My IT Job conundrum

Devops (chef, puppet, docker, Jenkins, etc) is a thing right now and pays good money. As someone previously said, support people and sysadmins on corporate systems are ten a penny and salaries reflect this. Also Networking is still well paid.
 
trickycurve said:
The best way to self-study is by using videos and books/exam guides, so I'd say yes. What I tend to do is watch the videos in full, making rough bullet notes; then I'll make proper notes using my rough notes and guides to re-cover what I went over in the videos. I absorb information easier this way. After that I just read my notes and play around with things if/when possible, and take the exam when I feel confident enough.

Be careful what books you get (if any) for the CCNA though: the exam was revamped slightly in 2013 so try to get something published in 2014 to be safe. I mean it's not like Cisco rewrote the rulebook on networking, but it's always a good idea to study the most up-to-date material.

If you can get your hands on Packet Tracer, you probably won't need to get any physical equipment. If you have access to any Cisco kit in your current role, try to play around with it. Don't worry if you can't because it's too expensive or something though.
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Thanks. I don't mind buying/acquiring packet tracer if need be. I was looking in to buying some equipment any way as I read that this was the way to go.

I thought it was the case however that the network simulation programs are not as good as the actual equipment?
One of those CBTnuggets vids I watched yesterday said that the sims do a lot of hand holding and also don't let you make certain mistake you otherwise would with real equipment.

If the packet tracer program is all I need to pass the CCNA then that will do for me as it will save allot of space!
 
oldbag said:
Devops (chef, puppet, docker, Jenkins, etc) is a thing right now and pays good money. As someone previously said, support people and sysadmins on corporate systems are ten a penny and salaries reflect this. Also Networking is still well paid.
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You are 100% correct. Some of my mates are doing this, however I don't have the technical experience. My current job, is not giving me enough exposure to learn anything I don't already know.
 
Pigeon holing is really rife in IT and unfortunately IT these days is once again never viewed with excitement but as an overhead and a necessary evil such as storage increases and backups.
Marketing, Sales and so on is what gets the plaudits and IT tends to get the sharp end, especially in a customer facing IT role.
It's also why roles like DevOps is now a 'thing', why have several specialists when you can just mash them into one role and never let them rise higher than the jack of all trades they were hired at.

IT hiring these days often is like EPL football, they either buy in cheap to develop and mould, so they get pigeon holed or they buy the finished article to do that job for good.
When you are between both of those or you are a bi-product of the former you get stuck.

From a company perspective, why would they want to train you? As you could then command a higher price or even move elsewhere with that knowledge. It's like turkeys voting for Christmas. Quite often I've only gotten certified training when redundancy was looming and then I used that to secure another job.

So barring the doom and gloom - what can you do about it?
Well the old 'study in your own time' is always an option, but quite often the courses you want cost a lot of cash and a lot of dedication as you'll need to study for hours outside of work.
Problem here is also that when you have completed this, quite often IT jobs need X years experience in using such a tool rather than someone fresh.

It does sound like you need to move on though, so you may have to set your sights (and pay) lower to get in somewhere else almost as a newbie. Potentially you could self fund and work on your CCNA, then try and get in somewhere network-y like that. Quite often that goes hand in hand with linux and you will learn quite a bit by proxy.

You never know, if you are vocal about training in your CCNA or something else, you could put the frightners up your manager who may have to face up to losing you so instead could put more opportunities your way.
 
I would get out as under £10k raise in 8 years with little in the way of formal training sounds like a bit of a dead-end. You mention pension contributions as though that is some outstanding benefit your current employer provides, whereas I would take it for granted (assuming it isn't at a very high rate i.e. 20%+ and even then if base salary is low it isn't so valuable).

My experience is that in situations where you feel unhappy/unfulfilled/unrewarded in your current job, the grass is always greener; maybe not necessarily on the other side but certainly on at least a few streets in the vicinity.
 
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It will be very hard and painful for me to finally move on.

This was my first proper full time job. I've only ever done this one in IT. I've had two dreams over the years I've quit and then begged them to take me back.

It's a very family oriented type of place. So it wont be so easy to just uproot and start somewhere else. It feels like a lot of my friends are here.

