For the IT guys - some questions

[CommsNBombs]

Going to be transitioning out of the Army here in a few months - command is letting me pick a day so I got some questions.

Ill most likely be commuting to Nashville to work for a firm, anyone know of anything in the Clarksville area that ISNT DOD? I am done with the door kicking camo wearing, and have no desire to work for the govt.

I have been getting emails from Asurion's head hunters, Ive read great things on Glass Door and they always have windows admin jobs open, anyone have any experience?

Ill be spending my leave I sell back on some certs, got a waiver for CCNA in February, any industry certs I should knock out now? Studied for MCSA WS 2K12 in the past but didnt get a waiver. A+? N+?

Any other firms/companies I should know of? Obviously competetive salary and forward progression/advancement opportunities are high on the list.

I have a resume if anyone wants to take a look. Thanks in advance

Sent from my SPH-L720 using Tapatalk

[Pete123]

PM sent

[LagerHead]

Going to be transitioning out of the Army here in a few months - command is letting me pick a day so I got some questions.

Ill most likely be commuting to Nashville to work for a firm, anyone know of anything in the Clarksville area that ISNT DOD? I am done with the door kicking camo wearing, and have no desire to work for the govt.

I have been getting emails from Asurion's head hunters, Ive read great things on Glass Door and they always have windows admin jobs open, anyone have any experience?

Ill be spending my leave I sell back on some certs, got a waiver for CCNA in February, any industry certs I should knock out now? Studied for MCSA WS 2K12 in the past but didnt get a waiver. A+? N+?

Any other firms/companies I should know of? Obviously competetive salary and forward progression/advancement opportunities are high on the list.

I have a resume if anyone wants to take a look. Thanks in advance

Sent from my SPH-L720 using Tapatalk

 

Here's the skinny on Asurion. I worked there for 9 months. 9 long, hellish months. But I will try my best to be fair and objective in my analysis.

 

The pros:

• You can wear whatever the hell you want to work, short of anything having profanity. Shorts, flip flops, your favorite beer T-shirt, all OK. I rode a motorcycle to work, so it was nice be able to wear jeans and riding boots.
• Very flexible work hours. As in, show up when you have some coffee in you, as long as you make all your meetings and meet your deliverable dates.
• They do utilize their technology and are not afraid to spend money where it's justified and might positively effect the bottom line.
• Vacation policy (could be listed under both pros and cons) - it doesn't exist. There are no guaranteed vacation days. You basically just work it out with your manager. Assuming it doesn't conflict with a project deadline that depends on you, it will probably get approved.
• You can get some very good experience here working in a very fast-paced, rapidly-growing, global company. They have offices in (at least) the U.S., Japan, China, Philippines, and the UK.
• They pay well, and if you can stick it out until bonus time, you will get a nice fat check. But you must be employed there when bonus checks are sent out or you forfeit every dime. There is no pro-rating.

The cons:

• To say the company blows would be the understatement of the year. I started there on a Monday and was convinced I had made a terrible mistake before the end of that day. That is no exaggeration.
• They could not care less about your personal time. If there is a CIRT (Critical Incident Response Ticket) after hours and you are on call, just the fact that you proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that the problem doesn't reside in your area of responsibility is not necessarily justification enough to let you go back to sleep at 1:00AM. I have literally been on calls for 6 hours or more after I proved that the network (my area) was not responsible for the issue they were having. During that time, not a single question was asked of me, the network was not mentioned, etc. but I was not allowed to hang up.
• Their change control process consists of you trying to explain a technical change to people who don't understand 25% of what you're saying, them asking questions so mind-bogglingly stupid that you have trouble formulating a response that doesn't make you sound every bit as stupid as their question. Let me give you an example, with the following relevant information: All the engineers basically sat together in one big room/cubicle farm with half height cubicles.
  • I once had a change to modify an existing firewall rule that consisted of me adding a single port number to the allow rule that already existed. This change was necessary because one of our paying customers, AT&T, needed it for whatever reason. I was asked several questions along the lines of "what is the risk if you enter the port number incorrectly?" I tried to explain that the effect is that what doesn't work now, still won't work, i.e. very little, if any risk. This discussion went on for about 15-20 minutes until they finally approved my change, though they had to let me know they were very reluctant to do so.
  • The very next person on the change call basically stated that he was going to take down the entire network, including the very same %!@#$!!!@%$#& firewalls I had just discussed, and they approved it without a single question or comment.
  • The entire room just burst out in laughter when I stood up and made my disbelief known.
• It is a very political environment where basically those who pretend the best that they know exactly what is going on are listened to. I'm not sure how familiar you are with Cisco gear, but if you are, you will laugh at this. One of the "experts" they would commonly ask to assist when you didn't solve a problem in 10 seconds or less, extended a call for about three hours because he was convinced that a Cisco ASA firewall was switching between the startup and running configurations. Luckily I wasn't on the call, but this is the kind of insanity that was rampant when I was there.

