Having second thoughts on taking a promotion at work

[Reckoner]

Hey all,

For the last 14 months, I've been working at an I.T. Help Desk for a Big Box Retailer. It hasn't exactly been my dream job, and the stress usually wears me out. However, I have performed well, as I was promoted back in April to a level 2 specialist.

Recently, an internal opening came up for a Desktop Support position. The thing is, if I interview for the position, I will likely land the position; as a couple of the people who currently work over in the department know me, and have recommended me to their manager. I'm decent with computers, but I don't know how comfortable I would be working on some VP's computer problem, or fixing a projector problem in some packed conference room at the last minute. Another problem is if I don't know if my technical knowledge is still up to snuff.

I pretty much want to leave I.T. altogether, but I don't know how long it'll take me to find something less stressful. Any advice/comments would be appreciated. Thanks!

 

[SpatiallyAware]

It's good that you've discovered you aren't a good fit for IT.


If dealing with a projector in a meeting room is too stressful then yeah, don't take that position. Corporate IT means all accountability is on you.

Computers down = losing money. Your job is to help make sure the company spends as little money as possible while keeping everything up.






It's not for everyone.

 

[Farmer]

Is like 50% of ATOT in IT?

 

[shocksyde]

Is like 50% of ATOT in IT?

Via the informal poll I just conducted on myself alone, it would appear that 0% of ATOT is in IT.

 

[JS80]

how much is the raise?

 

[Wyndru]

You sound like you get stressed easily, so this might not be the best move for you. None of the things you listed for this job seem difficult so you won't really be challenged but it sounds like you will be dealing with a higher priority client. Getting stressed in that kind of environment is not good, you won't last long if you are under pressure and losing your shit in front of the higher-ups.

Is like 50% of ATOT in IT?

What? A tech forum with a lot of techies?

Mind = Blown.

 

[OCGuy]

This fear of failure you are experiencing is shared by pretty much everyone. However, those who overcome this fear and climb the ladder, are usually rewarded.

My goal is to always be moving forward/up.

I think you are using the stress of a projector going down in a meeting as an excuse. What you really mean is that you are afraid if that projector goes down in a high-stakes meeting, you don't have the knowledge to handle the situation.

 

[GaryJohnson]

You could use the interview as an opportunity to discuss gaps in your technical knowledge, your comfort level, your stress tolerance, your long term career plans, everything you just posted about. Even if they offer you the job, you don't have to accept it if you're still unsure about it.

 

[SpatiallyAware]

This fear of failure you are experiencing is shared by pretty much everyone. However, those who overcome this fear and climb the ladder, are usually rewarded.

My goal is to always be moving forward/up.

Something to consider is that it takes a minimum (IMO) of 10 years solid IT experience before you get to a real management level, where the technical failure aspect is less.

Problem is most people burn out before year 5..

 

[Reckoner]

how much is the raise?

It would be between a 4 to 5k bump

 

[SunnyD]

Been there, done that. Get over it. The VP is no different than Joe Helpdesk Monkey... just means you gotta be in his office faster.

It's a job. It's a step up. It's also an in - you get into the corporate offices, meet people make friends, get connections, and opportunities open up for you.

IMHO, benefits outweigh the anxiety.

 

[LookBehindYou]

I say take the job. Been in I.T. myself for 5 years now, but i'm to the point where i've become burnt out. It's just getting to the point where it doesnt interest me anymore. I used to be into modding my pc, rooting my phone, all that shit. Now I own a mac and an iphone becuase i don't want to deal with the shit anymore, I just want it to work. And I've just lost paitence with dealing with dumb people. I'm ok with fixing a broke pc, or installing a new switch, upgrading ios, etc. I just can't stand fixing shit that dumb people have broke because they did something they new they werent supposed to do and now i have to come in on a fucking saturday when I am supposed be chillin for once, because the last two saturdays were taken by more dumb shit....

end rant.

take the job, you'll love IT!!!

 

[kt]

It's good that you've discovered you aren't a good fit for IT.


If dealing with a projector in a meeting room is too stressful then yeah, don't take that position. Corporate IT means all accountability is on you.

