So some background first, I'm a 34/M with a bachelor's degree in IT and I've been unemployed since the end of June, last year. The reason I'm unemployed is I did a IT support contract job that lasted a little over five months and then I decided I wanted to make a career change. My previous roles had all more or less been desktop support/help desk roles and unfortunately some of them didn't end well which has given me a less than stellar job history. I think the reason I wasn't happy in those roles was because I wanted to do something else, although I'm not sure what exactly. Just something more interesting, challenging, and to be frank, better paying.

I have some interest in Cybersecurity so I decided to get a CCNA because I thought it could help if I wanted to move in that direction and because it would help my resume. But I also had some interest in web development so I did a web dev boot camp and put together an OK portfolio and tried applying to front end developer positions but haven't gotten many responses yet. Now I no longer receive unemployment so I figured I needed to get another temporary or contract job if I couldn't find something in network administration, cybersecurity, or web dev. So I applied to the desktop support/help desk temporary or contract jobs and yesterday I got an offer.

The offer was much lower than what I've seen for other contract work but it's with a university nearby that's got a good reputation. I asked if they'd up their offer and they said they would think it over and get back to me on Monday. They played up the connections I'd make by working there, that it was based on the department budget, and that I could apply to other jobs while in that position, if I wanted. I feel like they're low-balling me because they think I'm desperate or that the university's reputation and potential opportunities are enough incentive to make up for the low salary.

I have some savings so I'm not desperate at the moment but I do realize I need to make a choice soon about what I'm going to do. I feel like I'm sort of a mid-life crisis point where I need to choose which career direction I want to go in and that's much harder to do when you have a job. I thought with that time I have I would continue to do web development projects to improve my portfolio, gain new skills, and apply to more web dev jobs. And since I have time, also work on some IT security certifications to see if that's where I want to go.

I just hate committing to something because I'm afraid of what could happen if I don't and then regretting it later. I feel like I've done that a lot in the past. Plus, it's an indefinite contract and they say most people transition into full-time role after a year or so, assuming there's an opening then. Right now, I'm not interested in that because I've lived in this same city for all my life so I want to branch out and get a fresh start somewhere else. Still, it's tough to turn down a job offer when you don't know when the next one will come and you've been out of work for a while. I believe I can get another contract job (hopefully a short term one) but it's hard to tell when that'll happen.

What do you guys think? Am I being short-sighted?

Is it the usual sites like LinkedIn, Glassdoor, Indeed? Or is there some other site I haven't heard of.

Been W2 for years until recently and kind of liking working as consultant better than W2.

So i go to school part time and college part time im doing Web development at college right now but it ends in a few months and i have the option of ethical hacking course or a software development paid apprenticeship im not sure what to chose because the apprenticeship counts as job experience and would probably help me get a job in the field in the future.

Pretty new to IT and at the beginning of my career. Got on recently at an international company as a desktop support analyst.

It's been mostly great, but I'm interested/perplexed/fascinated/concerned by the fact that many folks in seemingly other functions share the same title with me, including people working tier 3 support, working in DevOps-type roles (SCCM application packaging, deployment, and support), even the guys who create and support the company images and handle all the hardware configurations for our 25k person company have the same title I do. Some of these employees continue to perform desktop and end-user support work in addition to these roles, but others are fully corporate and don't support any end-users directly, despite having the same title. Their scope of work is completely different from mine.

Is this common? I like the company and their culture a lot. I'd like to stay here and build a career (unusual in IT, as I understand it), but say I get into more DevOps duties in the future, and then find I'm needing to leave the company years down the line. How would I communicate to future employers that I haven't just been in desktop the last 10 years or whatever, and that I've been performing more specialized duties? I guess I'm concerned that if down the line, I apply to strictly DevOps roles at other companies, my resume might get passed over when at a glance, they see my title has been desktop support for my entire career.

I feel like showing up in a full suit would be overkill.

I had a professor who said only those in higher-up positions wear ties... but how about for the interview?

Right now I am thinking jeans, button up shirt, and sneakers.

I work in tech support for a relatively small ISP, with about 30 employees and over 10,000 customers using our service, both biz and residential.