Here's the rub though: I'm not advising you not to take the job. You will probably get paid more there out the gate than most other companies are willing to pay. Coming out of the military you know what it's like having to say yes sir and no mam to incompetent boobs, so maybe you are more equipped than I was when I worked there. I was out of the military for quite a few years when I started there. Worst case scenario, it's a great place to learn and use as a stepping stone. When I accepted their offer I was in a good position, but Asurion threw some money at me and I felt I could not refuse. In the long run it turned out to my benefit because it helped me land my current position. So if you don't get a better offer, then yea, take it. But I would seek out other positions as well.

 

I just want you to know what Asurion is about. I was asked to return more than once, and even offered money and promised some perks and I told them not just no, but hell no. The stress wasn't worth the money to me, but there are people that have been there for several years that feel differently.

 

Best of luck no matter what you decide.

Edited January 11, 2016 by LagerHead

[CommsNBombs]

Here's the skinny on Asurion. I worked there for 9 months. 9 long, hellish months. But I will try my best to be fair and objective in my analysis.

 

The pros:

• You can wear whatever the hell you want to work, short of anything having profanity. Shorts, flip flops, your favorite beer T-shirt, all OK. I rode a motorcycle to work, so it was nice be able to wear jeans and riding boots.
• Very flexible work hours. As in, show up when you have some coffee in you, as long as you make all your meetings and meet your deliverable dates.
• They do utilize their technology and are not afraid to spend money where it's justified and might positively effect the bottom line.
• Vacation policy (could be listed under both pros and cons) - it doesn't exist. There are no guaranteed vacation days. You basically just work it out with your manager. Assuming it doesn't conflict with a project deadline that depends on you, it will probably get approved.
• You can get some very good experience here working in a very fast-paced, rapidly-growing, global company. They have offices in (at least) the U.S., Japan, China, Philippines, and the UK.
• They pay well, and if you can stick it out until bonus time, you will get a nice fat check. But you must be employed there when bonus checks are sent out or you forfeit every dime. There is no pro-rating.

The cons:

• To say the company blows would be the understatement of the year. I started there on a Monday and was convinced I had made a terrible mistake before the end of that day. That is no exaggeration.
• They could not care less about your personal time. If there is a CIRT (Critical Incident Response Ticket) after hours and you are on call, just the fact that you proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that the problem doesn't reside in your area of responsibility is not necessarily justification enough to let you go back to sleep at 1:00AM. I have literally been on calls for 6 hours or more after I proved that the network (my area) was not responsible for the issue they were having. During that time, not a single question was asked of me, the network was not mentioned, etc. but I was not allowed to hang up.
• Their change control process consists of you trying to explain a technical change to people who don't understand 25% of what you're saying, them asking questions so mind-bogglingly stupid that you have trouble formulating a response that doesn't make you sound every bit as stupid as their question. Let me give you an example, with the following relevant information: All the engineers basically sat together in one big room/cubicle farm with half height cubicles.
  • I once had a change to modify an existing firewall rule that consisted of me adding a single port number to the allow rule that already existed. This change was necessary because one of our paying customers, AT&T, needed it for whatever reason. I was asked several questions along the lines of "what is the risk if you enter the port number incorrectly?" I tried to explain that the effect is that what doesn't work now, still won't work, i.e. very little, if any risk. This discussion went on for about 15-20 minutes until they finally approved my change, though they had to let me know they were very reluctant to do so.
  • The very next person on the change call basically stated that he was going to take down the entire network, including the very same %!@#$!!!@%$#& firewalls I had just discussed, and they approved it without a single question or comment.
  • The entire room just burst out in laughter when I stood up and made my disbelief known.
• It is a very political environment where basically those who pretend the best that they know exactly what is going on are listened to. I'm not sure how familiar you are with Cisco gear, but if you are, you will laugh at this. One of the "experts" they would commonly ask to assist when you didn't solve a problem in 10 seconds or less, extended a call for about three hours because he was convinced that a Cisco ASA firewall was switching between the startup and running configurations. Luckily I wasn't on the call, but this is the kind of insanity that was rampant when I was there.

