#ITCareer #EscapeTheHelpDesk #ITEngineering #CareerProgression
How quickly did you all escape the IT Help Desk trap? 🤔
If you’ve been working in IT for a while, you likely started off in a role that many IT professionals have experienced – the IT Help Desk. It’s a common starting point for many in the industry, but it can also feel like a trap, holding you back from progressing in your career.
I’ve been in IT for about 11 years, and I remember my time in the IT Help Desk vividly. It was a challenging but necessary stepping stone in my career. After a year in the role, I found myself itching to break free and advance into a more specialized and professional position. It took me almost two years of hard work and determination to finally transition into an IT engineering role, and from there, I continued to progress to become a subject matter expert (SME) in the company.
If you’re currently in the IT Help Desk and feeling stuck, rest assured that you can make your way out and continue to progress in your career. In this article, I’ll share some insights on how to escape the IT Help Desk trap and advance to more fulfilling roles in the IT industry.
Understanding the IT Help Desk Trap
The IT Help Desk is often seen as a foundational role in IT, but it can also become a comfort zone that holds you back from reaching your full potential. Here’s why it can feel like a trap:
Limited Scope: The work at the IT Help Desk can be repetitive and limited in scope, making it difficult to gain new skills and experiences.
Career Plateau: Many professionals find themselves stuck at the Help Desk, unable to progress or move into more specialized roles.
High Demand: There’s always a need for IT help desk support, but it can be challenging to break free and advance your career.
Strategies for Escaping the Trap
If you’re eager to move on from the IT Help Desk and advance in your IT career, here are some strategies to consider:
Expand Your Skills: Look for opportunities to learn new technologies and gain additional certifications that will make you a more attractive candidate for other roles.
Network: Connect with professionals in your desired field and seek out mentorship and guidance on how to transition out of the Help Desk.
Seek Growth Opportunities: Look for chances to take on more responsibilities within your current role or explore potential openings within your company.
Show Initiative: Demonstrate your passion for progressing in your career by taking the lead on projects and making your ambitions known to your supervisors.
Moving Into IT Engineering
Transitioning into an IT engineering role can be a significant step forward in your career. Here are some tips for making the move:
Gain Technical Expertise: Develop proficiency in the specific technologies and systems relevant to the IT engineering role you’re targeting.
Highlight Your Experience: Emphasize any relevant experience or projects you’ve worked on that showcase your ability to excel in an engineering role.
Network with Engineers: Connect with professionals in the IT engineering field to gain valuable insights and advice on how to make the transition successfully.
Prepare for Interviews: Research common interview questions and practice your responses to demonstrate your readiness for an IT engineering position.
Continuing Your Career Progression
After breaking free from the IT Help Desk and moving into a specialized role like IT engineering, there are further opportunities for career progression. Here are some steps to consider:
Pursue Leadership Roles: Once you’ve established yourself in your new role, seek out opportunities to take on leadership positions within your team or department.
Continuous Learning: Stay up to date with the latest technologies and industry trends to remain competitive and continue advancing in your career.
Further Education: Consider pursuing advanced degrees or certifications to enhance your expertise and qualify for higher-level roles.
Mentorship and Coaching: Seek out mentorship opportunities to guide other professionals who are looking to advance in their IT careers.
Conclusion
Escaping the IT Help Desk trap and progressing in your IT career requires determination, hard work, and a strategic approach. By expanding your skills, networking, seeking growth opportunities, and ultimately transitioning into more specialized roles like IT engineering, you can break free from the confines of the Help Desk and continue to progress in your career.
Remember, the journey may not be swift, as it often takes time and dedication to make the transition, just as it did for me. But with perseverance and a clear vision of your goals, you can escape the IT Help Desk trap and carve out a fulfilling and successful career in the IT industry. Good luck on your career advancement journey!
4-ish years.
Dang… Goes to show how lazy I am.
I was a tech specialist, but went looking for greener pastures since the company was going downhill.
I was offered a bunch of Tech 2 jobs for higher pay and more hours. But then this one company offered me a Helpdesk role (lower pay than tech 2, but higher than what I was getting back then) and less hours, but they mentioned the magic phrase “Remote- work from home.”
They got me. lol.
