[Lexluethar]

I wanted to get some input on career paths from you guys. As of January 1st I will be 'not working' (laid off but still employed because there is no work) and I'm trying to get my foot in the door of IT. From a professional background I haven't heald much of an IT job title of job function. For a summer I was an IT assistant at a company back in 2002 in which I did general office troubleshooting, but that was forever long ago.

I own a business which is more of just a hobby right now with computer support, I have an A+ and will be MCP Monday. The problem is i'm finding a TON of recruiters and companies want solid background, not just 'i've worked on computers.' They want actual job positions focused just on computers, which is something I don't have. I've always been the suedo office tech since i'm the only computer literate person in this office.

Okay, my question being career paths. I want to go the hardware route but really don't know what to expect. I would like to do something of a help desk job, or support tech, but a lot of those jobs seem to 'blend' together. I guess i don't know what to expect or what to aim for. Should I try to get a help desk potition at a company?

I'm going through a few tech recruiting firms and these are questions i'm sure they are going to ask me in my interview, yet I honestly don't know the answer because i'm not all too sure I understand the differences and the different levels as I've never worked within the IT field as a job on a large scale.

What should I expect starting out in terms of job function. What should I aim for? What is the natural progression of a help desk technician from a career path? I couldn't imagine i would still be answering phones at 55.

[Jorsoft]

I've never been big on helpdesks. Either you become a supervisor or escalation specialist after a number of years or if you're at a smaller firm a field tech position might open up. That's usually about it from what I've seen.

[Lexluethar]

So what would you suggest jorsoft? I mean someone isn't going to hire me as a system administrator without any prior job experience in computers... so what are my options?

[Jorsoft]

Well I guess I'm not sure what I suggest, just throwing in my 2 cents I suppose. You said you're applying to recruiting/employment agencies for tech jobs, right? The good ones will help you out a lot, pad up your resume and look for the right positions for you, etc. Help Desk is a good place to start but I don't think it's a good place to stay. Like I said, that's just my opinion.

What agencies have you applied to? The bigger nation-wide ones are going to be your best bet I think.

[Lexluethar]

TekSystems and Robert Half Technology. I've also going through another firm that forcus's on HR and Accounting (i'm an HR degree).

I value your opinion, don't get me wrong. I just wanted a little more input. You were pretty much saying the exact same thing I was, help desk is a start, i don't want to be in that potition 5 years from now, what options do I have.

I'm kinda realizing since i haven't held an IT position i'm going to have to start at help desk and work my way up, i just really don't know what my options are.

[Jorsoft]

Well I work through TekSystems right now actually, I've been very impressed with them. If you have a decent recruiter they'll help you out a lot. They earn the commission on placing you, after all. So it's in their interests to place you in jobs you'll do well at and make you sound good.

RHT is another good one. I'm not listed with them but they're a big player. The business I'm at used to use them exclusively.

As far as options it's really particular to the company you work for and I don't know how much help I'll be. Maybe you find you really like the helpdesk role and stay there doing escalations and such. The size of the company matters a lot, smaller ones can be a lot faster to promote. Working your way up will probably include a hands-on hardware role, something in break/fix or assembly I suppose. Assembly sucks, I did it for 6 months or so, but it gives you a good handle of hardware and troubleshooting. Looks good on the resume, too.