Reply to: get out of support

[alfatech]

Prostitution, perhaps? Watch out for lorry drivers, though, esp. if bearded.

Or grow a moustache and become a porn star.

[NetwkSupport]

Damn! I keep thinking this thread is going to be about boobs

It is now - www.page3.com NOT SAFE FOR WORK

[NetwkSupport]

You need to build upon the skills you have already developed from your time in support.

IMHO, a natural progression is ITIL based Service Delivery or into areas working closer with the business in terms on interfacing between them and IT.
This is assuming you have good soft skills - communication etc.

I was in support for about 6 years so can relate to where you are coming from and the above is the direction I am currently taking.

thanks that sounds mor like where i am leaning towards - any suggested courses (apart from ITIL) or resources that i can look at to give me a bit of direction?

[NotAllThere]

As others have said, you should persue a direction that fits in with your experience.

At the start of my career, I did two years development work. Then I did five years in support - variously in 3rd line combined with systems programming; 2nd line support (PC software and networks - including exciting projects like upgrading to Windows 3.1); 1st line support (dealing with the IT departments of local councils who'd been foolish enough to buy our crap software).

During my time in support, I was continued to use and improve my programming skills - developing tools to deal with repetitive admin task, or to solving user problems; pinpointing precisely where the developers had mucked up. ( I recall one C numpty, who used string slicing to get year from the date ); doing application development using enduser tools.

From that I went contracting; my first contract was a developer using one of the aforesaid enduser tools.

I never went back into support...

[ace00]

You need to build upon the skills you have already developed from your time in support.

IMHO, a natural progression is ITIL based Service Delivery or into areas working closer with the business in terms on interfacing between them and IT.
This is assuming you have good soft skills - communication etc.

I was in support for about 6 years so can relate to where you are coming from and the above is the direction I am currently taking.

I agree. I was a 2nd / 3rd line network support bod for years. The natural progression is in to team lead -> project management (technical) / supplier management -> "proper" PM.
I haven't logged on to a router in years. Kind of miss it to be honest.

[Bob Dalek]

8ys of 1st, 2nd touching on 3rd line support.

want to get out of it and move into something more exciting.

Any recommendations on an additional hot skill or area to learn?

Prostitution, perhaps? Watch out for lorry drivers, though, esp. if bearded.

[Diver]

get out of support

Damn! I keep thinking this thread is going to be about boobs

[Clippy]

You need to build upon the skills you have already developed from your time in support.

IMHO, a natural progression is ITIL based Service Delivery or into areas working closer with the business in terms on interfacing between them and IT.
This is assuming you have good soft skills - communication etc.

I was in support for about 6 years so can relate to where you are coming from and the above is the direction I am currently taking.

[dezze]

UML wtf is that?

i'll have a read up on it.

also reading in the paper today that microsoft are toying with changing their OS's in future releases from the ground up and making them more web based, wonder how this will affect the desktop support industry because surely there will be implications (no software to install on PC's, less hardware spec).....less to do for the meagre desktop support technician.....

Unified Modelling Language. Basically stick men and process diagrams.

[ctdctd]

my plan B has amazing potential and has already started but to reveal what it is would be revealing my name which im not going to do!

Goldfinger?

[NetwkSupport]

problem being you'll need about five years experience in another field (if your looking at development) before you can confidently contract and ask a decent rate.

I don't think there is any shortcut, you need experience of how to do things well and what to do when things go wrong (which they inevitably do - but this is when you learn the most)

I've been in development for 8 years and i'm constantly suprised at how much i still learn and how little i know, its a vast, vast field that rapidly evolves.

Two colleagues of mine have been at it for over 20 years and they still reckon they're learning.

I think we all dream of a successful plan B doing something we love but don't think that many of us are that lucky..

Best of luck!!!

yeah i dont think development is for me, thats a career choice not learn something new & a fairly quick rate change.

my plan B has amazing potential and has already started but to reveal what it is would be revealing my name which im not going to do!

[LittlestHobbo]

problem being you'll need about five years experience in another field (if your looking at development) before you can confidently contract and ask a decent rate.

I don't think there is any shortcut, you need experience of how to do things well and what to do when things go wrong (which they inevitably do - but this is when you learn the most)

I've been in development for 8 years and i'm constantly suprised at how much i still learn and how little i know, its a vast, vast field that rapidly evolves.

Two colleagues of mine have been at it for over 20 years and they still reckon they're learning.

I think we all dream of a successful plan B doing something we love but don't think that many of us are that lucky..

Best of luck!!!

[NetwkSupport]

Fair enough - if aesthetically creative is what you're after, then I think you want to get out of IT altogether imo. I personally never found programming particularly aesthetically satisfying either.

Or satisfy those needs in another way - I felt the same for a while and did a creative writing course - cue sledging - which filled that need for a while. All I need now is time in my life to actually sit down and write ;-)

mmm maybe i should be concentrating more on my plan B and use that as a creative outlet until it pays as much/more than my IT contract..... to be honest i dont really want to stay in IT i plan to get out in about 5yrs and do something that satisfys me more (havent found that job yet!) and i just want to be able to learn another skill to increase my day rate for the meantime.

[snaw]

i didnt see networking as creative in the sense that im not using my imagination to create something of asthetic value. but im not saying its not creative at all

Fair enough - if aesthetically creative is what you're after, then I think you want to get out of IT altogether imo. I personally never found programming particularly aesthetically satisfying either.

Or satisfy those needs in another way - I felt the same for a while and did a creative writing course - cue sledging - which filled that need for a while. All I need now is time in my life to actually sit down and write ;-)

[NetwkSupport]

Pimping looks like a growth area as the WI are trying to legalise brothals...

i might buy a caravan and setup a mobile one in my village that would go down well with the parish council