IT Career [July 2021] Ask The Experts - System Administrators |
- [July 2021] Ask The Experts - System Administrators
- I want to be a Sysadmin! Where and how to start, can you guys give me some advice?
- Can I be honest with my employer about a major change in my career intentions?
- How to pay bills making career change to entry level IT job
- 3 weeks into my service desk position. Finding alot of downtime during workhours.
- Do you think it's better to start a helpdesk job first, while studying for the CCNA, or study first before getting it?
- Starting an IT Career at 36 Years Old With Zero experience
- Stay at big company that has good pay but stressful/uninteresting or take alternate option?
- Blanked on an open ended question in job interview
- Current Systems Analyst looking for non-client facing jobs
- Accepting an IT manager position at another company, or waiting for my current employer offer?
- Boss says SysAdmin is a dying field. Is he just full of it?
- Can you recommend a place to stay up with current tech?
- Relocating - what's the best/fastest way to move... And how do I break this to my manager(s)?
- [Entry Level] Network Administrator - 4 year degree - 3 years previous administration - In what world?!
- Thoughts on Health IT major? Is this a good field?
- Offensive security vs Defensive Security (Red Team vs DFIR)
- System analyst career path. 3 years of experience, mostly banking
- Getting a promotion- need help clarifying job title.
- Entry level IT/helpdesk positions in Austin - looking for advice
- Southern Michigan Tech wages depress me and I'm not even new to IT
- Looking for a Remote - SOC Analyst Level 1 Position
- Which IT Path Would Be Most Effective For Federal Law Enforcement?
- Online vs in person to finish degree (28 yr old) unsure of whether to quit IT job
- Has anyone taken the 98-365 Windows Server Fundamentals exam recently?
- Considering a transition to IT from current career. Would it be better to get a degree vs just certs?
| [July 2021] Ask The Experts - System Administrators Posted: 12 Jul 2021 01:12 AM PDT Do you have an interest in System Administration as a job or career choice? Are there things that you have wanted to know but not been able to find a resource to ask? Some scenarios for potential questions:
Ask the Experts is an opportunity for the community to answer questions for each other or provide general advice on their respective field to people interested in joining your ranks. NOTE: Experts when you answer, please give an indication of your experience in the field. Example:
MOD NOTE: This is part of a weekly series. Next week is IT Management. [link] [comments]  |
| I want to be a Sysadmin! Where and how to start, can you guys give me some advice? Posted: 13 Jul 2021 03:03 AM PDT Hello guys! (this is the same post from a different group as they advised this group instead) I recently joined here for the reason to check the activity of the group, for I need a serious advice from those of you who are in the IT field. Before I say anything, I want to say: this language is not my main tongue, so misspells and miscommunication can occur - sorry for that! So, I'll ask a simple question from you folks, as I'm kind of lost at this point: I want to enter to the IT field, want to be a System Administrator and get a job with the courses I aim to complete. As I'm still roaming the internet, I couldn't find any, compact course what would give you the certification, in my understanding, to be a Sysadmin - it's not that simple, unlike any "IT Security" course s you can find. So, the courses I'm looking after are: CompTia A+ CompTia Network+ CompTia Server+ Plus: Microsoft Certified Professional Microsoft Technology Associate Microsoft Certified Solutions Associate OR Microsoft Azure Fundamentals Microsoft Certified: Azure Solutions Architect Expert What do you guys think about this? Would I get a job with these courses, are these relevant or worth to do it in the UK? The reason why I'm asking these is because it's hard for me to find any normal course, also I have to keep in mind that I don't have any money for university courses, as the price of a year is over nine thousand pound, which is too astronomical to me. Thank you if you comment to this, I appreciate your advice! [link] [comments]  |