Hit first year on my first helpdesk job just now. I love my team, managers and jobs pretty chill. In fact making the most money I’ve made, ( was in retail before this) even though it’s barely above retail wages.
Only thing though I have a family and can’t really survive on this wage so I know i need to start working on exit plan in the next year or so. So yeah haven’t escaped yet but currently happy for the time being and starting to get my certs. ( Going for Az 900 as my first one)
Any advice from y’all would be appreciated.
Im still on the help desk technically. Its been 7 years. I have been applying for new jobs for 3 years and have had 3 interviews and 0 offers. I feel like I have an impressive resume and had no issue getting my last 2 jobs but I just hit a fucking wall now. It’s really put me into a deep depression in the last 2 years because I feel like a failure. I dont know what I’m doing wrong or how to fix it.
11 months. It was 2004 and this company hired almost all of their IT staff from the top performers on their help desk. At the time they were hiring someone just about every 12 to 18 months. Then 2008 hit and that stopped. I was there for 14 years. In that time our department went from about 50 to 18.
1 year but I had an internship don’t know if I should count that lol
I became a Jr SA after 1 year. Just hit my 1 year as a Jr SA so I’m trying to move up to become an SA whenever a position opens up
Skipped it all together, hit a good college program, had a student work position, and had an internship.
About 5 years for me. To be fair to myself there were some pretty major disruptions within those 5 years, but still.
2.5-3 years. I was able to make a lateral move to Jr DBA. Then I got into analytics and data engineering from there.
I did support for a little under two years before moving to security.
– 2,5 years dual training (school 1/4, work 3/4)
– changed employer
– 1 year Helpdesk
– After that I was „only“ Level 2(/2) Helpdesk and stated to run the whole infrastructure lol (big timing luck and that I did run a homelab for years helped me big time to step up)
Took me 4 months but I got lucky. Worked at an MSP then got a IT analyst position.
Thank god cause that was the worst job I’ve ever had.
Around 6 months lol,
Had a job another job offer and told my employers then they promoted me to a network admin.
about 8 years. I get way too comfortable.
It was five years before I got promoted to engineer. I wasn’t really trying and I was pretty happy as I’d moved into executive support which paid pretty well. I know lots of folks that I worked with who made their careers in help desk or desktop support and are happy and making good money, have great benefits and don’t have to deal with the extra weight of engineering.
8 months, now working as a network engineer at an MSP. Been here for just short of 3 years. Met my current boss 5 years ago when they were doing a refresh at my workplace at that time and made small talk with him. Then 2 years later he offered me a job, all came full circle lol.
Seven months, I never stopped applying for jobs after accepting my first role.
This was 20+ years ago, but I’d still give someone the same advice today, just continually apply for jobs.
Don’t feel dejected or get down on yourself, just apply non stop.
1. Jobs are a numbers game, eventually you’ll get a better job.
2. Interviewing is a skill, the more failed interviews you have the better you become at interviews.
3. You can split test your resume to see what resume works best.
I pushed an aging sysadmin out the door because he said he wanted to retire. It got me in the NIC doing sysadmin tasks.
By job duties? 6 months
By pay and title? 18 months
To escape this, specialize and job hunt.
I got out of networking after doing my az104 and cc and now I’m a sysadmin
Networking is very important too!
I was in the same position like you. Started off in Desktop Support.
The only way i got myself out of that field was through my scripting, automating, programming, web development and just my overall passion for creating these awesome little solutions. I worked this role for 3 years til i got laid off
After getting laid off from that Desktop Support role. I was been given a job in a small company where i wore many hats. I was the Desktop support tech, System Admin, Networking Engineer & Web developer. At that job, i was fortunate to be given the opportunity to just keep working mainly on the web dev side, which kept me entertained and gave me some great experience.
I then got a job as a QA Desktop Analyst which I didnt like. The company i worked for was an indian based company – the work culture was hard and the job tasks were very stressful. However, i was able to create some awesome automation using PowerShell. I was automating so much mundane tasks away, that they left me to just program all the time, i eventually started loving that role, but still dealt with great hardships with the ‘main’ job. After telling the manager about my situation, he was able to promote me to a QA Automation role, was super excited about it, but then got laid off only after 6 months. Opportunity shattered! So though it was Desktop related, i was still mainly programming/scripting.
After that, I was fortunate enough to know a guy, who i personally knew, give me a shot. He was a manager for a big retail company in US and he hired me straight out. No technical interviews, none of that nonsense of going through the typical loops. I was able to excel at that job, It was the first title as a developer and i had built so much experience as a typical scripter that i was able to create some awesome tools on the sides, some amazing web apps & do my main job as a typical front end developer (converting PSD’s/XD’s/Figmas into HTML/CSS/JS pages). I created some tools that saved the company hundreds of thousands of dollars even though I never got nothing in return for it. Worked there for 4 years til i get laid off a few days ago.
So though its been a long time since i was doing HelpDesk / Desktop Support, that Desktop Support chair is still calling my name. Getting a developer job is nearly impossible for me when going through the typical process. For this reason, i will never get in.
im all self taught, so i do not have all the Design Patterns memorized. I will always fail a white board test though i use a white board all the time to build my solutions in the offices.
So in essence, i still see myself in IT Helpdesk and that help desk chair is still calling
~4 years, still here. Kind of, I’m somewhere between HD and a Jr admin, but there’s certain stuff we can’t touch, which has made it impossible to move elsewhere thus far.
Real question here who out there loves help desk?
Four months.
Started applying after a three hour call with a doctor who couldn’t figure out his MDM.
Saw an ad for a Server Associate internship. After nine months, became an Associate System Engineer.
By title and pay: 14 years
By duties: 2 or 3? Hard to remember, long time ago
16 months. Job wouldn’t promote me from help desk since they “couldn’t afford to lose me.” Found a jr. sys admin job and left.
3.5 years. I think the pandemic caused me to stay in that position longer than I would have without it. Now it’s just a bad dream.
Over a decade, but it’s finally happening! Starting my new sysadmin job Monday.
Functionally, by what I do, I am a sysadmin. My company just refused to acknowledge it (for financial reasons, no doubt) for so long. I finally said enough is enough.
When I would go on interviews, the interviewer would seem very surprised that my title was very entry level but my experience and knowledge was way above that. It took two years of offers before I Finally decided I’d take one and get out of here.
I was in and out for about 7 years so don’t feel bad. I was working for one of the leading MSP company until they got bought out. I learned Linux and SQL and now am systems engineer. I have around 20 years of IT experience doing various roles like cabling, desktop support, field engineer, help desk etc…
I joined a one man MSP shop. The owner mainly did sales while his wife did the books. I was the only tech. So I did everything. It was brutal. I did have a support lifeline to another msp if I ran into something I just couldn’t fix like a down server or super high level networking issue but we didn’t have that many clients like that. Stayed there for 15 months. Every week after 12 months it was wait until next week to talk about your yearly. It was 2018 and they started me at 9/hr and gave me a .25 cent raise at 60 days. No other benefits. I know now I was getting majorly taken advantage of and should have been interviewing the entire time.
Took me all of 3 days to get 3 different offers at 15/hr with benefits. One was a internal team working for a security guard company. Not cyber but like manned security. I’d have been provisioning laptops and cell phones for their guards. The team was one IT Manager and 5 people around my age. I almost took the job cause the IT Manager and I talked about nerd stuff for an hour after the interview outside and he was leaving to go to some star wars event at Disney for vacation.
Ended up taking a job at a larger msp on their helpdesk. Little more an hour and better benefits including car. Felt like I’d learn more. They offered me a job during the first interview. The first weekend they had a guy who had been there 90 days and it was his first on-call weekend. As I’m walking out guy is like I’m not ready to owner and the owner asks me if I can handle it. Course I’m like sure no problem.
3 months later they fire their helpdesk manager and promote me. Year after that I become their IT manager and start managing their sales team as well. I spin up a white labeled voip company for the owner so I’m converting our IT clients to voip and submitting the taxes and taking checks to the bank. Spin up a website depsrtment snd google adwords. I really regret all the management stuff I took on during that period.
Moved major cities and got a projects job for a year and then got promoted to solution design which is what I’ve been doing for a year and half or so. All those 2012 R2 servers going EOL last October.
I tell people to stay on helpdesk for 6-12 months and then start applying for a better non helpdesk role. To stay the hell away from helpdesk manager or technical account manager roles. I wish I could get those 4 years back and have been in a more technical role.