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What level of IT Support do you cover? Are you 1st, 2nd or 3rd line?
Generally 1st line address the most basic issues before handing over to 2nd line if the issue is outside of their skillset.
Similarly with 2nd line: if they can't fix it the call will move onto 3rd or 4th line - which is usually the highest/specialist level.
If you're still stuck at 1st or 2nd line, then I can appreciate your frustration.
I would certainly consider Cloud and/or Virtual services as a career; especially if you can garner certifications via training courses (which you may have to pay for yourself if you can't get sponsorship)
I am in my late 20s and always had "blue collar" jobs until 3 or 4 years ago where I started working in IT. I haven't advanced far in my career and most jobs I've had are mostly Helpdesk and Technical Support. Recently, I've been losing interests in IT as a career. Mostly because of the fast based changes and high turnover rate.
You're still doing help desk after "3 or 4 years"... why?
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I just want a job I can tolerate and pays decently without worrying about losing it.
Well, tough. Everyone would like to "not worry about losing" their job, but that ain't the real world.
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My current job is a Helpdesk and I've never been more miserable. I can deal with that because I know I will get a better job eventually. The part that worries me is my coworkers have a lot of experience and degrees, yet they're stuck at this job because of the job security. My coworker had a job $65,000 a year which ended in 2 years because the assignment is done.
Someone who's "stuck because of job security" sounds like they're too timid and frightened to take a chance on growing. "The assignment is done"... so? I know people who, as a matter of course, switch jobs every two years on purpose, just to keep learning and growing.
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This part adds my frustration with IT since I want a job that lasts at least 5 years without worrying about losing it.
Not gonna happen. Get that thought out of your head.
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Additionally, most jobs now are similar to technical support and dealing with customers.
Really? I see lots of jobs that require more than a minimal skill level. The program I'm on now is desperately trying to hire people.
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I was thinking about Development and Coding and I was planning to invest over $10,000 in it. Mostly because it's in high demand right now, and most importantly I wouldn't deal with customers as much. But, as for my current job as a Helpdesk I can't stay in it until this change happens, I am literally losing my mind and wishe I'd die before going back to that work.
Have you "thought about it" hard enough to go back to school and get a CS degree? 'cause one of the biggest pet peeves in IT is "self-taught" code monkeys who create unmaintainable spaghetti dinners of code chock-full of WTFs.
To be really, really blunt, I don't think IT is the right career for you. You don't sound at all excited or inspired by it, and I'm positive you aren't out there learning new things. You want a 9-to-5 job that provides a paycheck, but IT isn't that. Things change very, very rapidly. People who don't grow and adapt get left behind all the time. Look through this forum, you'll find lots of people moaning "I have 20 years experience in Technology X but I can't find a job, it's age discrimination, it's H1-Bs, it's corporate greed, blah blah blah..." They all treated it a sa 9-to-5 job and pigeonholed themselves. Meanwhile, I'm deleting emails from recruiters as fast as I can, all begging for people with current experience and skillsets.
I'm going to SCaLE 15X this week, on my dime, to network and get exposure to new technologies and just generally to geek out. I inevitably come away with new contacts, and there's always a job board that's overflowing with openings. That's the kind of thing you need to be doing to stay relevant in IT.
I have a master's in Computer Science and worked for 30 years in software development, software methodology/process, and software QA contexts up to and including Director's level positions.
In 2000, I left the software field to get a master's in clinical psychology. It's a move I'd been thinking about since I went through career counseling in the mid 80s. I worked for six years at an agency, and got laid off when a new clinical director came in.
My computer skills were stale, and I wasn't yet fully licensed. I found it impossible to get a job -- and my salary at an agency without a license was not enough to pay the bills. Eventually I got hired by a friend to staff his IT department as a collaboration tool "guru". Currently, I'm one of their SharePoint experts.
In a few months, I'll leave the full time IT world after about seven years here and am in process of starting a limited private practice to supplement social security and a small pension from a previous employer.