Here's the rub though: I'm not advising you not to take the job. You will probably get paid more there out the gate than most other companies are willing to pay. Coming out of the military you know what it's like having to say yes sir and no mam to incompetent boobs, so maybe you are more equipped than I was when I worked there. I was out of the military for quite a few years when I started there. Worst case scenario, it's a great place to learn and use as a stepping stone. When I accepted their offer I was in a good position, but Asurion threw some money at me and I felt I could not refuse. In the long run it turned out to my benefit because it helped me land my current position. So if you don't get a better offer, then yea, take it. But I would seek out other positions as well.

 

I just want you to know what Asurion is about. I was asked to return more than once, and even offered money and promised some perks and I told them not just no, but hell no. The stress wasn't worth the money to me, but there are people that have been there for several years that feel differently.

 

Best of luck no matter what you decide.

I appreciate that summary very much Lager, I gathered a lot of what you were saying from the Glassdoor reviews of the company - I deduced it was straight up brown-nosing, slightly-controlled-chaos.

 

In a way, that is what I dealt/deal with every damn day, the whole idea of transitioning is to NOT be as stressed as I was, granted it comes with the territory. Especially since it is very political and favoritism based, that right off the bat makes me want to seek gainful employment elsewhere.

 

If I may, what did you do when you worked there? The jobs the headhunters keep sending me from there are Windows Server Admins, Active Directory Admin/Engineers or top tiered help desk/NOC stuff.

 

Also - how big do industry certs play a part? I have not yet completed my BS for IT, should I use my gun money and go ahead and register to take N+ and MCSA exams now?

[LagerHead]

I appreciate that summary very much Lager, I gathered a lot of what you were saying from the Glassdoor reviews of the company - I deduced it was straight up brown-nosing, slightly-controlled-chaos.

 

In a way, that is what I dealt/deal with every damn day, the whole idea of transitioning is to NOT be as stressed as I was, granted it comes with the territory. Especially since it is very political and favoritism based, that right off the bat makes me want to seek gainful employment elsewhere.

 

If I may, what did you do when you worked there? The jobs the headhunters keep sending me from there are Windows Server Admins, Active Directory Admin/Engineers or top tiered help desk/NOC stuff.

 

Also - how big do industry certs play a part? I have not yet completed my BS for IT, should I use my gun money and go ahead and register to take N+ and MCSA exams now?

 

My title when I worked there was Network Routing Architect. Technically I designed solutions and analyzed the current environment to find where changes that could help improve the network could be made. Realistically, very few proposed changes were allowed to be made because of the risk, even if the risk of not making the change was greater than the risk of making it. In other words, let's not risk breaking anything, but when it does break, you're going to have to answer for it.

 

As far as certifications, they do help get your resume noticed. But so do the keywords in your skills section. I haven't held an industry cert since I believe 2004, but I still get regular recruitment calls and emails based on the keywords in my resume. I would suggest getting some certs soon to help fill in gaps where you lack in experience. Depending on what your goal is, I might skip A+ and possibly N+. It sounds to me like you're not quite entry level, but maybe not technical lead yet either. Forgive me if I am short changing you, that's not my intent. If I am correct, the A+ isn't going to add anything to your resume that will translate to money in the bank. The N+ may or may not depending on who's doing the hiring. Microsoft, Cisco, Linux, storage, cloud, big data - these are more likely to pay off in the short and long run.

[CommsNBombs]

My title when I worked there was Network Routing Architect. Technically I designed solutions and analyzed the current environment to find where changes that could help improve the network could be made. Realistically, very few proposed changes were allowed to be made because of the risk, even if the risk of not making the change was greater than the risk of making it. In other words, let's not risk breaking anything, but when it does break, you're going to have to answer for it.

