From freedom to security (Hopefully)

[RaidenRattlehead]

Hi all,

I want to share something with you all and hear what you think.

I started my first IT job at a small firm in a small town, about 6 years ago. Worked there for just under 2 years doing tech support (mostly) and the odd computer setup, router setup and network cable installation. It was just me and the senior guy, doing work for the general public, but mostly on maintaining the internal IT infrastructure.

 

I then moved on to another company, they did tech support and installations and retail for the general public. I only worked there for just under a year, mostly due to conflict of some sorts.

 

I then decided to open my own company, doing support, installations and retail in the same small town. The first company I worked for stopped doing work for the public and focused on doing only their internal infrastructure and maintaining it, so I scored quite a few clients off that. I did this for 4 years and I enjoyed it. The freedom of doing your own thing is unlike anything I've had before. I made a living, but didn't grow much. I had a lot of time to "play" with things, I learned FreeNAS, pfSense, Ubuntu, all the things I wanted to learn, I could. And then, when I "mastered" these things, I could sell them to my clients as solutions.

 

I never got any certifications, degrees or diplomas in my field, all I had was experience. As much as one could get by playing with different things.

 

At the end of 2017 I got a job offer from quite a massive company to be an IT Technician (Junior, for now, hopefully) at one of their branches in a near city. They didn't offer as much money as I was making on my own, but they did offer benefits, such as medical aid, a pension fund, and so on. They also wanted me to get my CompTIA A+ in 1 month, and so I did, and I took the offer, we moved. I did this mostly out of the view point of having the security of a salary and for the benefits (medical aid) for me and my wife's future. I've been here basically a month now.

 

My problem though, is that I don't feel like I'm learning anything here (yet, hopefully). I am not allowed to fix the important things like the routers, firewalls, etc. Those problems are for the SysAdmins, Network Admins, etc. My job, mostly, is remote logging into users' machines and fixing whatever issues they may have.

My goal is to be a network admin for this company. Their infrastructure seems so cool, and it looks like I can learn quite a lot here.

 

How fast do you think I can climb this ladder? I am 26 right now, turning 27 this year. I only have my CompTIA A+ right now. Which diplomas/certificates would you suggest? I don't know if anything Cisco would apply here, they seem to use Mikrotik and Ubiquiti for most of the networking equipment.

 

Thanks

[dalekphalm]

45 minutes ago, RaidenRattlehead said:

Hi all,

I want to share something with you all and hear what you think.

I started my first IT job at a small firm in a small town, about 6 years ago. Worked there for just under 2 years doing tech support (mostly) and the odd computer setup, router setup and network cable installation. It was just me and the senior guy, doing work for the general public, but mostly on maintaining the internal IT infrastructure.

 

I then moved on to another company, they did tech support and installations and retail for the general public. I only worked there for just under a year, mostly due to conflict of some sorts.

 

I then decided to open my own company, doing support, installations and retail in the same small town. The first company I worked for stopped doing work for the public and focused on doing only their internal infrastructure and maintaining it, so I scored quite a few clients off that. I did this for 4 years and I enjoyed it. The freedom of doing your own thing is unlike anything I've had before. I made a living, but didn't grow much. I had a lot of time to "play" with things, I learned FreeNAS, pfSense, Ubuntu, all the things I wanted to learn, I could. And then, when I "mastered" these things, I could sell them to my clients as solutions.

 

I never got any certifications, degrees or diplomas in my field, all I had was experience. As much as one could get by playing with different things.

 

At the end of 2017 I got a job offer from quite a massive company to be an IT Technician (Junior, for now, hopefully) at one of their branches in a near city. They didn't offer as much money as I was making on my own, but they did offer benefits, such as medical aid, a pension fund, and so on. They also wanted me to get my CompTIA A+ in 1 month, and so I did, and I took the offer, we moved. I did this mostly out of the view point of having the security of a salary and for the benefits (medical aid) for me and my wife's future. I've been here basically a month now.

 

My problem though, is that I don't feel like I'm learning anything here (yet, hopefully). I am not allowed to fix the important things like the routers, firewalls, etc. Those problems are for the SysAdmins, Network Admins, etc. My job, mostly, is remote logging into users' machines and fixing whatever issues they may have.

My goal is to be a network admin for this company. Their infrastructure seems so cool, and it looks like I can learn quite a lot here.

 

How fast do you think I can climb this ladder? I am 26 right now, turning 27 this year. I only have my CompTIA A+ right now. Which diplomas/certificates would you suggest? I don't know if anything Cisco would apply here, they seem to use Mikrotik and Ubiquiti for most of the networking equipment.

 

Thanks

If they're a Cisco outfit, then get your CCNA for sure.

 

I'd also probably look at CompTIA Security+, and also, perhaps look at a few Microsoft MCT certifications.

 

Unfortunately, now that you've left entrepreneurship, and ventured into the corporate world, certificates and qualifications matter a lot. And some companies have internal policies where you cannot get a certain position within the accompanied qualifications.