Recently I've taken leave, and I have an opportunity to negotiate my wage when I come back to work in a few weeks.

At the time I came on to the job, my responsibility was entry level support--basic troubleshooting over phone and email with customers involving problems with speed or loss in connectivity. My only experience in IT was an AP Java course I took in high school, and informal IT knowledge.

2 years later, I've since graduated to supervising 2 members of the support department, and though I have no formal training in networking, I work on projects for alleviating bottlenecks in the network, finding and isolating loops, and increasing bandwidth capacity at PoP sites. I have a fair amount of knowledge in IOS, though I'm not at the level where I can configure a L3 switch with the proper vlan, ospf, ACL settings etc, though I understand the concepts therein and can read and understand a Cisco config.

At the same time I still have basic tier 1 support responsibilities, since the company is small and it's common for responsibilities to spill over when we're short on hands.

I basically would like to know roughly the industry standard job title for what I do (tier 1,2,3 support?), so I know what to put on a resume and what I should expect to be making. Currently I'm also studying for CCENT and CCNA, and also looking into Red Hat certification.

Any insight from fellow helpdesk workers appreciated--I'm happy to answer any questions to add more detail as to what I do.

TLDR: Yay I got the job, but help direct my focus for my studies please!

I don't have any certs or background in IT but my polished resume and a lot of applications later and I got a job as a Help Desk Tech!

I'm so stoked, but now I don't know where to direct my focus. I'm studying CCENT right now, but I have set up an AD lab in Vbox on my desktop for the purpose of learning some Windows Server stuff.

So what is better to study right now? Do I need to start learning MCSA server stuff in order to do my job at Help Desk or will I learn everything I need on the job? Of course I can do some focused self study at home once I learn the tasks and programs tools I'll be using in AD. But part of me feels like I should pause my CCENT studies so that I can focus on how to use and lab in AD. And then that rabbit holes me into reading about lab exercises regarding the sysadmin side of Server.

Databases are my main interest and am looking for a path to DBA.

Hello everyone!

I have searched around on this sub, but thought I'd try and ask a question more specific to my situation. I am in the Army and currently in the position of changing jobs to the IT field. By time I retire I will have 9 years as an Officer in IT. To be honest I'm not sure what my job will be though. I have no prior experience in the IT field and this was my only chance to stay in the military, but am excited for it! From what I hear my job will deal mostly with servers, however I'm not sure how true that is.

I currently only have a few general studies classes and trying to figure out what IT degree to pursue. Not only would I like one when I retire in 9 years, but I will be needing one for my promotions. I would prefer something with minimal or no coding if possible. I haven't had math in years either so not advanced math. These two things are pushing me away from Computer Science even though I hear it is a highly respected degree.

I find myself drawn to the idea of something in the security field for some reason, even though I have no experience there. The same goes for possibly in the cloud field. I just passed my CCNA certification test two weeks ago and will hopefully have my CASP certification prior to my graduation of the military course I'm currently in.

I could greatly use and appreciate the help of anyone who could mention any possible degrees that could help me land a career in 9 years in the IT fields of networking, security or cloud. Anything else with minimal coding or programming. I've never even used the command prompt or changed an IP address prior to the current military course I'm in to change my job.

Please feel free to ask me any questions that you think could help me narrow down my degree options that I may enjoy.

Thanks!

Been working with a company nearly 2 years now. This is my first job after working in a varied role including internal IT at another company for 10 years. I wanted to be purely IT consultancy which is why I took the job

They offer 3 core applications (from different software companies) plus each one has add-on products. My job is to plan, build and document the system installations for clients. This is mainly remote work with travelling if necessary.

In addition to the installations I'm expected to provide help to the support desk and also support internal IT requirements. I am expected to do this whilst working on a client and often sales people will arrange appointments for technical support on top of installation days or I will be assigned time-critical support cases.