As far as certifications, they do help get your resume noticed. But so do the keywords in your skills section. I haven't held an industry cert since I believe 2004, but I still get regular recruitment calls and emails based on the keywords in my resume. I would suggest getting some certs soon to help fill in gaps where you lack in experience. Depending on what your goal is, I might skip A+ and possibly N+. It sounds to me like you're not quite entry level, but maybe not technical lead yet either. Forgive me if I am short changing you, that's not my intent. If I am correct, the A+ isn't going to add anything to your resume that will translate to money in the bank. The N+ may or may not depending on who's doing the hiring. Microsoft, Cisco, Linux, storage, cloud, big data - these are more likely to pay off in the short and long run.

I know that role all too well - thats the bad thing about this new equipment we have in the 101st, the civilian contractors would hardly let us touch the stuff for improvement but I got the hammer dropped on me when we were out on mission and a classified switch decided to crap out.

And no offense taken at all, I am pretty competent but am by no means equivelent to someone with similiar time in the civilian sector as I have in the Army. I have been studying for MCSA for Windows Server, and may get a waiver for CCNA through Syracuse.

Anything I should be aware of in the private sector? Is there any extra autonomy given, what type of work is to be expected and how the command climate/OpTempo is?

Sent from my SPH-L720 using Tapatalk

[TNWNGR]

Not an IT guy but do know whose generally got an IT position open with benifits and such. In Clarksville you need to check for avalable openings with The City of Clarksville, Montgomery County Goverments IT, Montgomery County School System , Gateway Hospital and the local manufactures. Also check with APSU and some of the nearby Colleges. If you have the right background you'll find an opening. On the downside though you can do better pay wise in Nashville. It just depends on what you need.

[LagerHead]

I know that role all too well - thats the bad thing about this new equipment we have in the 101st, the civilian contractors would hardly let us touch the stuff for improvement but I got the hammer dropped on me when we were out on mission and a classified switch decided to crap out.

And no offense taken at all, I am pretty competent but am by no means equivelent to someone with similiar time in the civilian sector as I have in the Army. I have been studying for MCSA for Windows Server, and may get a waiver for CCNA through Syracuse.

Anything I should be aware of in the private sector? Is there any extra autonomy given, what type of work is to be expected and how the command climate/OpTempo is?

Sent from my SPH-L720 using Tapatalk

 

The private sector is the private sector. Your employment depends somewhat on the success of the company which, for the most part, isn't really controlled by IT, though it can certainly have a substantial negative impact when it is down, like in Asurion. But to be fair, I have never been laid off. IT isn't generally a revenue generating department, unless you're a consultant, so they tend to run somewhat lean anyway.

 

The amount of autonomy you have is governed by the company culture, your position, and your management. And it depends on what you mean by autonomy. For example, in my view, the average help desk position doesn't have a lot of autonomy. That doesn't mean you will necessarily have a manager breathing down your neck watching how you serve each ticket, but you are basically tied to the help desk ticketing system and that phone. Others may see it differently since you are somewhat free to creatively solve problems. In general though, the longer you've been at it, the more autonomy the positions open to you will afford you. In other words, it's not that different from the military in that respect.

 

I am fortunate enough that my current position affords me almost total freedom. I work from home, rarely see or speak to my boss or even my direct customer(s), but I speak to my indirect customers daily. If I need to go to a customer's site, I don't need to get permission, generally, I just go if it doesn't involve overnight travel, or just let them know in advance if it does. But as I like to tell my wife when she gives me a hard time about working from home, I did work my ass off for a lot of years to get to a position where I don't have to. ;)

 

Fortunately, IT is viewed by many as not being staffed by total idiots (though as my experience at Asurion shows, this is not always the case) so you're expected to be able to accomplish tasks/projects with minimal hand holding. If you work a lot of projects, your project managers will keep you in line and on time, but that is generally the extent of the hovering. Most of the folks I have worked for have been stand up once I got into the corporate world, which might sound counter-intuitive to many. That's just been my experience, though. Even at Asurion my manager was a great guy. In fact, we work together again and often lament the Asurion days together.

 

Finally, as far as Op Tempo goes, that's all over the board. Asurion was the fastest paced environment in which I have worked, but ironically it is where I got the least done. Imagine running for your life uphill in quicksand. I worked at HCA for a little over 3 years and that was a medium to medium-fast paced environment, but when I was there we got shit done. My current job is pretty chill most of the time, with moments of dizzying activity every now and then.

[LagerHead]

Not an IT guy but do know whose generally got an IT position open with benifits and such. In Clarksville you need to check for avalable openings with The City of Clarksville, Montgomery County Goverments IT, Montgomery County School System , Gateway Hospital and the local manufactures. Also check with APSU and some of the nearby Colleges. If you have the right background you'll find an opening. On the downside though you can do better pay wise in Nashville. It just depends on what you need.

 

I worked for both Gateway and the county when I lived in Clarksville. Spot on assessment. They both served as excellent stepping stone jobs to get me to HCA. I have some pretty interesting stories about my jobs at both of those locations, but they aren't relevant to the current discussion. :D

[TNMTBik3r]

What do you enjoy working on, from an IT perspective? For me, I decided about 7 years ago virtualization is what I enjoyed the most. Find a technology or area that you enjoy (even and maybe especially if it is challenging).

ETA - that does not mean limit yourself. The more you know the better off you will be to adjust with changing positions but find an area or two to specialize in.


I have worked a bit of everything, including network (done some basic Cisco firewall/swtch work and studied for my CCNA but never took it), but virtualization is the technology that really struck hold with me. It has paid off and I am in a very good position now.

Whatever you decide I suggest you spend some time on scripting (PowerShell and PowerCLI if do anything with VMware) as it can save you a lot of time. Not only that but pretty much anything you can do in the GUI and oftentimes more is accomplished through PowerShell now. With Server 2016 Nano it will be completely remote PowerShell based, no console. Edited January 11, 2016 by jonathon1289

[TGO David]

I know several current and former Asurion employees.  Without exception every single one of them hate the place.  There is a reason why Asurion cannot easily hire from the Nashville talent-pool anymore:  Word has gotten out about how utterly hellish it is to work there.

 

Every single thing that Lagerhead said about them is true.  For some departments it is far worse than that, even.  Nashville has a job-seeker's market right now for IT positions, so you have countless options other than Asurion to consider.  Do yourself a favor and avoid them like the plague.

 

That said, some of what Lagerhead said about Asurion made me laugh in a self-pitying sort of way, because we face that at my company too.  Jonathon can attest that I'm telling you the truth.  We fight very hard to disconnect from critical incidents where it's been proven beyond a shadow of a doubt that our systems are part of the problem, and sometimes we still don't succeed and we still get stuck on those calls for hours on end.  I'm trying to correct that as much as I can and this year I'll be a little more ballsy about it.  They're going to either have to let me change some things for the better, or fire me.

 

We also deal with some of the same challenges in our change control process.  Normally the non-technical people don't push back as hard as what Lagerhead said he put up with at Asurion, but on occasion they do make us question whether they can tie their own shoes or if someone does it for them.

 

I guess what I am saying is this:

 

1.)  Asurion is a cesspool.  Don't do that to yourself unless you voted for Obama during both elections.  If you did vote for him, I can get you hired over there.  You deserve it.

 

2.)  Ineptitude is everywhere.  The key is finding the place that compensates you the best for as much of it as you're willing to tolerate.

 

 

Jonathon and I both work for a pretty good, very large company with a huge IT shop.  Reach out to him if you'd like to float your resume around.  If you get a job, he can get a bit of a bonus for helping you get placed.  :)

[Ski]

Not an IT guy but do know whose generally got an IT position open with benifits and such. In Clarksville you need to check for avalable openings with The City of Clarksville, Montgomery County Goverments IT, Montgomery County School System , Gateway Hospital and the local manufactures. Also check with APSU and some of the nearby Colleges. If you have the right background you'll find an opening. On the downside though you can do better pay wise in Nashville. It just depends on what you need.

I'll second the recommendation regarding local government jobs. If you can deal with an income on the low side, they can be good stepping stone jobs. I worked for one of the largest local governments in the state, and I was able to get exposure to a nice variety of technologies. That experience put me ahead of most of my peers when I got a LAN support job at a large corporation. I am not sure if the same opportunities would exist at a mid-sized local government, but it is worth some consideration.

While educational institutions need some of the same infrastructure as everyone else, they seem to represent a pretty distinctive niche.

With your background you're probably better prepared to deal with the frustrations of a corporate IT job or an IT shop as discussed above. A mid-sized company has advantages, but beware of getting into a situation where one (1) or two (2) folks have a lot of power and want to hold on to it at your expense. I ran into that at my local government job, but I had a boss that handled him very well. I'd like to think she was that good, but she may have just been "lucky" that her approached worked.

I think a lot of it will come down to how patient you're willing to be and how much you want to get away from the culture you're in now.

[CommsNBombs]

What do you enjoy working on, from an IT perspective? For me, I decided about 7 years ago virtualization is what I enjoyed the most. Find a technology or area that you enjoy (even and maybe especially if it is challenging).

ETA - that does not mean limit yourself. The more you know the better off you will be to adjust with changing positions but find an area or two to specialize in.


I have worked a bit of everything, including network (done some basic Cisco firewall/swtch work and studied for my CCNA but never took it), but virtualization is the technology that really struck hold with me. It has paid off and I am in a very good position now.

Whatever you decide I suggest you spend some time on scripting (PowerShell and PowerCLI if do anything with VMware) as it can save you a lot of time. Not only that but pretty much anything you can do in the GUI and oftentimes more is accomplished through PowerShell now. With Server 2016 Nano it will be completely remote PowerShell based, no console.

 

My area of enjoyment is honestly troubleshooting and doing upgrades - active directory stuff, setting up stacks, tunneling, patching, stuff like that. Granted that is all we were kinda able to do with the 101st - most of the server side stuff I did was pretty classified and used a lot of KGs and TACLANEs, not sure if that translates over into the civilian sector.

 

I have a lot more experience with VMWare now than I did, but I did get told to look into PowerShell - I do not have a lot of experience doing remote stuff

 

I know several current and former Asurion employees.  Without exception every single one of them hate the place.  There is a reason why Asurion cannot easily hire from the Nashville talent-pool anymore:  Word has gotten out about how utterly hellish it is to work there.

 

Every single thing that Lagerhead said about them is true.  For some departments it is far worse than that, even.  Nashville has a job-seeker's market right now for IT positions, so you have countless options other than Asurion to consider.  Do yourself a favor and avoid them like the plague.

 

That said, some of what Lagerhead said about Asurion made me laugh in a self-pitying sort of way, because we face that at my company too.  Jonathon can attest that I'm telling you the truth.  We fight very hard to disconnect from critical incidents where it's been proven beyond a shadow of a doubt that our systems are part of the problem, and sometimes we still don't succeed and we still get stuck on those calls for hours on end.  I'm trying to correct that as much as I can and this year I'll be a little more ballsy about it.  They're going to either have to let me change some things for the better, or fire me.

 

We also deal with some of the same challenges in our change control process.  Normally the non-technical people don't push back as hard as what Lagerhead said he put up with at Asurion, but on occasion they do make us question whether they can tie their own shoes or if someone does it for them.

 

I guess what I am saying is this:

 

1.)  Asurion is a cesspool.  Don't do that to yourself unless you voted for Obama during both elections.  If you did vote for him, I can get you hired over there.  You deserve it.

 

2.)  Ineptitude is everywhere.  The key is finding the place that compensates you the best for as much of it as you're willing to tolerate.

 

 

Jonathon and I both work for a pretty good, very large company with a huge IT shop.  Reach out to him if you'd like to float your resume around.  If you get a job, he can get a bit of a bonus for helping you get placed.   :)

 

I definitely did not voted for Obummer lol, I trust ya'll a lot more than I trust Glassdoor so looks like I will be giving those meatheads a wide berth.

 

As far as proposed changes, or changing in the TACSOP - how is that usually met by upper level management/directorate? Is it the high brass doesn't care and lets you do something if you can show it'll help? Or is it more that they get paid more = they're right and you need to pound sand?

 

Not that I want to jump right in super-moto and start steam rolling people, but more to the point if I identify some screw up, that usually upper level guys will give the OK if I am/prove to be competent.

