Move away from I.T?

Psyk said:
I'm very much into programming but I don't really want to end up in the IT industry. The games industry is more up my street. Possibly harder and more stressful than a "normal" programming job but I'd find it more satisfying intellectually and creatively and it's nice to know that you're working on something interesting that will be be enjoyed by people rather than just being a boring business app.
Click to expand...

I agree with that. Long hours can be much more satisfying when you actually feel like doing the work. If you are going to spend 8-10 hours, 5 days a week doing something for the rest of your life, that being the majority of your time then heck it should be something you enjoy. Theres no need to make yourself miserable day in day out just for a bit of money.
 
I work in IT and love it, maybe you lot that are complaining just dont like where you work. I work in local gov and love the place, pays dam good; i work in a massive building with great grounds set in the country side which is lovely during the summer and its a nice place to work. Mind you it can be stressful at times, but thats the same in any job
 
Perhaps get out of support and into pre-sales?

Don't think of it as having a number. Often you don't, you just help the people who do have a number by being a technical resource.
 
I'm currently in a transition from ICT technician in a secondary school to the school's main ICT teacher. I did a history degree, graduating in 2005. I'm not entirely sure where I'm going with this post, but I'm sure that if you want to move to a job that provided the right company/opportunity comes along that things can happen. :D
 
i think a lot of the issue here is really a 'grass is greener' ideology. all jobs can become repetitive and dull/irritating at times.

-i must also admit i have a pet hate of 'IT' threads (both positive and negative) on here because IT is not a job role - for the most part the common denominator is that you use computers like any job. take this thread - you've got help desk guys, IT Managers and app dev's all discussing their (completely different) jobs - i mean change the thread title to "Move away from my Job?" and everyone reading would see this thread for what it is - some people discussing how they hate their low-level helpdesk jobs - which is fair enough but 'IT' isnt a job description.

I admit I am one of the lucky ones I am now managing an IT upgrade project which will totally overhaul our infrastructure including a new Navision database with a new solution company. I feel like i have a voice where i work and will definitely make a huge improvement to my users' working lives and that's why i enjoy it.

bit of a rant there lol
 
Last edited:
I started in it when IBM brought out their first PC. This is going back all the way to 1981. That’s 25 years! … mostly support roles.

The early days were fun. Businesses were not completely reliant on their PCs. All the critical Business Apps ran on Mainframes or Minis. PCs were a novelty and it was DOS running Lotus 123 and Word Processing. No Call centres or helpdesks people would just call you or walk up to you chat to you about their little problem. It was fun and v fulfilling job. Configuring a PC was a doodle just boot from a floppy connect to a server and just copy the files down and you have a PC ready in minutes.

Then came email and everything changed. It became business critical and Servers had to be up 24/7. Along with came change control, help desks, call centres, Database Apps, Viruses. In Corporations now you have Apps galore and you have to document every one. IT departments are huge now and you have to put-up with all the Politics.

To me the jobs not fun any more. Don’t know many people IT who actually enjoy what they are doing its just a job to earn a living.
 
I started out in IT a few years ago. Started as 1st line support desk, then moved to 2nd line and am now on the operations team.

Hated talking to people on the phones and getting them to right click on this and do that, etc. Now I'm away from the support side of things I much prefer the role fixing the servers, etc but HATE the amount of politics involved. Forms for this and forms for that. Things go wrong and they look for someone to blame. Its extremely stressful at times, but I enjoy the job when it's just me fixing the issues.

Only thing I REALLY hate about it is the shift work. We support the NHS so have to cover a 24x7 shift. Been doing shifts for 2 years now and desperate to get off them as they mess you up health wise and socially! Only problem is finding new jobs in IT. They all seem to be in the god damn helpdesk roles and I NEVER want to go back to talking to users over the phone ever again!! I much prefer the face to face approach and doing things on a corporate scale rather than individual users :)

I still get satisfaction from the job however even after a few years! Just managed to fix a problem where none of the helpdesk guys could remote onto the servers at all. Took a couple of hours to figure out but so satisfying when you get it all working again after scratching your head for so long!! :D
 
number41 said:
I started out in IT a few years ago. Started as 1st line support desk, then moved to 2nd line and am now on the operations team.

Hated talking to people on the phones and getting them to right click on this and do that, etc. Now I'm away from the support side of things I much prefer the role fixing the servers, etc but HATE the amount of politics involved. Forms for this and forms for that. Things go wrong and they look for someone to blame. Its extremely stressful at times, but I enjoy the job when it's just me fixing the issues.

