IT tech.. where should I be aiming for?
Discussion
I currently work for a relatively large company (1800 permanent employees) in their IT department.. my job role is.. flexible.
IT Support Technician is the title but responsibilities range from the installation of networks on site (cabling, configuring, installation), implementing and supporting software products on the company network, server maintenance, systems support, image preparation, dealing with suppliers (software & hardware), network printing and a lot of customer facing work.
I'm extremely happy with the company and the role and enjoy the different tasks each day. I started off as help desk monkey but was quickly moved out of that by my manager and pushed towards the roles mentioned above. I had my performance review last week which honestly couldn't have went better. I'm currently working towards my MCITP Enterprise Administrator on Windows Server 2008 qualification which should increase a fairly broad range of skills and fit in nicely on my CV.
During my review the manager mentioned specialising in an area after I achieve the MCITP cert. (thankfully the company is very into employee training). Two areas he mentioned were Cisco (CCNA and beyond) and Infrastructure/Virtualisation. I enjoy networking and working with Cisco gear but I realise virtualisation is only going to get bigger and I may as well get on the train sooner than later.
He also said he is open to any other ideas for specialisation.
The opportunities within the company for gaining valuable skills and knowledge are more important to me than job hopping for minor pay increases (I'm paid well here anyway) so I've no intention of leaving in the short term.
I'm really just after some direction as to where I should focus my time on. I think I'm lucky my employer is giving me the freedom to decide on my own path so I want to make sure I make the most of it.
IT Support Technician is the title but responsibilities range from the installation of networks on site (cabling, configuring, installation), implementing and supporting software products on the company network, server maintenance, systems support, image preparation, dealing with suppliers (software & hardware), network printing and a lot of customer facing work.
I'm extremely happy with the company and the role and enjoy the different tasks each day. I started off as help desk monkey but was quickly moved out of that by my manager and pushed towards the roles mentioned above. I had my performance review last week which honestly couldn't have went better. I'm currently working towards my MCITP Enterprise Administrator on Windows Server 2008 qualification which should increase a fairly broad range of skills and fit in nicely on my CV.
During my review the manager mentioned specialising in an area after I achieve the MCITP cert. (thankfully the company is very into employee training). Two areas he mentioned were Cisco (CCNA and beyond) and Infrastructure/Virtualisation. I enjoy networking and working with Cisco gear but I realise virtualisation is only going to get bigger and I may as well get on the train sooner than later.
He also said he is open to any other ideas for specialisation.
The opportunities within the company for gaining valuable skills and knowledge are more important to me than job hopping for minor pay increases (I'm paid well here anyway) so I've no intention of leaving in the short term.
I'm really just after some direction as to where I should focus my time on. I think I'm lucky my employer is giving me the freedom to decide on my own path so I want to make sure I make the most of it.
I'd get into infra virtualisation and add recognised project management skills / delivered projects. Converged infrastructure (e.g. VCE) is gaining momentum and would let you play both n/w and virtualisation.
Too much remote infra management can be done offshore for comfort in my view - but running the projects is (mostly) a client side activity.
Too much remote infra management can be done offshore for comfort in my view - but running the projects is (mostly) a client side activity.
CCNA is a good one to go for, i am guessing you already have someone looking after your cisco stuff? if so then start taking over routine switch commands and then you will start getting used to the IOS. The CCNA is alot tougher than the MCITP:EA (in fact the last EA exam is really easy btw!)
Havent done any virtualisation exams but I know they are really good to have.
One exam that I have found to be a really good on on your CV is the certified ethical hacker exam, if your company is good at providing training I would definatly reccomend getting booked in for a weeks worth of training. I was kind of hoping to get a noticable CEH card to put in my wallet, purely for bragging but unfortunatly they just give you a cert
Havent done any virtualisation exams but I know they are really good to have.
One exam that I have found to be a really good on on your CV is the certified ethical hacker exam, if your company is good at providing training I would definatly reccomend getting booked in for a weeks worth of training. I was kind of hoping to get a noticable CEH card to put in my wallet, purely for bragging but unfortunatly they just give you a cert
Thanks for the replies guys.
Virtualisation, etc seems like it's going to only get bigger so I guess I can't go far wrong there.
I want to gain as much technical knowledge as I can over the next few years then either move into management or start my own business. I guess the big question every wants know is where will the money be in the future, what skillset will be worthwhile focussing on? Harder in IT to predict than most other businesses I know.
Is there still much money in Cisco? We currently have one of our Senior guys who manages 90% of the Cisco stuff. Firewalls, switching, wireless A/P's etc and another colleague is managing the other 10%. He is currently being put through CCNA but I'm fairly confident he'll leave in the next few years.
ITIL, etc is just not for me. I have a knack for technical work and that's what I want to focus on for the meantime.
Virtualisation, etc seems like it's going to only get bigger so I guess I can't go far wrong there.
I want to gain as much technical knowledge as I can over the next few years then either move into management or start my own business. I guess the big question every wants know is where will the money be in the future, what skillset will be worthwhile focussing on? Harder in IT to predict than most other businesses I know.
Is there still much money in Cisco? We currently have one of our Senior guys who manages 90% of the Cisco stuff. Firewalls, switching, wireless A/P's etc and another colleague is managing the other 10%. He is currently being put through CCNA but I'm fairly confident he'll leave in the next few years.
ITIL, etc is just not for me. I have a knack for technical work and that's what I want to focus on for the meantime.
It's good that your company is investing in training, it's a disgrace that many don't at all. However getting a cert for the sake of a cert isn't really that great because it's only part of the puzzle, the other part is experience in the less than perfect real world which often throws a spanner in the works when trying to implement best practice.
So when picking I feel you need to get the right balance between not only your future career path and the needs of the company but also what your going to be able to start using in the real world so you can develop the "whole package" as it were.
Personally virtualisation is essential these days because it makes sense in so many ways. No matter if you aim for management, start your own business, stay as a sys admin or go down super techy roles like infrastructure architect/security analyst/storage engineer it will require a solid knowledge of VMware.
So when picking I feel you need to get the right balance between not only your future career path and the needs of the company but also what your going to be able to start using in the real world so you can develop the "whole package" as it were.
Personally virtualisation is essential these days because it makes sense in so many ways. No matter if you aim for management, start your own business, stay as a sys admin or go down super techy roles like infrastructure architect/security analyst/storage engineer it will require a solid knowledge of VMware.
CoopR said:
It's good that your company is investing in training, it's a disgrace that many don't at all. However getting a cert for the sake of a cert isn't really that great because it's only part of the puzzle, the other part is experience in the less than perfect real world which often throws a spanner in the works when trying to implement best practice.
So when picking I feel you need to get the right balance between not only your future career path and the needs of the company but also what your going to be able to start using in the real world so you can develop the "whole package" as it were.
Personally virtualisation is essential these days because it makes sense in so many ways. No matter if you aim for management, start your own business, stay as a sys admin or go down super techy roles like infrastructure architect/security analyst/storage engineer it will require a solid knowledge of VMware.
Sound advice thanks.So when picking I feel you need to get the right balance between not only your future career path and the needs of the company but also what your going to be able to start using in the real world so you can develop the "whole package" as it were.
Personally virtualisation is essential these days because it makes sense in so many ways. No matter if you aim for management, start your own business, stay as a sys admin or go down super techy roles like infrastructure architect/security analyst/storage engineer it will require a solid knowledge of VMware.
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