It's beginning to feel like an absolute stretch every day. I like the people I work with and the salary is good (�40k plus car allowance) but I'm beginning to question if I'm just being taken for granted. There are no gaps in my diary for the next month. I'm beginning to feel stressed, unable to focus and because there is so much to know about very difficult to remember how to do parts of my job

Recently we have taken on a new application consultant and a sales person to expand one of the 3 products we sell. I have been told that there will be no extra people to help with technical installs or support. This concerns me that the situation is going to get worse and not better

Is this normal practice for the IT industry to have such a wide remit? I am considering leaving even if the money is less.

I'm applying for a WIOA grant that can cover educational expenses, and want to know if anyone from the DMV has had any good experiences with classes in the area. My current goal is to pass the A+ exam, and perhaps security+ after. Then will be aiming towards becoming an Amazon Web Service Architect .

In terms of starting a career in IT is it better to go the A+ route or get a entry Linux cert? Im thinking RCSHE or something of that caliber? Not sure if I spelled that right. I'm not sure if this is the right sub or not.I heard its better to start with Linux right now because its whats "in" right now because alot of things go up and down so I'm told.

I'll be starting next week as a Desktop Support here in SoCal.

Excited and very NERVOUS. Excited, because I finally landed a job as an IT here in the US. First job was a warehouse job at Best Buy, don't ask. Nervous, because this is my first IT job in the US and somehow I feel like they do it differently here, like for example when I went to their office for an Interview, I saw the desktops and I think they are mostly doing PHONE support which I am not accustomed to compare to my last desktop job which is purely hands on support, or I may be wrong. My first desktop job exp is in another country.

I'm just scared because I'm thinking my teammates or users that I will support might get annoyed because I'm still having a hard time speaking english. How do you think i will do? Any tips or advise when it comes to communicating in English? Or any tips at all since this is my first IT job here in the US.

Thanks!

I am working on starting a career in IT, right now I'm working as a field service technician for a large ISP and I want to transition to a role that involves maintaining computer and networking systems. My goal is eventually becoming a network admin. I have a bachelors in compsci.

I want to ask the director about which certifications I should be pursuing, the best way to get my foot in the door (help desk, or shoot higher?), and how to leverage my degree.

I kind of fucked around in college and graduated without any internships or personal projects and I don't feel that software dev is for me.

Do you have any advice for some questions I can ask that the IT director? It's not a job interview, it's just a one on one info session. Thank you.

Ive recently decided that i no longer want to stay with my current job and would like to go back to school. My main interest for a career path is IT and I would love to work in the security field. I really dont have much experience with computers other than gaming on them and other basic stuff. So I really dont know how they work entirely. Obviously you can see im really starting from scratch here but im hoping some of you seasoned folks out there can help me out with a good direction to start with.

So i had previously posted my resume on r/sysadminresumes and got great feed back. I made a lot of changes and am hoping to recieve criticism to improve it further.

A little background i am planning on getting Net+ and Google IT Professional certificates and possibly A+ before i make my move. Also i am in the process of learning python, (i put it on my skills list) through a coursera course so hopefully thats okay; i expect to finish the entire 5 Course class before July.

Please leave constructive criticism in comments.

Thank you!

Updated resume- https://docs.google.com/document/d/1wt2OZNcJWag7NBClb5eSlGOya15I2JFW5agr79-XGAg/edit?usp=sharing

Old resume- https://docs.google.com/document/d/16Ol6jBx4GI0BWlqhJj3DmDmp-qjJY5eooV0WTjiVrAg/edit?usp=sharing

Hi, so here s a little info about me, i just started my bachelors degree in IT Management, but I don't have any work experience related to my field, so i am looking for an internship. Luckily i found a part time job at a big company for a position called system support specialist. I passed the digital interview and the wonderlic test(?) so i am going to have a face to face interview, next week. I am seeking advice from the experienced ones, any advice. How can i prepare for the interview questions, as i don't know what to expect it worries me. Also what would be decent starting salary at Florida.(i know this is hard to guess, but doesnt hurt to ask) Thank you in advance! :)

I currently work 56hrs a week minimum. On weeks with holidays I might get down to 48 or if things get super slow I might see 40 for a week or two. Im trying to get into IT as a way to escape the constant OT. Its not that I never want to see over time again its just I want my over time to be an unpleasant surprise not a constant certainty. Im I getting into the wrong line of work?