Computers down = losing money. Your job is to help make sure the company spends as little money as possible while keeping everything up.






It's not for everyone.

He does desktop support, not server / network administration. I highly doubt a desktop computer down = significant monetary loss.

OP, it's a no brainer. Take the job and pay raise. What's the worst that can happen? You find out IT is not for you and move on to another career sooner. Or you find out you love IT and moved one step further than where you are now.

 

[kranky]

I'll just point out that Corp. IT doesn't have to mean you have to troubleshoot and fix a projector in front of a roomful of executives while the clock ticks, ticks, ticks...

They just want a working projector. So the first thing to do is grab another one and give that to them. When they're done, that's when you fix the broken one. Spares and workarounds are the first thing to try, before you get to fixing what broke. Spares and workarounds in the heat of the moment, fixing at your leisure. (Whenever possible)

 

[ViviTheMage]

Been there, done that. Get over it. The VP is no different than Joe Helpdesk Monkey... just means you gotta be in his office faster.

It's a job. It's a step up. It's also an in - you get into the corporate offices, meet people make friends, get connections, and opportunities open up for you.

IMHO, benefits outweigh the anxiety.

unless they are an asshat, this is true...I've dealt with joe's and VP's/Owners ... they're all the same clueless bunch.

don't go into network admin/sys admin ... much more stressful then replacing a broken projector, haha.

 

[BTA]

Take the better drop. The majority of people in IT jobs are incompetent so you wont stand out in any way if your skills aren't great.

Hell, if you are REALLY incompetent you could just go into IT management. No skills needed there at all.

 

[Reckoner]

Thanks all. My interview is tomorrow. It can't hurt to interview and at least hear what they have to say.

 

[Brovane]

Thanks all. My interview is tomorrow. It can't hurt to interview and at least hear what they have to say.

I have been in IT over 10+ years. Worked my way from Desktop to Server/LAN administration. In my opinion the number #1 thing that makes a difference is management for IT. If you have a manager that has your back and you have his back then the job isn't to stressful. I am usually not to stressed out. However where I work there isn't much politicis or back stabbing. If there is a outage then we fix the outage. We then have a after action review afterwards to discuss how we can prevent this from happening in the future. There isn't much finger pointing. However if you are working for a company where there is a bunch of finger pointing. In these instances it just becomes easy to blame IT and if you boss doesn't have you back you are thrown under the bus.

 

[Theb]

The VPs I know are really nice/fun guys. I'm sure it varies from company to company. The only downside of dealing senior management is that some of them can never be wrong or make a mistake so when they say "the computer just did this for no reason" you can't say "it didn't do this, you did" you have to say "oh man, stupid computers"

If you want to leave IT, meeting the people who can move you into a different department could be a good start.

 

[child of wonder]

unless they are an asshat, this is true...I've dealt with joe's and VP's/Owners ... they're all the same clueless bunch.

don't go into network admin/sys admin ... much more stressful then replacing a broken projector, haha.

This.

I'm working late tonight to update the DART and FLARE code on a NS20 so I can replicate file systems from a VNX5300 to it. Tomorrow I'll be demonstrating the VNX to some clients all day while they stress test it.

That's pressure!

 

[Howard]

Been in I.T. myself for 5 years now

Now I own a mac and an iphone becuase i don't want to deal with the shit anymore,

I'd like to say

 

[Elbryn]

This.

I'm working late tonight to update the DART and FLARE code on a NS20 so I can replicate file systems from a VNX5300 to it. Tomorrow I'll be demonstrating the VNX to some clients all day while they stress test it.

That's pressure!

what no vmax fastvp? boo! hiss!

 

[LookBehindYou]

I'd like to say

What I was trying to get across was that I used to love tinkering with my pc, overclocking, rooting my phone, etc... Now i've grown tired of it and own the mac and iphone because i just don't feel like messing with stuff anymore. I think i'm burnt out.

 

[Zebo]

Always go for promotion. You can learn by doing, or not your choice - but it's better money and you'll be in better position for next promotion.