Only thing I REALLY hate about it is the shift work. We support the NHS so have to cover a 24x7 shift. Been doing shifts for 2 years now and desperate to get off them as they mess you up health wise and socially! Only problem is finding new jobs in IT. They all seem to be in the god damn helpdesk roles and I NEVER want to go back to talking to users over the phone ever again!! I much prefer the face to face approach and doing things on a corporate scale rather than individual users :)

I still get satisfaction from the job however even after a few years! Just managed to fix a problem where none of the helpdesk guys could remote onto the servers at all. Took a couple of hours to figure out but so satisfying when you get it all working again after scratching your head for so long!! :D
Click to expand...

You said it, POLITICS. Hate that in IT.
 
Hmm, also in the same boat-ish, been out of IT for 11 weeks now after 12 years in the industry. Haven't been working due to smashing my ankle up, pins/plates/screws and a plaster cast all get in the way of job hunting.

Was hoping to have come up with an idea of what I wanted to do by now, but still none the wiser.

Still, plaster cast comes off this morning. Every cloud.
 
I think it's often a case of the "grass is always greener". I'm in IT too and always have been. I have to say the happiest was when I was doing pur programming as it's a creative thing. I still do a fair bit but moving up the corporate ladder takes you away from hands-on to more management related stuff.

One bonus of this is that I can delegate away a percentage of that dreadful support stuff. "My printer won't work" etc. :( IT support is a thankless task.
 
It isn't so bad if you're on a crappy wage as one of the pressures isn't there, but if you make 40,50+ and have got used to the cash and lifestyle (or rather your GF has) it's a little more difficult to jack it in.

For those getting into IT, you should listen to those with experience, for me day-to-day it's ok, a big part of it is the company you work for and the role you have - be very careful here. Pay can be very good if you have a brain. My problem is that I don't feel particularly 'professional', not like I would as a doctor etc - and that bothers me....
 
I've been involved with computers my whole life, in either programming (at uni) or I.T (for paid jobs). I've never had a paid programming role and my whole wage-earning has come through I.T support and PC repair.

I've wanted a change in career and decided to do something about it. So today is my last day in a decently paid I.T support role and on Monday I start my first programming role, and I can't wait. IT support has worn me down over the years and I just can't wait for Monday to come around.
 
I'm not really in "IT" so to speak, it's far more specialised, but with a lot of typical IT solutions that one would get in the regular offices. However I'm desperately trying to move away from a strictly techy role - I'm a bit bored of it. I find it so much more interesting talking and dealing with people, not with IP stacks and routing tables or bloody satellite links which drift off the carrier frequencies...

I don't want to get away from technology but be less of a techy for sure. :)
 
What kind of "skillset" do you lot have with the roles you're in? As I said I'm interested in moving to 2nd line/server administration rather than desktop support so at the moment my skills are geared towards the various flavours of Windows (from Win 3.1 onwards) and limited Linux/HP-UX experience.

What kind of things would you advise me to study? On the Windows-side I'm looking at Server 2003 and Active Directory, on Linux it's mostly through the Novell CLP self-paced book (pretty generic command line, which is good). I also started looking at networking like DNS, TCP/IP etc due to AD. At the moment my job also entails looking after a Novell OES (Netware) server so that's why I'm thinking of moving towards Linux as that's where they're moving.
 
Teledude said:
You could always become an ITIL/Prince 2 consultant ;)
Click to expand...

My dad's a consultant and he loves it, but i don't think i would enjoy it in all honesty.

AthlonTom said:
What is it with this forum and people moaning about good jobs in IT - there's loads! I've been offered for good positions in the last 2 weeks.
Click to expand...

What kind of experience do you have and what kind of roles are you going for?
 
AthlonTom said:
What is it with this forum and people moaning about good jobs in IT - there's loads! I've been offered for good positions in the last 2 weeks.
Click to expand...

Define good
 
AthlonTom said:
About 30K - I don't know how that ranks for the older guys here but I'm only 21 and only have a little experiance.
Click to expand...

Heh ok I'll let you off!

I either need to get out of IT or find a new job, I think the latter. In the last couple of years I've taken a pay cut and a step backwards in the type of work I do and to be honest I can't see it getting any better where I am now, really need to get out of this place.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom