Finally back on track!
Discussion
Well, after nearly 3 years it feels like my career is back on track. 
In March '09 I made a "career move" into a role which was due to set me on the path to management. I joined a team of analysts on the basis I'd learn the role, then move into managing the once the then manager moved onto a new role which had been lined up for her. I'd been a team leader for 5 years previously to that so management seemed like my best bet, not having a piece of paper to back up my computing skills.
Plans clearly changed as the team was made redundant in August '09 and the jobs were shipped out to Manila in November '09. Spent the last three months of my employment there training my replacement.
This turned out to be a blessing in disguise.
I'd become comfortable, and was heading towards a path I didn't in my heart of hearts think was right for me, but seemed like the best way forward.
Anyway, after a nice xmas break, I scored a job in a meditech company doing sales and service administration amongst other things, so started there Jan '10. Constantly pushing my IT skills to the upper management and telling them I wanted to move forward, in October '11 I managed to score an internal training course covering the technical side one of our software products and aced it, enabling me to show off what I could do to the head of the global technical helpdesk who ran the course. I also managed to get myself onto a CompTIA Network+ course last December which my current department's field service engineers were being sent on.
Having listened to the management making weak noises about a creating a technical role for me for over 6 months, nothing was materialising nor seemed like it would. My department head moved on, we integrated anothter company into the department so the impetus from their side seemed to just disappear, so I started looking for roles outside the department.
Roll onto June, and some roles opened up in the global technical helpdesk so stuck in an application for two of them. Didn't get the first one as someone with more than one language applied, but today got offered the second!
Scored a 25% increase on my basic which I did not expect, plus will learn loads of new skills and products, both internal and external and will get another 6% or so once I'm trained. This department is kinda the springboard for many people within the company. They do 3-4 years in there and then move up into 4th line support, or product development or any other number of areas within the company.
Sorry for the long self aggrandising post, but I'm just so chuffed
In March '09 I made a "career move" into a role which was due to set me on the path to management. I joined a team of analysts on the basis I'd learn the role, then move into managing the once the then manager moved onto a new role which had been lined up for her. I'd been a team leader for 5 years previously to that so management seemed like my best bet, not having a piece of paper to back up my computing skills.
Plans clearly changed as the team was made redundant in August '09 and the jobs were shipped out to Manila in November '09. Spent the last three months of my employment there training my replacement.
This turned out to be a blessing in disguise.
I'd become comfortable, and was heading towards a path I didn't in my heart of hearts think was right for me, but seemed like the best way forward.
Anyway, after a nice xmas break, I scored a job in a meditech company doing sales and service administration amongst other things, so started there Jan '10. Constantly pushing my IT skills to the upper management and telling them I wanted to move forward, in October '11 I managed to score an internal training course covering the technical side one of our software products and aced it, enabling me to show off what I could do to the head of the global technical helpdesk who ran the course. I also managed to get myself onto a CompTIA Network+ course last December which my current department's field service engineers were being sent on.
Having listened to the management making weak noises about a creating a technical role for me for over 6 months, nothing was materialising nor seemed like it would. My department head moved on, we integrated anothter company into the department so the impetus from their side seemed to just disappear, so I started looking for roles outside the department.
Roll onto June, and some roles opened up in the global technical helpdesk so stuck in an application for two of them. Didn't get the first one as someone with more than one language applied, but today got offered the second!
Scored a 25% increase on my basic which I did not expect, plus will learn loads of new skills and products, both internal and external and will get another 6% or so once I'm trained. This department is kinda the springboard for many people within the company. They do 3-4 years in there and then move up into 4th line support, or product development or any other number of areas within the company.
Sorry for the long self aggrandising post, but I'm just so chuffed
Congrats Marf on the new job.
I've just been offered an interview with JustIT, who are an IT training and recruitment company. I'm an IT enthusiast with no quals to say I can do the jobs but I do all the things first line can do as a hobby and to help out my fiends and family.
I only recently enquired after years of my friends and family saying you should do IT you'd be really good at it. My reasoning being I wanted to keep my work and my hobbies separate, but realised that If I wanted to be successful with my career and be happy with my job, I should make a career of something out of one of my hobbies, and lets face it I'm not good enough to be a pro footballer.
The other thing that pushed me was I got pushed out of my last job about 5 months ago, and haven't been able to find any work since.
But once again, congrats on your new role
I've just been offered an interview with JustIT, who are an IT training and recruitment company. I'm an IT enthusiast with no quals to say I can do the jobs but I do all the things first line can do as a hobby and to help out my fiends and family.
I only recently enquired after years of my friends and family saying you should do IT you'd be really good at it. My reasoning being I wanted to keep my work and my hobbies separate, but realised that If I wanted to be successful with my career and be happy with my job, I should make a career of something out of one of my hobbies, and lets face it I'm not good enough to be a pro footballer.
The other thing that pushed me was I got pushed out of my last job about 5 months ago, and haven't been able to find any work since.
But once again, congrats on your new role
Thanks Willeh
And you're right, if you really want to enjoy your job, then you need to do something you love, or work with people who you really enjoy working with. The former being much easier to control!
I wish I'd stuck with IT when I left my last purely IT job 12 years ago. I should have just started up my own business offering IT support and PC sales and built it from there, but didn't have the confidence to set up on my own. Hindsight's always 20/20 eh!
You could always try doing what I did when I first got made redundant, i.e. make up some business cards and advertise for a month in the local weekly paper offering IT services. You can charge a decent amount for the initial callout and a healthy hourly rate thereafter. I was charging £35 callout including the first half hour on a no fix no fee basis, then £25 an hour thereafter. Most stuff can be fixed pretty quickly, but in reality it doesnt take long to eat through the first half hour.
I picked up some customers who I still occasionally do bits for 3 years on.
Good luck whatever you do!!
And you're right, if you really want to enjoy your job, then you need to do something you love, or work with people who you really enjoy working with. The former being much easier to control!
I wish I'd stuck with IT when I left my last purely IT job 12 years ago. I should have just started up my own business offering IT support and PC sales and built it from there, but didn't have the confidence to set up on my own. Hindsight's always 20/20 eh!
You could always try doing what I did when I first got made redundant, i.e. make up some business cards and advertise for a month in the local weekly paper offering IT services. You can charge a decent amount for the initial callout and a healthy hourly rate thereafter. I was charging £35 callout including the first half hour on a no fix no fee basis, then £25 an hour thereafter. Most stuff can be fixed pretty quickly, but in reality it doesnt take long to eat through the first half hour.
I picked up some customers who I still occasionally do bits for 3 years on.
Good luck whatever you do!!
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