 

But, if they have an HR manager, I would speak to them, and try to get a feel for what would be useful to the company. Find out about what the progression path would be (Once you're ready, what would the "next" highest job be? Does there need to be an opening - eg: someone else quitting - or can you just get a promotion based on merit alone etc).

 

I'd say, within 5-8 years, you should be able to secure a higher position, assuming competence, and more importantly - room to grow within the company (Meaning: if there are no open positions, then you'll never get the job no matter what).

 

You could probably speed that up by jumping jobs (and possibly moving cities) within that 5-6 year time frame.

 

Personally I've been working for the same public library for almost 4 years now, and have no plans to change jobs or careers anytime soon, as the job, the pay, and the benefits are all pretty good.

[Ithanul]

7 hours ago, RaidenRattlehead said:

My problem though, is that I don't feel like I'm learning anything here (yet, hopefully). I am not allowed to fix the important things like the routers, firewalls, etc. Those problems are for the SysAdmins, Network Admins, etc. My job, mostly, is remote logging into users' machines and fixing whatever issues they may have.

My goal is to be a network admin for this company. Their infrastructure seems so cool, and it looks like I can learn quite a lot here.

 

How fast do you think I can climb this ladder? I am 26 right now, turning 27 this year. I only have my CompTIA A+ right now. Which diplomas/certificates would you suggest? I don't know if anything Cisco would apply here, they seem to use Mikrotik and Ubiquiti for most of the networking equipment.

 

Thanks

Unfortunately, the higher jobs of Sys Admin, Net Admin, and higher tend to be hard to squeeze in for a new hire.  Especially with no certs into those fields.

 

Best advice, study for a network cert.  A CCNA and higher will look nice on a resume especially going into the net admin positions.  This cert shows the company you at least know good basic network routing and should know your way around a cisco router/switch and terminal commands within those equipment.

 

On Ubiquiti, those have GUIs and very friendly user interfaces to power users.  I got some experience of assisting with the roll out of some of big Wi-Fi pucks made by that company.  Very easy to setup and get a basic network up fast on that equipment.  Still, a network cert won't hurt to have.

 

Also, look at maybe a Sec+ cert in case you look at gov contract jobs in the IT field.  The gov/military want that cert big time on the resume, plus looks good to companies too as it shows you have a basic knowledge on security practices (that cert is heavy theory based).

 

If you work hard enough and expand your knowledge base, you can land one of those jobs.  Plus, look to see if the company you work under offers reimbursements for getting certs.  I'm not sure how many IT companies do that, but the one I am under and a few other members of my Guard unit who work at other IT jobs offer reimbursements for gaining certs.  Some places may also give a grace period to gain certs if you don't have them yet.

[RaidenRattlehead]

Thank you both for your suggestions.

 

Would you guys think speaking to the group IT manager is a good idea to find out if they offer growth and positions, without positions opening? And also to find out what they would need from me to become Network Admin? From the looks of things, people don't really walk away from this company. The people that I've met so far have been here for years.

 

I don't want to give the wrong impression - such as arrogance - since I've only been here a month. 

 

 

[Froody129]

IT is a very hard field to advance in. Especially in SA where it’s often just basic cable laying until you hit corporate server setups etc. 

 

I’ve spoken to a couple of the guys at a biggish company in SA and they all said to qualify yourself as much as you can

[dalekphalm]

44 minutes ago, Froody129 said:

IT is a very hard field to advance in. Especially in SA where it’s often just basic cable laying until you hit corporate server setups etc. 

 

I’ve spoken to a couple of the guys at a biggish company in SA and they all said to qualify yourself as much as you can

I dunno.

 

I'd argue that skilled individuals, who didn't put themselves into a little specialized corner (eg: all they know how to do is cabling), should have little trouble climbing the IT ladder.

 

I'd also argue that anyone taking IT seriously HAS TO get into Corporate Server/IT/Infrastructure. That's where the money is. That's where the talent is. That's where the positions available are.

 

Folks on this forum think they're "IT" because they know how to build a computer and install Windows, or they have basic consumer desktop level troubleshooting skills. No one in the IT world cares if you can clean a system from viruses - the basic intern schmuck who does coffee runs is assumed to have those skills. People who join the IT world need to grow their skills beyond basic troubleshooting.

 

Certificates and professional qualifications definitely help. But that's mostly just to get your foot in the door, so to speak. If you have that on your resume, you're more likely to land an interview. Once you're in the Interview though, certificates matter a little less.

[2FA]

4 minutes ago, dalekphalm said:

Certificates and professional qualifications definitely help. But that's mostly just to get your foot in the door, so to speak. If you have that on your resume, you're more likely to land an interview. Once you're in the Interview though, certificates matter a little less.

I cannot second this enough. Certs get you the interview, your skills and knowledge gets you the position.