But I cant stay here for ever. The manager has no intentions to let me grow and learn anything new.

I've learnt allot here, but probably stayed for at least 4 years too long.

I feel like I have a little bit of motivation now to improve my technical knowledge, but the only place I will be able to express this will be in a new role.

I'm 33 now and a clever chap. But I think I have out grown my current role. Also to be quite honest, I will never go above a certain wage at this place, as I don't do the infrastructure Linux side of things.

Both my fellow colleagues have had raises, whilst I haven't. (Only found this out on Wednesday)

I would love to be in a place where they actually put you on courses (pay for it too) as this is a sure way to progress learn stuff and by proxy move up in terms of wage and experience. But this is not something they have a culture of doing in the past.

A girl I was dating for a while last year said something to me that got me thinking. She said, you should be earning approximately/at least 1k for ever year of your age. That's not a bad estimation I reckon. I can tell you now I'm quite a long way away from that. And I don't see it improving any time soon at my current company.

So the only answer is to seek out pasture a new. And the best way to give my self the best chance of landing a new role I can flourish in is by certifying.

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As an example.

One of my mates from years ago was a bit of a lay about didn't go to uni etc....

He was advised by a careers advisor to do an MCSA back in 1998 (I think) whilst doing a data entry job.

Eventually he got a job working for a bank in the Banking sector managing their systems. Fast forward to today he is now a senior IT manager for a hedge fund.

They put him through loads of courses along the way so he is now certified to the teeth as well as having the hands on experience.

I can only imagine how much money he is on now.
 
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It sounds like you've moved on in your head. Good luck! Don't burn any bridges when you leave though, you never know when you might either need their help/services or meet them in another place of work in a few years time.

If it's your first place of work and your first job as well as being a family run business then sometimes these types of places can take it personally when you hand in your notice. Don't get involved but any decent manager will likely ask why or ask you for an exit interview.
 
Moving on isn't easy, especially when you feel close to the people there, but it can often be for the best. In my last job I was employed as a basic IT Tech, but over the years I taught myself a lot, from networking to server skills, and effectively took over a lot of the responsibilities from my boss, especially when she realised my skills were better than hers. I wasn't being paid for my efforts though, and in the end was about to take a pay cut when I found out I was being made redundant. I was there 8 years and didn't particularly want to leave as I had a lot of friends there. The decision was taken out of my hands and looking back, I am very grateful it was. I found a new job fairly quickly that was offering me nearly £8k more than I was on previously, and in the 5 months I've been here I've been promoted to IT Manager to replace the outgoing manager. In less than 9 months I've gone from being nothing more than a 1st line technician (in job description only) to the UK IT Manager for an international firm, managing a network of 10 servers, and looking after 3 staff members. If you put in the hard work and are willing to teach yourself skills you don't actually need for your job, it can lead to very good things. Push yourself and see just how far you can go.
 
Thanks guys. It's never going to be easy. But I need a new challenge. I need to push my self. I need to earn more money (not that I'm money driven, but with more responsibilities comes cash) I want to do more interesting things.

I'm going to start by studying for my CCNA, then probably do a MCSA then maybe look at a Linux cert.

All these skills are things that the other guys are doing, and they are not certified. They just have the hands on experience hence why the boss gives them the work.

The funny thing is back in 2005 I was looking at these certs, but was never motivated to actually certify. I just looked at the course material then landed my current job.

It's time to step up.
 
opethdisciple said:
Thanks guys. It's never going to be easy. But I need a new challenge. I need to push my self. I need to earn more money (not that I'm money driven, but with more responsibilities comes cash) I want to do more interesting things.

I'm going to start by studying for my CCNA, then probably do a MCSA then maybe look at a Linux cert.

All these skills are things that the other guys are doing, and they are not certified. They just have the hands on experience hence why the boss gives them the work.

The funny thing is back in 2005 I was looking at these certs, but was never motivated to actually certify. I just looked at the course material then landed my current job.