| Can I be honest with my employer about a major change in my career intentions? Posted: 13 Jul 2021 03:08 AM PDT TLDR; is it too risky for a help desk tech to let his employer know he's actively working to become a data engineer / developer instead? First, relevant backround about my current position... I've been on the help desk at a smallish but fast-growing MSP for the last two years. Less than a year ago, I moved up from Tier 1 to Tier 2. My boss loves my work and tells me this all the time. I feel secure in my employment and I really do like the company. I came in to this position with my trifecta of CompTIA certs which I recently renewed. Aside from the expectation of working on new certs and on-call rotation, I have no significant work commitments outside of business hours. Now what prompts me to seek advice is that I've recently decided to do a 4-month part-time boot camp in back-end web development. It covers Python, SQL, cloud service platforms and DevOps. These are all things that have no direct application to my current work, nor to the normal paths of advancement into engineering within this company. The bootcamp says an average starting salary for someone with this skill-set is nearly double what I'm earning now, and this is indeed realistic as best I can tell. Even aside from this, I'm just really excited about learning these skills and doing this kind of work in place of direct end-user support. What makes this a quandry for me is that I have regular discussions with my immediate supervisor about learning goals. He asked me to get a Microsoft desktop admin cert over a year ago and I've been struggling with it, in large part because I'm just not that into it. Next time this comes up, I'd like to be able to explain to him honestly what I plan to be working on over the coming months. I'm a terrible liar and I can't even think of a good excuse to explain my lack of progress on the Microsoft cert at this point. On the other hand, I don't want him to think I'm likely to be leaving the job soon, especially when I don't really know for sure that I will be doing so. One more thought before I wrap this up... my supervisor's boss is the COO and he's an amazing guy. After discussing this with my supervisor I'd like to have a discussion with him about whether and how we might be able to create a position that allows me to start applying these skills and move up off the help desk without me having to leave the company. I even have a vague idea for one possible project I could work on in such a role. But it's not at all clear to me that this proposal will work out, and I may end up having to leave pretty soon after graduation, so it's a bit of a scary convesation to think about. So there are these gnawing doubts about being completely open about my intentions. I often see it said here that you shouldn't feel loyalty to your employer if it's not going to help your career, and I totally get that. But for obvious reasons I don't want my employer to think I'm thinking about leaving until I am ready to give my notice. Even though I feel very secure in my current job, I can't rule out the possibility that they will treat differently if they know I've got my eye on greener fields. So what's your advice and why? [link] [comments]  |
| How to pay bills making career change to entry level IT job Posted: 13 Jul 2021 07:48 AM PDT Hey so I'm a 19 year old LED lighting crew lead and electricians apprentice. I make $1000 a week on salary with my job. I am now realizing electrical isn't the path I want to go down as it is very hard on the body and I am constantly traveling working very long hours. I had plans of buying a house and renting out the rooms to a couple of buddies. I am currently working on my CCNA because my original goal after high school was to be a network engineer but got offered a decent paying job and went full time working for this company. I know you need to have some sort of IT experience but those entry level jobs only pay 10-15 an hour. How are you guys able to get bills paid working entry level IT? I really want to move out but I'm scared I'm going to be scraping by going back to making less money. [link] [comments]  |
| 3 weeks into my service desk position. Finding alot of downtime during workhours. Posted: 13 Jul 2021 05:58 AM PDT I'm about 3 and half weeks into my very first tech related job that being a service desk analyst although my actual title is (workstation configuration specialist) it's typical stuff really dealing with hardware and setting up machines for a large company in Chicago on a team of 2 other guys. Anyway's the days their is alot to do it's easy to stay busy but so far those are rare. I know once everyone comes back to the office it's going to be busy all the time but as of right now most of my days are spent sitting in my office twiddling my thumbs or playing on my phone. Their is only so much organizing and cleaning of equipment I can do you know? I like my company alot and I want to grow and continue to learn and make sure I look like a good employee. Any tips on how to stay busy and make sure I'm looking top notch in the eyes of my employer? Also note that all of my teams higher ups and managers all work from home so it's pretty easy to sit in the office and not do much. [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 13 Jul 2021 10:03 