 

I'll shoot Jonathon a PM - it'll be confusing if I do get hired there, I am a Jonathan. 

 

Thanks again for the answers on Asurion lol

[CommsNBombs]

I'll second the recommendation regarding local government jobs. If you can deal with an income on the low side, they can be good stepping stone jobs. I worked for one of the largest local governments in the state, and I was able to get exposure to a nice variety of technologies. That experience put me ahead of most of my peers when I got a LAN support job at a large corporation. I am not sure if the same opportunities would exist at a mid-sized local government, but it is worth some consideration.

While educational institutions need some of the same infrastructure as everyone else, they seem to represent a pretty distinctive niche.

With your background you're probably better prepared to deal with the frustrations of a corporate IT job or an IT shop as discussed above. A mid-sized company has advantages, but beware of getting into a situation where one (1) or two (2) folks have a lot of power and want to hold on to it at your expense. I ran into that at my local government job, but I had a boss that handled him very well. I'd like to think she was that good, but she may have just been "lucky" that her approached worked.

I think a lot of it will come down to how patient you're willing to be and how much you want to get away from the culture you're in now.

 

I can adapt to any situation, I guess dealing with Brigade and J6 levels of crap gives me to intangible ability to consume BS lol

 

Honestly at this point, I want a job(s) lined up that pay a little more after taxes than what I make right now (40-50K?) and that I'll have opportunity to progress - and if not progress at least learn new technology/techniques that'll carry over.

 

All I know is what ya'll tell me - as far as the Army goes my SIGO is telling me to go to OTC to tryout for CAG's commo squadron, my NCOIC is telling me to go to JCU and my squad leader is telling me to become a warrant. 

 

I kinda just want to be a regular guy, and not a camo-wearing cog in the machine

[TNMTBik3r]

As far as proposed changes, or changing in the TACSOP - how is that usually met by upper level management/directorate? Is it the high brass doesn't care and lets you do something if you can show it'll help? Or is it more that they get paid more = they're right and you need to pound sand?

Change management is an issue pretty much everywhere. The few places I have been, if you can document that your change is going to fix a problem or be an improvement and you have a rollback option most people are open to listening.

The problem I have faced over the past year is all the non technical people who want to get involved in problems and make suggestions that have nothing to do with the issue or do not understand the technologies at play and refuse to listen to anyone who knows. I have been battling one problem for several weeks now and have enjoyed greatly the higher ups suggestions being implemented and not helping the problem at all, exactly as I said it wouldn't. It's the little things in life ;)


You will battle that type of thing anywhere.

IT is always a challenge and that's what I enjoy. Especially in a large environment, every day is a different set of issues and solutions.

[Patton]

Best of luck to you my friend. I separated from active duty in 2007, and I am very happy that I did. I have worked in small, locally owned companies, local governments, and now a .gov agency. I honestly think that many of the senior NCOs and officers believe that all of the 300 million non-military personal in the United States work at Burger King.

[CommsNBombs]

IT is always a challenge and that's what I enjoy. Especially in a large environment, every day is a different set of issues and solutions.

 

That is what drew me to communications coming from EOD - the dynamics are always pretty challenging but really rewarding. Honestly, I feel it is easier doing RSPs on 107s than it is re configuring a switch sometimes...

 

 

Best of luck to you my friend. I separated from active duty in 2007, and I am very happy that I did. I have worked in small, locally owned companies, local governments, and now a .gov agency. I honestly think that many of the senior NCOs and officers believe that all of the 300 million non-military personal in the United States work at Burger King.

 

The Army is like a jaded ex-girlfriend that tries to convince you staying with/going back to her is the best thing and that your life will end if you break up with her.

 

Hell - everywhere I have been, be it an EOD unit, SOF unit, the 101st, 10th MTN, I have met higher level staff officers and Senior NCOs I would not trust to mop up a McDonalds bathroom, let alone be in control over the lives of a few hundred dudes...

[TGO David]

 

Hell - everywhere I have been, be it an EOD unit, SOF unit, the 101st, 10th MTN, I have met higher level staff officers and Senior NCOs I would not trust to mop up a McDonalds bathroom, let alone be in control over the lives of a few hundred dudes...