It's time to step up.
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Certification certainly helps, but if you can somehow get real hands on experience that will serve you better. I'm not certified for anything but I have demonstrable skills and experience to back that up from several projects I was part of. I would put that knowledge and skillset up against anyone who was certified but didn't have the hands on experience.
 
OP, I would definitely move on. I was in a similar position recently. I was working part-time / temp as L1 help desk at a place that would almost certainly have hired me on full-time. However, I hated it. I wasn't learning anything and was bored out of my head. I then found out about another place that was hiring for part-time / temp help desk at an astonishing research facility. They told me it would almost certainly NOT lead to a full-time position, but I realized I would learn sooooo much, even if I was only there a few months. They offered me the job. It was tough because I have a wife+kids, so it seemed kinda risky. But, here I am a few months later and I have indeed learned a TON of stuff - some of which has gotten me interviews at some cool places. My CV is now pretty nice, and I'm really happy I made the move!
 
6/7 years in the same role and essentially the same position? I would have moved years ago bud.

You're in London. Hub of tech for people like you - support. I would suggest you get your CV tidied up and then place them with recruiting firms and let them do the work of finding you a job. There are graduates, first job working as a tech consultant in support in banking with double London graduate salaries.

Good luck with the move bud! Find somewhere you feel challenged and given opportunities to learn more with people willing to invest time in you :)
 
The CCNA Security material interests me!!! Back in the day when I was doing my masters it was IT security that really interested me. I've just been too comfortable and lazy to really give a damn about forwarding my career.

But I have motivation now.

I planning on doing my CCNA then will look in to doing the Security course. That definitely has me interested!

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I also trained with an agency back in 2005 who offer placements. So theoretically I could do my CCNA of my on back then go to them and they would at least get me a placement, with a possibility of a permanent role dependant on performance. I don't know why I've been soooo lazy in the past but it's right there waiting for me.
 
Last few weeks I have been looking more closely at the CCNA material and even the CCNP, just to see if it is above my IQ or not!! :p

I reckon I can do this stuff. The CCNA doesn't look too tough, and the CCNP, looks like it's a bit more in depth and a lot more troubleshooting.

I should have done this 4 years ago! But there is no point crying over spilt milk as they say.

I cant push on with the CCNA just yet as I also want to get my driving license by the end of the year.

The question will be what do I do assuming I do pass my CCNA. Can I with my current experience start looking at jobs which advertise CCNA as a requirement (junior role hopefully) or should I be looking to round it off some how with a Microsoft cert?

I am also interested in the CCNA Security material. Security has always been a big turn on for me.

The problem with the Microsoft certs is a MCSE is around 4-5 exams. The CCNA Routing and Switching and the CCNA Security exams are two qualifications in only 3 exams.

To be fair a Microsoft cert would be beneficial to me as although I have LDAP experience, I have almost no experience with AD.

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The CCNP would come after I am in a networking role. Or at least a role where they allow me to get hands on experience.

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I've started to look at the job market and my career progression differently now. IT is mostly about accumulating hands on experiences. If your current role isn't giving you an opportunity to accumulate, move on and find one that does.

It's sort of like an education. You dont go to school not to learn anything. If you are, change school.

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The other issue, which I'm not sure if it will be an issue or not is money. From what I have gathered from looking at the market I am being paid at the high end of my job role. Im just going to say it. I'm on 25k with 2-4k in bonuses depending on the companies performance that year.

This sort of causes an issue as a new job I move in to I may not have the relevant experiences (as current role doesn't give me much opportunity to learn new stuff) to command a higher pay.

I would hope that a new role would give me more hands on exposure and higher pay. My next target is to hit the 30k pay bracket as a base line.

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From what I've seen once you've hit your CCNP, your on 40k + :eek:

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To be honest over the last 4 years, my focus has been on partying and clubbing. Now I realise I have to reign this in a little to allow me to divert some of my time to other things, such as my career!!

Something I have never taken too seriously!

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The other thing is I'm 33 nearly 34 in November. The time to move is NOW. Before I hit 40 I need to have my career path sorted.

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Another super fundamental question I need to ask is, with the CCNA do I HAVE to have the classroom training or can I realistically do all this from home (books, CBT Nuggets etc)?
 
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