I've had to do the job for or even throw off site, I 100% agree with this statement.

[Talamakara]

4 hours ago, wseaton said:

Certification in SharePoint trumps any degree right now. Azure for MSPs.

 

BA only helps if you are competing with other young pups, or a mgnt position. 

I disagree with certs trumping degrees. Yes certs are good, but nothing will compete with a full blown degree. Think of it this way. The degree is the cake, the certs are the icing that makes it look good to eat, but without the cake no one will eat just the icing.

[Talamakara]

41 minutes ago, Talamakara said:

 

accidental copy lol