It's possible that you might not be happy in a software development or software QA position, either. What I suggest is looking at what you like to do, and finding which careers provide the sort of environment that you would thrive in. One of the primary tools almost all career counselors use is the Self-Directed Search or Strong Inventory, both of which are based on Holland's theory of careers. It will analyze your preferences, and suggest careers that other people with similar preference profiles tend to be happy with. Not everyone is happy in every kind of a career (for example, an extreme extrovert would likely go crazy sitting in a cubicle cranking out code). You can take the Self Directed Search here for $9.95 - scroll to the bottom, there's a sample report:
For me, it suggested several careers: psychologist, speech pathologist, librarian, others. Each career comes with an O*NET code that is linked to the government O*NET site -- this provides all sort of useful information you can use to decide whether that career warrants further investigation. Here for example is the page for Computer User Support Specialist:
The SDS won't tell you what to do -- but it will help you narrow your search for a career to fields that you might find are a good match for your personality. Including careers that you hadn't thought of, that might not be technical at all.
IT today is just blue collar job unless you have enough skills and knowledge to be at a high level IT position or lucky enough to get a manager job to be a decision maker.
Almost all of the milliennials that I've met fall into either stuck in support or got help to become a manager with no IT skills. The rest of engineering, design, and high level work are outsourced or handled by immigrants on contract. That's why it was important for tech companies to fight the 7 nation ban because they get immigrant workers from those 7 muslim countries and has nothing to do with muslims at all. Just all about companies replacing American workers with cheaper labors from everywhere outside of the US.
What about India? Without using G00g1e-fu, I would just assume by population differences alone there are many more Indian H1B visa holders working in the US than those immigrants from all those 7 other US-banned countries combined.
I am in my late 20s and always had "blue collar" jobs until 3 or 4 years ago where I started working in IT. I haven't advanced far in my career and most jobs I've had are mostly Helpdesk and Technical Support. Recently, I've been losing interests in IT as a career. Mostly because of the fast based changes and high turnover rate.
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I was thinking about Development and Coding and I was planning to invest over $10,000 in it. Mostly because it's in high demand right now, and most importantly I wouldn't deal with customers as much. But, as for my current job as a Helpdesk I can't stay in it until this change happens, I am literally losing my mind and wishe I'd die before going back to that work.
Anybody has a similar situation where they no longer work in IT or their field? Or even made changes where they took a different path in their careers?
Personally, I would not invest 10K into a coding camp if you believe you are not happy with coding or any other type of IT work. You can study coding/web development online for a much cheaper price or take relevant classes at a local community college.
I already had college degrees (unrelated to computers), but mostly taught myself in more technical areas when I was working in technical support the first few years.
I am in my late 20s and always had "blue collar" jobs until 3 or 4 years ago where I started working in IT. I haven't advanced far in my career and most jobs I've had are mostly Helpdesk and Technical Support. Recently, I've been losing interests in IT as a career. Mostly because of the fast based changes and high turnover rate.
I just want a job I can tolerate and pays decently without worrying about losing it. My current job is a Helpdesk and I've never been more miserable. I can deal with that because I know I will get a better job eventually. The part that worries me is my coworkers have a lot of experience and degrees, yet they're stuck at this job because of the job security. My coworker had a job $65,000 a year which ended in 2 years because the assignment is done. This part adds my frustration with IT since I want a job that lasts at least 5 years without worrying about losing it. Additionally, most jobs now are similar to technical support and dealing with customers.
I was thinking about Development and Coding and I was planning to invest over $10,000 in it. Mostly because it's in high demand right now, and most importantly I wouldn't deal with customers as much. But, as for my current job as a Helpdesk I can't stay in it until this change happens, I am literally losing my mind and wishe I'd die before going back to that work.
Anybody has a similar situation where they no longer work in IT or their field? Or even made changes where they took a different path in their careers?
Dont invest 10000 for IT. Udemy has courses for 10$ until tomorrow.