AM PDT I understand this comes to personal preference, but I would like to hear your opinions and stories, perhaps how it went for you. I left my job about 2 weeks ago and have been focusing several hours per day studying about networking and working on getting my CCNA since I want to get into networking. I know I can get a helpdesk job now, to get my foot in the I.T. field and all, and do that while continuing to study for the CCNA. But the thing is, I know I will study A LOT LESS than I can now while holding a job, due to simply not having the mental energy to learn after a long day at work. Consider I will study 3 or 4 times slower. So I've been wondering if I should just get my CCNA first, which would give me an advantage in getting an entry-level job anyway, and even be able to be promoted faster. Or maybe just try to get a helpdesk job now while studying, but that slowing down the process in which I get the education (I would probably say 3 or 4x slower). I know I.T. experience is important too so I'm conflicted. What do you think or what did you do personally? [link] [comments]  |
| Starting an IT Career at 36 Years Old With Zero experience Posted: 13 Jul 2021 09:50 AM PDT Hello all was looking for some guidance on how to get my foot in the door. I have been doing Retail for 15+ years. But have always wanted to do something in the IT field. I taught myself how to build and maintain computers in high school. I also have my CompTIA A+ certificate and have been looking at an entry level help desk. The problem I keep coming across if I even get an interview is I do not have experience. I'm well aware I will be starting from the bottom and willing to take the pay cut for at least a few years. Which will be tough as I am a single parent with a mortgage. But in the long run I feel it will pay off. [link] [comments]  |
| Stay at big company that has good pay but stressful/uninteresting or take alternate option? Posted: 13 Jul 2021 01:11 AM PDT Most of my career I worked in medium sized companies where I have full end to end control over the environment and mostly set my own tasks, 2 years ago I got a gig at a big company contracting and I was pretty happy as I thought it could be a good opportunity. The pay is good and they recently made me permanent, they seem to rate me and there is room to move up, but I work in operations and its pretty mundane to be honest with short periods of high stress during some major incidents, I find it impossible to really understand which teams are responsible for what, trying to contact people on call, how the environment all fits together can be overwhelming etc. I miss the ability to create and build, play with stuff and own it all. I have an offer coming for a role back at a medium sized company where I can actually get into some cloud stuff and I would actually be able work on my own things like automation and know the environment inside out. I know it will be much less stress too but it is also a pay cut and giving up that potential movement up at my current company. Does anyone else think it is stupid to move on? there is no ability for me to move out of operations in my current company. [link] [comments]  |
| Blanked on an open ended question in job interview Posted: 13 Jul 2021 07:32 AM PDT Had my second interview for a Infrastructure Engineer position (first interview was a 15 minute video recording responding to different questions). Got a call back for a zoom call with the manager. In that 15 minute recording, I had mentioned working with AD federated apps, only to completely blank on what apps I've actually dealt with when asked this in the in-person interview. I've currently been working help desk for 4+ years now, trying to move into a more infrastructure/system administration role, and this was my first real opportunity and felt like I just blew it. The rest of the interview felt "OK", after saying bluntly "I'm completely blanking on this question right now" and we moved on, but wow do I feel like an absolute idiot right now. Has anyone actually had this happen to them to eventually get an actual offer later on? [link] [comments]  |
| Current Systems Analyst looking for non-client facing jobs Posted: 13 Jul 2021 09:42 AM PDT I currently work as a Systems Analyst, i spend most of my day fixing hardware and software on specialized systems. I've also previously worked as Deskside support. However, I'm looking to break out of the "break-fix" or the side of IT where my job mostly consists of fixing things when they break. I work my best when I can focus on a project or do my own thing so I've been considering Cloud Architecture or possibly Software Development, but I have zero coding experience. Just looking to get some tips or insight on possible career paths to look into before making a decision. Any help is appreciated. Thanks. [link] [comments]  |
