Need career advice from the IT people here

[Arkitech]

I've been in IT for awhile (approx. 17 years) and I've worked on a little bit of everything over the years. My strong suit is with desktop support, I've always enjoyed that type of work and it pays well. However I'm now more interested in areas of IT where I can telecommute. I'm leaning towards networking first and then maybe server administration. Can anyone recommend certifications that would help me in this pursuit and perhaps some online classes to get better prepared?

 

[sdifox]

you cannot telecommute for network when the network is down

 

[KentState]

After having 17 years of experience, I would suggest seeing if you can get in on server administration where you are at. Nothing really beats the hands on experience and have that one your resume is 100x more valuable. After that, setup a home lab starting with a domain and Exchange. Also, look into buying a used Cisco router and see what one grabs your attention. Makes sure it's something you really enjoy.

 

[hans007]

i used to work at a company that wrote software to automate things like patches and software deployments.

effectively to eliminate as many desktop support jobs as possible (this company was bought and its called "tivoli" now). at my current job we actually only have 1 desktop support guy, for an office of 150-200 people. since machines are just shipped out from a central place and plugged into the network and remotely admin'd.

anyway, i'd encourage you to get into things like server admin as desktop support i think is not exactly a growing field. i'm sure there are unix sysadmin courses available, if you want to learn that i'd probably just learn how to setup say redhat and run whatever network services need to run on it, or learning how to say setup a windows domain, domain controllers, email servers etc (MCSE). or network engineering and getting familiar with say cisco/juniper/hp switches, i'd assume something like getting a CCNA would be what you'd be looking for for cisco.

 

[theevilsharpie]

Posting in yet another "help Arkitech get a job" thread

Serious answer: breaking into the professional IT industry is difficult without experience, but structural changes in the industry can provide opportunities to newcomers. A novice that's been studying up on the latest up-and-coming technologies may be able to displace more experienced professionals when said "up-and-coming" technologies become popular (the mass migration from UNIX to Linux is a recent example).

Over the next three years, if you have skills in automated provisioning and configuration management, private IaaS/PaaS design, distributed storage design, IPv6, and SDN, you'll be marketable.

Regarding certifications, certs are for commodity IT work. That doesn't necessarily mean that they're worthless or otherwise "bad," but the pool of "certified" candidates is so wide that employers are going to want to see certs backed by experience. If you want something in the short term, see if you can get a job at a local IT outsourcing shop. The pay will probably suck, but you'll have a lot of opportunities to gain hands-on experience, and many shops will also help you obtain certifications, as the shop often receives a benefit as well. However, local IT body shops are not a long-term career path; if you go that route, always be on the lookout for better opportunities.

 

[Arkitech]

you cannot telecommute for network when the network is down

lol, good point. I don't mind driving in to work, but I've gotten used to working from home.

 

[Arkitech]

After having 17 years of experience, I would suggest seeing if you can get in on server administration where you are at. Nothing really beats the hands on experience and have that one your resume is 100x more valuable. After that, setup a home lab starting with a domain and Exchange. Also, look into buying a used Cisco router and see what one grabs your attention. Makes sure it's something you really enjoy.

Actually that's a good idea using domains and Exchange at home. I've always wanted to learn a little more about Exchange, SMS, etc..

i used to work at a company that wrote software to automate things like patches and software deployments.

effectively to eliminate as many desktop support jobs as possible (this company was bought and its called "tivoli" now). at my current job we actually only have 1 desktop support guy, for an office of 150-200 people. since machines are just shipped out from a central place and plugged into the network and remotely admin'd.

anyway, i'd encourage you to get into things like server admin as desktop support i think is not exactly a growing field. i'm sure there are unix sysadmin courses available, if you want to learn that i'd probably just learn how to setup say redhat and run whatever network services need to run on it, or learning how to say setup a windows domain, domain controllers, email servers etc (MCSE). or network engineering and getting familiar with say cisco/juniper/hp switches, i'd assume something like getting a CCNA would be what you'd be looking for for cisco.

I've noticed desktop support positions are on the decline. I've always liked playing around with linux at home, might as well learn it better and get paid for using it.

 

[TwiceOver]

If you think desktop support pays well, wait till you get a real job!