You're still doing help desk after "3 or 4 years"... why?
Well, tough. Everyone would like to "not worry about losing" their job, but that ain't the real world.
Someone who's "stuck because of job security" sounds like they're too timid and frightened to take a chance on growing. "The assignment is done"... so? I know people who, as a matter of course, switch jobs every two years on purpose, just to keep learning and growing.
Not gonna happen. Get that thought out of your head.
Really? I see lots of jobs that require more than a minimal skill level. The program I'm on now is desperately trying to hire people.
Have you "thought about it" hard enough to go back to school and get a CS degree? 'cause one of the biggest pet peeves in IT is "self-taught" code monkeys who create unmaintainable spaghetti dinners of code chock-full of WTFs.
To be really, really blunt, I don't think IT is the right career for you. You don't sound at all excited or inspired by it, and I'm positive you aren't out there learning new things. You want a 9-to-5 job that provides a paycheck, but IT isn't that. Things change very, very rapidly. People who don't grow and adapt get left behind all the time. Look through this forum, you'll find lots of people moaning "I have 20 years experience in Technology X but I can't find a job, it's age discrimination, it's H1-Bs, it's corporate greed, blah blah blah..." They all treated it a sa 9-to-5 job and pigeonholed themselves. Meanwhile, I'm deleting emails from recruiters as fast as I can, all begging for people with current experience and skillsets.
I'm going to SCaLE 15X this week, on my dime, to network and get exposure to new technologies and just generally to geek out. I inevitably come away with new contacts, and there's always a job board that's overflowing with openings. That's the kind of thing you need to be doing to stay relevant in IT.
Depends who your asking
IT can simply be "JUST A JOB" if that's what you want it be
My guess is your "coworker" was a contractor not an employee if their job ended with the project.
Why do you think you'd like being a developer? It's a different type of pressure. The requirements come from PEOPLE who get them from other people. Constantly changing or misunderstood. And you have actual accountability based on other team members willingness and ability to do their jobs correctly. When one of your jobs fails in the middle of production or testing you have to be there to fix it and answer for it. (simply put). And you get ranked against your peers.
Helpdesk is a piece of cake as far as responsibilities go. Take the call and resolve the issue or refer it. Pffft.
It's very annoying when a user testing analyst calls the developer and asks to start up the online system and there's no data bases working so you call back and they say "You didn't say you wanted databases". True story.
So as a former IT person I beg you to not be one of those people who likes their computer better than other people.
I don't get why people hate and whine about working in help desk/ desktop support
It's a pretty fun job especially if you work for a school and the responsibility are so low and easy you get to talk to great people..
Best of all you get to leave work at the office and don't take it home with you
Help desk jobs suck because the only people you ever talk to have a problem (or complaint) they want you to fix!
I got my degree in computer science in 1983. Back then it was a new industry and a very exciting field.
Ten years in, things changed. Everybody and their brother got into it and "whored out" the industry. Hardware prices crashed and became a commodity product. Technology advanced so rapidly that any experience past a couple years became irrelevant. So even though you had all this experience you were basically on the same level as someone that had only two years experience. Sometimes you were at the same level because new technologies were developed almost daily it seemed.
You also were competing with kids that grew up with computers that would work for almost, if not completely, free.
I got into the commercial construction industry in the late 90's. It was a completely different world. Now, at 60 years old, I am semi-retired working only a couple days a month as a construction consultant. My good buddy who I was business partners with in the early 90's is my age and still in IT, struggling and hating his job.
I think a lot of people get into IT because they think it is easy money and they can play with computers all day long. That may be true in the beginning but after a while you get sick of having to constantly learn new software and systems and the compensation is not worth the effort (to me, anyways).
I don't get why people hate and whine about working in help desk/ desktop support
Because people are different and need different things from their jobs - that's what the Self Directed Search/Strong Inventory I talked about in my earlier post are about.
What is fun or acceptable for one person can be living hell for another.
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it's better than a job at McDonalds
