#EntryLevelJobs #CareerAdvice #AvoidingBurnout
Hey everyone! 👋 Have you ever felt like the help desk is a one-way ticket to burnout and frustration? I’ve been doing some research and it seems like a common concern among entry-level IT professionals. But fear not, there may be ways to avoid the dreaded help desk deathbed! Here are a few questions to consider:
1. Can I circumvent help desk with another common entry-level job?
2. Are there other typical entry-level position titles I should pursue?
3. Should on-site positions be pursued? Sounds better than a cubicle somewhere IMO.
I get it – we all want to gain experience and pay our dues in the tech world, but we also want to make sure we’re setting ourselves up for success in the long run. Currently, I have an A+ certification and my CCNA exam scheduled for next month. Any suggestions on how to navigate this tricky career path without burning out? Let’s help each other out and share some insights! 🌟💡 #CareerDevelopment #ITIndustry #ProfessionalGrowth
You only die in Help Desk if you stay in Help Desk. It’s rare that you are going to break into the industry with little to no experience (regardless of the degree or certs) and not spend some time at a Tier 1 level. Maybe that’s a help desk/call center or maybe that’s just desktop support restarting machines or fixing printer jams. It’s still entry level.
The only danger of burn out is going to be from stagnating with intention.
Try working in the tech department of a school district or another government entity instead of a corporation.
I moved into a helpdesk position from no experience at 30 and it’s the best job I’ve ever been in. I’ve been given pay rises when I didn’t expect it, I get to work at my own pace as long as I get the jobs done, and the actual workload is relatively low most of the time with intermittent very busy days/weeks.
I have never actually ‘liked’ any job before, and I’ve worked in Retail, been a Personal Trainer, and also a Carpet and Flooring Fitter. Only the PT job was something I wanted to do beforehand but after 3-4 months it turned into a grind and I hated it. I’ve been here 7 months now and I like it as much as the day I started. I do plan on moving up but I do not feel any rush to leave the position I am in right now.
Just remember that more than the position, it’s the company you work for.
I got a degree in cyber, and somehow skirted Help Desk altogether- straight into what was a mid-level cyber job. I struggled…so unbelievably hard for easily 18 months because I had missed so much crucial experience working HD. If I had even 6 months of HD experience it would have been a MUCH smoother transition.
HD is often seen as grunt work but it’s absolutely there for a reason and is a really important building block.
I would contribute “dying in the help desk” to the person in the position. If a job isn’t advancing you, you have to do that yourself. Study on your own time, take on new projects OR if there aren’t any, make your own. Tech highly values people who are “go getters” (as annoying as that can be at times) and just make shit happen for themselves. You’re going to have to get certs, expose yourself to things that your job isn’t, and do not stay for too long. If you’re a tier 1 level for 3+ years…there is something wrong.
Corp help desk jobs can be pretty good, depending on the IT team. A lot of admins will be willing to teach you some things because if they can knock that off their list and hand it off to help desk that gets it off their plate.Maybe you learn about their imaging process and get a hand in there, start packaging apps for deployment. Get in with the devs if the org has a dev team. Testing some of the software before it rolls out. If you can learn and are teachable. Maybe you become the go to support person for that app.
When it comes to looking at the ole training budget the hungry go to tech is an easier ask for when you are wanting to add a cert or training.
Like the other folks said here you’ll only stay there if you want to or you don’t do anything about upskilling. Be on-site more and be visible to key people in the org. CFO is having some computer trouble become the go to. HR can’t print show up with a smile and get the printer going. The more adjacent to the decision makers you are the further it can take you.
It’s not even the default starting positions.
You attend university and get yourself one of these, graduate, profit. Not really a secret.
Depending on your country location, there can be some lucrative help desk, level 1 support. The name of the game is get all the experience you can, then keep turning that around the better pay/companies. It’s not always what you’ve read, you have to understand most people get on this sub to complain. With an A+ and a CCNA you will probably be up against a good amount of competition, but you can research company’s and find something that fits you. It’s not all overworking burn out in those years.
Dont stay longer than 2 years.
You can certainty take a quick leap or bypass helpdesk completely, generally though you won’t do it unless you have something more then cert’s to throw onto the table. My first professional job was in cybersecurity, but leading into that I did a bunch of side work for people for extra money, I had a degree and a high GPA, along with multiple internships. If all you have is some low level certs and maybe some kind of degree not related to IT directly, you are looking at desktop support or helpdesk.
That’s if you can even find a help desk job right now.
Look into network operations center (NOC) jobs at a medium sized MSP, you can usually get more technical hands on experience, and avoid the more menial help desk type work people dislike.
There is no escaping that you will be a number and they will want to get as much out of you as they can, lower level jobs are highly competitive and if you aren’t bringing unique skills to the table your value to them is limited to how much you can get done. MSPs in particular have a reputation for working you hard, but the breadth of experience will put you far ahead of the average password reset jockey at help desk.
You won’t get rich in these entry roles but you will get the thing you lack, which is real experience. Expect anywhere from $15-25/hr for these roles, really depends on the COL for your area though. If you can stick it out for a year or 2, you will be in a much better position to get those highly coveted admin and engineer roles everyone wants.
This is the path I took, when I entered the industry in 2018 making 15/hr. as a NOC tech with only an associates degree in progress. As of today I make $46/hr in a LCOL area as a Senior Security Engineer at a fortune 25 company.
ETA I know a few people who have skipped help desk, they came in with a bachelor’s and knew someone to refer them. If you can get an internship while in school, that’s also one way to do it.
Product Support. It’s like help desk, but you’re working for the company that makes a product and supporting external customers. Career track tends to go towards less technical things like Account Manager, Product Manager, Project Manager. But if you’re technically skilled it can also head the way of Database, DevOps, Cloud, Pre-Sales Engineer.
So it’s a lot more “here’s how our product works” and not so much Windows troubleshooting or password resets or network configurations.