 

The Peter Principle:  Promoted to the level of their incompetence.

[Ski]

Honestly at this point, I want a job(s) lined up that pay a little more after taxes than what I make right now

I don't think that figure will be a problem, but I'm not really sure. I haven't looked for a job outside of my current employer for quite a while.

If you're open to working from home, there might be more opportunities open to you. The pros are generally fairly apparent, but there are some cons that might not be obvious. The biggest thing is to be sure that that is an entrenched part of the company's culture (and the team's culture). Otherwise, it can be hard to form the relationships to help get things done and to move up.

Information Security is certainly a hot area if that interests you. I am not sure if software defined networking is really going to deliver on all the hype, but it's likely to change quickly and provide you an opportunity to gain a hot skill if you're up for it.

[CommsNBombs]

The Peter Principle:  Promoted to the level of their incompetence.

 

Ain't that the truth. 

 

 

Another question I have is once I am in the field, I assume to move up (eventually) to managerial/directorate positions I'd need to finish my degrees/get certifications? How big a role does that play in the private sector? 

 

Obviously the military couldn't give a rats ass how good you were - just how good you look on paper

[TGO David]

Ain't that the truth. 

 

 

Another question I have is once I am in the field, I assume to move up (eventually) to managerial/directorate positions I'd need to finish my degrees/get certifications? How big a role does that play in the private sector? 

 

Obviously the military couldn't give a rats ass how good you were - just how good you look on paper

 

Most companies require it.  Ours requires a 2-year degree for manager and 4-year degree for director.  Graduate degrees are required for AVP and above.

[Ski]

Another question I have is once I am in the field, I assume to move up (eventually) to managerial/directorate positions I'd need to finish my degrees/get certifications? How big a role does that play in the private sector?

Obviously the military couldn't give a rats ass how good you were - just how good you look on paper

The importance of degrees and certs will vary from employer to employer. I think you'll generally find that the certs are more important to get your foot in the door than they are once you're hired. A Bachelor's degree can definitely help, and some employers will be a stickler for that--probably less so in the private sector than the public. But, an Associate's and experience can get you further than you might think.

Your desire to go into management will likely be influenced heavily by the corporate culture and your assessment of the technical career track available.

In the right situation building a reputation for being bright and working hard can go a long way.

[CommsNBombs]

I have enough creds for an associates but I havent enrolled in a program yet - just tons of military schools that doesnt mean a whole lot of anything to the IT world.

I suppose online will be the way to go - does it matter really who it is through? I was looking at WGU but they have some pretty stringent acceptance criteria and insist on having a CompTIA cert.

Sent from my SPH-L720 using Tapatalk

[Ski]

I have enough creds for an associates but I havent enrolled in a program yet - just tons of military schools that doesnt mean a whole lot of anything to the IT world.

I suppose online will be the way to go - does it matter really who it is through? I was looking at WGU but they have some pretty stringent acceptance criteria and insist on having a CompTIA cert.

Hopefully there's a recruiter in our midst that can provide some useful feedback on that. Without at least an Associates, a contracting company might be your best bet. Sometimes corporations can find a permanent spot for the right "vendor" that comes in through an IT contracting company. A general staffing agency is probably just going to be dead end assignments. But, that model may not be promising anymore with the advent of "managed services"--think companies that bring in folks from other countries and outsource internationally.

If I get a chance to talk to my previous manager in the next couple of days, I'll see what he thinks of your situation. He was in the army and served in Kosovo amoung other spots. When we heard he was going to be our new manager, the feedback from almost everyone we asked was negative. However, he turned out to be well liked by our team (at least the half that work at my location). I'm not sure what that says for the folks from which we got opinions on him. :-)

[Sam1]

I have enough creds for an associates but I havent enrolled in a program yet - just tons of military schools that doesnt mean a whole lot of anything to the IT world.

I suppose online will be the way to go - does it matter really who it is through? I was looking at WGU but they have some pretty stringent acceptance criteria and insist on having a CompTIA cert.

Sent from my SPH-L720 using Tapatalk

 

 

WGU sucked.  I did them for a year.  It's for people that like certification based learning; pass-fail based on one exam.  I personally like the opportunity to submit dozens of assignments and the grade be buffered out if there is a bad day and not fail the entire class.