The only IT people I know that "Telecommute" are web developers, app developers, analysts. If you work with physical equipment, you kinda need to be there to touch it.

 

[Arkitech]

Posting in yet another "help Arkitech get a job" thread

Serious answer: breaking into the professional IT industry is difficult without experience, but structural changes in the industry can provide opportunities to newcomers. A novice that's been studying up on the latest up-and-coming technologies may be able to displace more experienced professionals when said "up-and-coming" technologies become popular (the mass migration from UNIX to Linux is a recent example).

Over the next three years, if you have skills in automated provisioning and configuration management, private IaaS/PaaS design, distributed storage design, IPv6, and SDN, you'll be marketable.

Regarding certifications, certs are for commodity IT work. That doesn't necessarily mean that they're worthless or otherwise "bad," but the pool of "certified" candidates is so wide that employers are going to want to see certs backed by experience. If you want something in the short term, see if you can get a job at a local IT outsourcing shop. The pay will probably suck, but you'll have a lot of opportunities to gain hands-on experience, and many shops will also help you obtain certifications, as the shop often receives a benefit as well. However, local IT body shops are not a long-term career path; if you go that route, always be on the lookout for better opportunities.

I don't mind short term work, it's not the greatest pay but it is a fast way to get experience on a lot of different systems. What would you guys say is the most in demand for server administration right now? (that does'nt include db or sql)

 

[Arkitech]

If you think desktop support pays well, wait till you get a real job!

The only IT people I know that "Telecommute" are web developers, app developers, analysts. If you work with physical equipment, you kinda need to be there to touch it.

I'm not in desktop support at the moment, but the last position I had I was making close to 80k with bonuses factored in. Of course that's probably why most of us got outsourced. :^(

 

[Fritzo]

Where are you working that desktop support pays well? That's always been a bottom-tier job everywhere I worked (like $8-$12/hr positions).

 

[IndyColtsFan]

I don't mind short term work, it's not the greatest pay but it is a fast way to get experience on a lot of different systems. What would you guys say is the most in demand for server administration right now? (that does'nt include db or sql)

VMWare, SCOM/SCCM, Sharepoint, and SAN experience are probably the big areas now from what I've seen. I've also seen a few job postings recently wanting Windows 2000/2003 experience believe it or not! Linux server experience is good too.

 

[vshah]

Where are you working that desktop support pays well? That's always been a bottom-tier job everywhere I worked (like $8-$12/hr positions).

this is what I want to know...

 

[Scarpozzi]

Telecommuting jobs are ok...but it's always a YMMV situation with those jobs.

Most server jobs are fine thanks to lights out controllers or dracs. You can power systems up and down remotely....VMware is a dream.

Just remember that out of sight is sometimes out of mind. You can be the most valuable employee and no one may realize it.

 

[Wyndru]

Get to know vmware well. I've had hardly any experience in it and was recently asked to add a couple of blades, install esxi and get it configured with our lefthand appliance. It was more complicated than I expected and required me to make some HP and VMWare support calls.

This experience makes me want to get vmware certified now.

Where are you working that desktop support pays well? That's always been a bottom-tier job everywhere I worked (like $8-$12/hr positions).

Every desktop support job I've had has paid pretty decent (considering it didn't require much schooling or experience). I had 1 job@30k (school district), 1@38k (private corporation) and 1@45k (financial institution) and 1@42K (state consultant for school districts). All of them had full benefits and retirement.

 

[Staples]

If you think desktop support pays well, wait till you get a real job!

I am glad I am not the only person who was scratching my head at that comment.

Desktop support is down there with PC technician (the hardware type for desktop equipment).

 

[Kaido]

If you think desktop support pays well, wait till you get a real job!

The only IT people I know that "Telecommute" are web developers, app developers, analysts. If you work with physical equipment, you kinda need to be there to touch it.

I telecommuted for a year or so (2-server company, ~100 employees, admin/support role). Ended up hating it. It's difficult for 2 reasons:

1. You need self-discipline
2. You need an understanding family

It's incredibly hard for most human beings to have the discipline it takes to work from home & be consistently productive. I've met very few people who can actually do it and do it well (versus most people who are over-confident in their self-motivational abilities...thinking you can vs. actually doing it are worlds apart IRL). You also need a supportive family, not a wife who will give you a honey-do list or think that you're not working when you're "just at the computer".

