Do I have a chance to go to another company?

[VinylxScratches]

Background I am 23 and have been working in this role for a year.

I work at large company around 4000 users. My role is level 1 network support.

Although this role sounds limited, I am a Domain Admin and have done things like

Setup portals using our VPN solution based on requirements from end user.
Stand up Windows 2008 Servers
Light Cisco switching, changing VLANs, activating ports
Active Directory queries, Sites and Services modification, account creation, permissions, Distribution, GPO, in AD 2008 environment
Basic Exchange administration
Email troubleshooting and Barracuda administration
Websense (I test sites to ensure they are safe, figure out why some don't work etc....)
Routine tape backups, restoration of files
Basic ESXi 3.5/4.0 administration, I've build Windows servers

I look at job descriptions and I still feel inadequate. I love my job but I always feel like the grass is greener on the other side. There's only 3 people in my group and we are always slaughter with tickets, tasks, and projects. I can't sit and think things through the way I want to to ensure all is well.

I would say I'm a bit stronger on the server administration side then on the networking side.

I do dabble in Linux at home, I've done a little at work but I'm still afraid I'll take something down lol.

I don't think I'll find a company as "open" as this one. I feel very fortunate and plan to stay for a while but it's just a thought.

Thoughts?

 

[RadiclDreamer]

Ask yourself am I happy? This is number one, number two would be do I make enough money to sustain the lifestyle I want? If both of these are yes, stay put. But if not you need to do something about it, whether thats ask for a promotion or finding a new job is up to you.

 

[bobdole369]

I work at large company around 4000 users. My role is level 1 network support.

I used to work at a largeish (4000 folks is big, but there are companies with millions) call center of about 5k people. I was essentially a go-to guy and ran the desktop scene. Afterhours/emergencies I went into the server room. I watched as folks were promoted around me.

(in the end I know why they were promoted around me - I was quite young, a bit cocky and didn't REALLY have as much knowledge as I thought I did)

I had enough one day and left. My life hasn't returned to that level. I've been back in and out of IT, delivered pizza, sold software, ran a small support dept, QA and bench tech, and most recently ran a 25 person office as head of IT.

I would give my left arm to get back into the job security of that largish company. The money wasn't great and while it "felt" unstable honestly it was the most stable job I've ever had. I had no idea what unstable was.

Work for a small company and realize that your actions can directly affect the bottom line and explain to your boss how a misplanned outage has cost him a client. Its rough. I pray to Joe Pesci every day that theres enough money in the kitty to keep things humming around here.

Keep your job - learn from this experience, and unless you have a darn good reason (as in a dump truck full of money for essentially the same job security) don't move.

 

[ccbadd]

Work for a small company and realize that your actions can directly affect the bottom line and explain to your boss how a misplanned outage has cost him a client. Its rough. I pray to Joe Pesci every day that theres enough money in the kitty to keep things humming around here.

Keep your job - learn from this experience, and unless you have a darn good reason (as in a dump truck full of money for essentially the same job security) don't move.

I can't agree with this. Risk can equal reward and failure just leads to another opportunity. Don't live your life in fear of tomorrow or it to hold you back. I like what RadiclDreamer said about if you are happy and can afford the lifestyle you want stay, if not move on!

 

[cmetz]

VinylxScratches, it is common for HR types and IT manager types to write job requirements that are mostly if not completely fictitious. Sometimes that is a game really being played internally to the company, and that means there's no real job for you to get. (for example, if it's an excuse for outsourcing, H1B, etc.) Sometimes that is a measure that allows the IT manager to have filtering discretion (you don't have the required 20 years of C# experience... but we'll make an exception). My understanding is that, with the job market still not so great, a lot of companies are being very picky, so I would expect posted job listings to be more on the unreasonable side.

On the flip side, when companies I've worked for have posted jobs to the usual public places, you just wouldn't believe the kind of resumes we got flooded with. Literally anyone who could turn on a computer. So it might not be so unreasonable to try to convince some folks that they really aren't a fit and really shouldn't apply.

The grass is greener problem is a real problem. There is no utopia. Most new places will - especially during an interview process - appear better than they really are. So if you're fundamentally happy or at least content with where you are, you might consider finding ways to improve your current situation. For example, if you want to learn new skills, have that conversation with your manager. Maybe you can get some gear and/or time to explore, or get some outside training. If you don't speak up, most companies will not go out of their way to give you things. If your current employer is reasonable, they should expect and hopefully even encourage you to eventually want to be more than an entry level IT person, and they should understand that it's in their interest to help you along that growth curve.

 

[pitz]

cmetz is pretty much spot-on, the past decade has been pretty much a nightmare even for some of the most talented new grads and people in IT, as the workforce has not materially expanded, while guest workers have flooded in (over a million of them, in fact, on various visa programs).

Those silly job descriptions are often used to 'prove', to either internal or external regulators, that people are not available for the position, so as to hire a guest worker, or to outsource.

Its really a terrible situation. Also other good jobs in IT have dried up as well, and the money has really dissappeared. Just look at what we're witnessing in retail, mass-market CPU's these days -- Intel's top-end parts selling at $300!!! This would have been totally unheard of even a few years ago, and ultimately, comes directly out of the bottom lines of people who just want to eke out a living in the tech industry.