| Accepting an IT manager position at another company, or waiting for my current employer offer? Posted: 13 Jul 2021 08:53 AM PDT I've been in IT for 10 years now, working for the same employer since I graduated college with my AAS. My current employer has provided me with support, has decent benefits and pay, and has been overall good. I have "moved up" in rank in the IT department in conjunction with my education and experience, however I am the only admin for a 400+ userbase, and am the solo admin. I don't feel like I ever have time when I'm not on call, and the C Levels are coming to treat me like the doormat (Just give him the project cause that's what he does) because of my work history. However I'm starting to get tired of the low level tickets, user complaints of low printer ink, etc., and am currently in process of obtaining my BS in Information Technology Management. I would like to build a team of IT staff who can maintain current systems as well as think and plan ahead for future company and technology innovations. A local company that does similar work to my current employer has an IT Manager position available. I have applied and scheduled an interview. Without counting chickens yet, I feel I have a serious advantage in this position as I am already familiar with company work, politics, procedures, etc., as well as skilled in areas they could utilize. I have a list of requests for management to consider that would "entice" me to accept a position, and leave the comfort and stability of my current employer. HOWEVER...should they actually offer me the position, I feel like I should give my current employer the opportunity to match. I don't feel it wise to tell them "hey, other company gave me an offer" but would like to see if they can match/beat. I also feel that by doing this I might be selling out...if they match it and I accept, that somehow my current employer feels the "hook is set" and I'll never actually leave, no matter the outside opportunity. There is an availability for IT manager that hasn't been filled, as they haven't advertised or have been waiting for me to get my BS. It really boils down to: New job/better salary/more benefits that I currently have vs Old job/security and workload I know/the possibility of better benefits Any suggestions? [link] [comments]  |
| Boss says SysAdmin is a dying field. Is he just full of it? Posted: 12 Jul 2021 06:34 AM PDT So about a month ago I posted about asking for a raise and having a conversation with my boss about having more responsibilities so that I am more of a Jr SysAdmin. I originally wanted to grow with the company instead of jumping to a new company because I like it here. Well, I did get a $2 raise and technically a new title. BUT while discussing this, my boss was telling me that it would be best to stay where I'm at because MDM is the future of IT and physical servers are going to become obsolete. He went on to say that I "wouldn't like" working on the servers (so I'm still not allowed to do much with them). He also said cloud is the future, but when I asked to work with that then I got no cohesive answer. Not only that, but since that conversation happens and I got my supposed "promotion" I have actually been given less responsibilities and not more. It really seems like my boss is trying to box me into a position and there isn't much room for growth as I thought, which sucks. Right now I've decided to just get certs and build a home lab to fill in the gaps since it doesn't seem I'll be learning anything new on the job. Now my question is, he's full of shit right? SysAdmin may be moving more towards the cloud but that doesn't mean the position is becoming obsolete. But I am doubting myself because he has 30+ years of IT experience as opposed to my 3 years. [link] [comments]  |
| Can you recommend a place to stay up with current tech? Posted: 13 Jul 2021 06:30 AM PDT I'm an old dog AV person moving into the IT field. I would definitely be considered a generalist, and not a specialist. In my I'll be it brief research i'm finding it difficult to find a place to learn about new tech. The industry seems dominated by press releases by all the major manufacturers How do you stay up-to-date on the latest and greatest technologies in the IT field? Is there a podcast, trade magazine, or news outlet I should be following reading or listening to stay up-to-date. Thanks for your recommendations in advance [link] [comments]  |