I also tell people that you need a clearly-defined routine, not just "work whenever". You need to get up, shower, eat, and get dressed. Hanging around in your PJ's all day is nice in theory but puts your brain into slug-mode for the day. So there's some interesting psychology that goes into working from home for the average human...keeping a routine, actually working, having your family respect your work time & work space. Oh yeah, that - you also need a dedicated "work space" at home. A home office is best, if available - a place that is your office, where you do your work, and that's what happens in that spot.

There are people who can do it. They are mostly extremely self-driven people who don't have a problem getting distracted easily. I have a couple friends who telecommute and are both extremely successful ($70k+/year) - one does web design and the other does C# programming. If you really, truly have the personality for it, then I'd say go for it, otherwise, think carefully about whether you just want an "easy job" with low pressure, because for most people, that pressure is what actually drives them to do actual work (having the peer pressure of having to get dressed in the morning, needing to be on-time, having deadlines and a boss to shepard you along, etc.).

Just some food for thought, speaking from experience :thumbsup:

 

[joutlaw]

i used to work at a company that wrote software to automate things like patches and software deployments.

effectively to eliminate as many desktop support jobs as possible (this company was bought and its called "tivoli" now). at my current job we actually only have 1 desktop support guy, for an office of 150-200 people. since machines are just shipped out from a central place and plugged into the network and remotely admin'd.

anyway, i'd encourage you to get into things like server admin as desktop support i think is not exactly a growing field. i'm sure there are unix sysadmin courses available, if you want to learn that i'd probably just learn how to setup say redhat and run whatever network services need to run on it, or learning how to say setup a windows domain, domain controllers, email servers etc (MCSE). or network engineering and getting familiar with say cisco/juniper/hp switches, i'd assume something like getting a CCNA would be what you'd be looking for for cisco.

BigFix ? IBM can ruin any product that's for sure.

 

[AzNKiD]

I do desktop support and is making 85k
They even gave me a fancy title "system analyst"

 

[iamwiz82]

you cannot telecommute for network when the network is down

Psh, you aren't thinking big enough. A back door VPN to a machine with a couple of serial cables into cores and you can get most things back up.

 

[Chess]

Agreed with KentState....

most servers you will be able to VPN into from home....

Unless its a closed loop network like all my servers....

 

[Chess]

i used to work at a company that wrote software to automate things like patches and software deployments.

effectively to eliminate as many desktop support jobs as possible (this company was bought and its called "tivoli" now). at my current job we actually only have 1 desktop support guy, for an office of 150-200 people. since machines are just shipped out from a central place and plugged into the network and remotely admin'd.

anyway, i'd encourage you to get into things like server admin as desktop support i think is not exactly a growing field. i'm sure there are unix sysadmin courses available, if you want to learn that i'd probably just learn how to setup say redhat and run whatever network services need to run on it, or learning how to say setup a windows domain, domain controllers, email servers etc (MCSE). or network engineering and getting familiar with say cisco/juniper/hp switches, i'd assume something like getting a CCNA would be what you'd be looking for for cisco.

now that ibm owns tivoli its interesting... we use that and netcool

 

[Chess]

VMWare, SCOM/SCCM, Sharepoint, and SAN experience are probably the big areas now from what I've seen. I've also seen a few job postings recently wanting Windows 2000/2003 experience believe it or not! Linux server experience is good too.

VMWare is huge like Indy says.... get VCP certified and you will be golden for a while.... Sharepoint is to easy...

 

[IndyColtsFan]

VMWare is huge like Indy says.... get VCP certified and you will be golden for a while.... Sharepoint is to easy...

Sharepoint is too easy? In what respect? It is one of the most complicated servers on the market and you also have to have a decent amount of SQL knowledge as well.

 

[Chess]

Sharepoint is too easy? In what respect? It is one of the most complicated servers on the market and you also have to have a decent amount of SQL knowledge as well.

i thought you were referring to sharepoint administration.... because yes that is easy.... LOL...


SQL isnt that difficult of a language to learn IMO....

If it were me id look at anything Virtualized/Virtual...