| Relocating - what's the best/fastest way to move... And how do I break this to my manager(s)? Posted: 13 Jul 2021 10:08 AM PDT Hello all, Shouldn't be a long post. A few months ago, I started a desktop/hardware technician role at a large public sector org in the UK with zero prior IT experience. It's basically tier 2 tech support. It is a temporary contract but my manager has already made it extremely clear that they want to keep me on - even if it means offering me a tier 1 post so I stay in the org until another position in tier 2 or 3 opens up. They know I want to move into infrastructure/networking as fast as possible and they know I am capable of doing so. Now, this would be absolutely brilliant, and I'd have no issue with it. Unfortunately... due to factors out of my control, I am soon relocating to a heavily-populated area with lots of competition in the IT job market. Has anybody else dealt with a situation like this? And if so, how did you handle it? I do not want to go down to tier 1 support - sure, I could do it, but I would despise it and probably quit after a month or two. I wouldn't mind doing 2nd line somewhere else for a bit longer. I've been applying for desktop/2nd line support, as well as lower-level/general sysadmin jobs in the new area. Heard next to nothing from anywhere. Also... should I tell my manager about this now, or wait until I've had some offers? [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 13 Jul 2021 04:10 AM PDT In what world is ANY full-time Network Administrator (not Jr, not associate, not analyst) an entry level position?! HR, why you do this to us???? [link] [comments]  |
| Thoughts on Health IT major? Is this a good field? Posted: 12 Jul 2021 09:34 PM PDT I am currently a senior majoring in health informatics with a minor in cis but I am struggling to even secure an internship at bigger companies for both health it and it companies. Is this a good field? Hoping to get an advice from professionals from similar field. Thank u [link] [comments]  |
| Offensive security vs Defensive Security (Red Team vs DFIR) Posted: 13 Jul 2021 09:58 AM PDT Hello! My dream is to work in cybersecurity, but I don't know which route to choose. I want to specialise either in penetration testing or in digital forensics/incident response. Would love to hear your opinions. Thank you! [link] [comments]  |
| System analyst career path. 3 years of experience, mostly banking Posted: 13 Jul 2021 01:12 AM PDT Hello everyone, have been working as system analyst for 3 years now. Have recently landed in one of the top bank in my country (remote banking is huge here, banks are like full IT companies now). Currently working with strong team, but willing to learn more and plan my future step. I feel pretty comfortable with architecture ( still i trust way more to dedicated architect or dev) and also pretty strong with all the system analyst should do ( lots of offers and assesments prove that to me, however i always end up in teams where everyone is way fucking smarter than me) . What should be my focus from now on? I feel kind of lost and stupid. And i know that 3 y. of experience is nothing, but i am willing to learn [link] [comments]  |
| Getting a promotion- need help clarifying job title. Posted: 13 Jul 2021 09:56 AM PDT I was hired on as an IT Helpdesk Specialist. I have been working for little over half a year now and my boss wants to give me a promotion so she can pay me more. She isn't really sure what to title the promotion to capture what I do, and asked me to think on what I want my title to be. Titles in our department tend to not align with industry standard titles and I would like to get something that reflects what I do and means something when I look to move to another company.
Thanks in advance for any suggestions. [link] [comments]  |
| Entry level IT/helpdesk positions in Austin - looking for advice Posted: 13 Jul 2021 09:45 AM PDT Moving to Austin TX in about 2-3 weeks time. Currently working at a WAH position doing outsourced contract tech support for a big tech company. (Think Isaac Newton). This is my first job in tech. No degree. I have experience working with Computers and mobile devices for 10+ years. None of it is in official capacity though. Trying to work my way into internal IT. Anyone know of any companies hiring within the Austin area? Or have any general career advice. Thanks appreciate it! [link] [comments]  |
| Southern Michigan Tech wages depress me and I'm not even new to IT Posted: 13 Jul 2021 09:44 AM PDT Hey all, If this is a re-hash or re-post, my B. So I have been in the market since april and the wages I am seeing are just all over the place. Anything entry to even mid level are so low on wages. Like 12-18/hr. I have some years under me and I can't find anywhere that will start over $18. I personally would have a hard time taking $12 if I was even entry-level. Are my expectations just out of whack because I have made more during my years in IT, or just got lucky in my roles, or is there something going on with wage stagnation in MI for tech? I've even seen places that want a BS and some years in and pay below $50, which is slightly above my median with an AAS and the experience I have. Maybe I'm being unrealistic or entitled. [link] [comments]  |
| Looking for a Remote - SOC Analyst Level 1 Position Posted: 13 Jul 2021 09:42 AM PDT Hello everyone, I am looking for a remote SOC Analyst Level 1 position or a entry level Identity and Access Management position in the USA. Does anyone know any companies that are hiring ? If so, please let me know. Thank you! [link] [comments]  |
| Which IT Path Would Be Most Effective For Federal Law Enforcement? Posted: 13 Jul 2021 09:38 AM PDT Hi there. I am CJ major who is still in college, and am looking to learn some cyber skills that would be more applicable in my field of CJ. I aspire to work for NCMEC (National Center for Missing and Exploited Children) or a CAC (Crimes Against Children) unit. Could you recommend a good area in IT that I could start studying so that I have applicable tech skills in this field? All info is appreciated. Thanks! [link] [comments]  |
| Online vs in person to finish degree (28 yr old) unsure of whether to quit IT job Posted: 13 Jul 2021 09:26 AM PDT I am just about 28 and I am working in IT making about 65k on the East coast (rural). 2 years ago I was attending a state university for CS, I had 3 semesters left when I took an internship at my current company, and then got offered a full time position based on my associate degree. I took the job with the plan of finishing up my B.S. online. This job is a dead end, and I want to get a higher paying job with opportunities for advancement, hopefully in software development. I am currently finishing up my B.S. in computer science at an accredited online school, and I have 16 courses left. I am sort of stuck for a couple reasons. For one, the university I am attending doesn't have deadlines. You just study and take the exam to pass the course, one class at a time until you are done. I feel like this has been pretty horrible for me, because I just end up putting it off. For this reason, I want to transfer back to the brick and mortar university I was previously attending. To do that, I would have to quit my job. I have about 100k saved up. I feel like I would finish much quicker if I had hard deadlines, and was able to focus on school full time. If I continue with this online program, at my current rate, I wont be done until I am like 33. The other thing I have considered is transferring to a different school with an online CS program that has deadlines, and keeping my job. Although I am not sure how I'd do with that. I honestly feel like I would get stressed out trying to balance everything and give up. Also, I would be paying out of state tuition. It would probably cost a lot more than transferring back to my the brick and mortar university I was previously attending. In general, I am not fond of online learning. I was way more motivated 2 years ago when I was physically driving to my university, spending all day there in classes and studying in the library. Now it's like, I have this somewhat decent paying job and so the fire isn't there. This online schooling doesn't feel real to me, it's extremely difficult to stay motivated and to focus and find the time to complete anything. Not sure what to do. I would be okay financially if I were to quit and go back to school full time, although I would definitely feel guilty about being my age and not working, and I would hate to miss out on contributions to my 401k. I am not learning anything new working here though. So I don't know. Maybe in the end Id be better off. [link] [comments]  |
| Has anyone taken the 98-365 Windows Server Fundamentals exam recently? Posted: 13 Jul 2021 05:16 AM PDT Hi all, has anyone recently taken this exam? Thinking of starting this week any tips or links would help a lot thanks [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 13 Jul 2021 08:38 AM PDT Hey all. I have been considering changing my career as my current one feels as though I've hit a massive wall in terms of growth and, frankly, enjoyment (I work in Museums). I already have a bachelors degree in an unrelated field to IT, and have been looking at degree programs near me The thing I am curious about, is a degree worth the cost? By this I mean, is the supposed step up from a degree worth it compared to simply getting certifications, such as the A+, Network+ and Security+. The area of interest I have for IT is mainly system admin, Security, and Databases. I found these two curriculums at a local school: https://www.greatbay.edu/program/computer-technologies/ https://www.greatbay.edu/program/information-systems-technology/ One is a full degree while the other seems to be a shorter, certificate program. Anyways, thank you all for your time and assistance! [link] [comments]  |
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