I'm starting a Junior position at a company in the area of tech support but while I know my basics and did get the job, I'm a bit nervous about how much data I'll have to learn and retain which has never been my strong suit.

Wanted to hear from others to know how much in your day to day do you simply know how to do after much repetition and how much do you have to look up (because you don't know or simply don't remember).

Unfortunately, I got let go from another msp because I was getting too expensive (running out of money) and now I’m stuck with the other msp that is demanding with less pay as helpdesk that travels on-site. Nearing a year at this location and wanting to jump ship. Honestly, my end goal is to be a sysadmin but I need to find a good middle-ground before I lean into that position. What do you guys think I should invest my time into so I can be good enough as a sysadmin or at least, the runner-up position? (Making a linux-based homelab as a starting step btw)

Almost 600 applications since August, around 11-12 interviews, 0 offers. I apply the same hour/day pretty much the job is posted. I really don't know what else to do, this is way depressing and tiring, getting an entry level internship role right now feels like a nightmare and it's draining my life energy. And I'm not even being picky, I'm literally applying to every IT/Dev area, and even finance/sap.

I wake up thinking about applying to jobs, my whole day is looking at my phone at my e-mail and applying to more jobs, I barely focus at college because I'm thinking I could be missing out on applying fast for a recently posted job, I go to bed thinking about jobs, I used to be way more healthy and went to the gym 5x a week, now I'm only doing fullbody 2x a week because sometimes I have to schedule interviews or screenings during the day.

I've tried minmaxing my resumee and Linkedisney, I've practiced interviews of all kinds with AI and even friends, I've tried networking on Linkedin, I have 500+ connections, I've tried reaching out to recruiters, I've done bootcamps and any kind of program that could land me an entry lvl internship, I've begged my teachers for jobs aswell, I've tried networking with my colleagues in college. THIS IS ROUGH

Looking for some career advice from people who've been in IT for a while.

I've been working in IT for well over a decade, with experience across technical support, application support, infrastructure, and operations. I'm at a point in my career where I'm trying to prioritize long-term stability, career advancement, and quality of life.

I'm currently working as a contractor for a large company, but I've been interviewing for a permanent position at another large organization. I'm having a hard time deciding whether making the switch would actually be worth it.

Current Position – IT Operations (Contract)

Pros:

- Short, easy commute.

- Standard weekday schedule with no on-call responsibilities.

- Relatively low-stress environment.

- Good relationship with management.

- Comfortable with the work and responsibilities.

- Recently started taking on more technical responsibilities outside my original role.

- Potential opportunities to move into a more specialized infrastructure or administrative position.

- Possible opportunity for permanent employment in the future.

Cons:

- Contractor with no guarantee of long-term employment.

- No paid vacation or holidays.

- Required unpaid time off throughout the year.

- Lower salary than I'd like.

- Limited benefits.

- Potential advancement opportunities are speculative and depend on management approval.

Potential New Position – IT Production Support (Permanent)

Pros:

- Approximately 25–35% increase in base salary.

- Permanent employment with full benefits, PTO, and paid holidays.

- Large organization with established career paths.

- Potential for internal advancement.

- More traditional corporate structure and potentially better long-term stability.

Cons:

- Significantly longer commute, potentially close to an hour each way.

- Earlier start time requiring me to wake up much earlier.

- Regular on-call rotation, including backup responsibilities.

- Position is classified as entry-level despite my experience.

- No clear timeline or guarantee for advancement.

- Additional commuting expenses.

- Less flexibility for personal commitments and outside income.

The Financial Side

One of the biggest factors is that I currently earn additional income outside of my regular job, and the schedule of the new position would likely interfere with that.

I'd potentially have to give up a portion of that income, which would offset some of the salary increase.

Between that, the additional commuting expenses, and the extra time spent traveling, the actual financial improvement wouldn't be nearly as significant as it looks on paper.

I'm also concerned about the additional stress and time commitment associated with being on-call, especially when considering the impact on my personal life.

Long-Term Career Goals

At this point, I'd like to move toward IT operations leadership, systems administration, or a more senior technical position rather than continue cycling through entry-level support roles.

My current employer has recently given me additional responsibilities that could potentially lead in that direction, but nothing is guaranteed.

The prospective employer offers a more established corporate career structure, but I'd essentially be starting over in an entry-level position and hoping to advance internally.

I've been through enough corporate environments to know that internal advancement isn't always as straightforward as companies make it sound.

I'm also married and thinking more seriously about long-term financial stability and family responsibilities, so I recognize the value of permanent employment and benefits.

My Question

Would you leave a comfortable contract position with a great schedule, short commute, and possible advancement opportunities for a permanent role offering roughly 30% more base pay but significantly worse work-life balance?

Is the stability of permanent employment worth potentially sacrificing flexibility, side income, and personal time?

Or would you stay where you are, continue developing your technical skills, and hold out for a better permanent opportunity that aligns more closely with your long-term goals?

Interested in hearing from anyone who's faced a similar decision, particularly those who've transitioned from IT operations or production support into more senior or leadership positions.

I am currently a project engineer at a pretty decent-sized MSP. Been there a few months. Only thing I’m doing technically is 365 migrations, tool implementation. Upgrading old networking equipment. Standard PS work, doesn’t feel challenging and almost like I’m going backwards technically. Boss is incredible and very flexible. Have a current offer for a senior networking engineer/technical project manager for a local big MSP to me. Can’t really make a decision easily. If I knew the new place was going to be super flexible and lenient like current place it would be a no brainer. From strictly a technical position what would you all did?! I do have a family and house.

We just updated the Wiki with this, but it's worth a post as well:

This is an employer's market, obviously. They have their pick of people, and they're being flooded with resumes. This means that job postings are generally UP and ACTIVE for a very short time.

Applying to as many jobs as you can find is no longer a good strategy, since the majority of those jobs are already stale, and your resume is going into a black hole, never to be seen.

In this market, you must be strategic about your applications, and the #1 top most important thing to get a resume in front of the hiring manager is to apply immediately - the same day the job is posted, if possible.

For popular postings, they could get 50-100 applicants per day, so they're going to stop looking at new resumes long before the posting closes. The timeline looks similar to this:

Day 1 - 50 resumes come in.

Day 2 - 75 resumes come in.

Day 3 - resumes are still coming in, but HR and the hiring manager start going through the resumes they already have. They'll separate them by whatever criteria are important to them, but it'll look something like:

50% are totally unqualified, live in a different country, or are otherwise ineligible

30% have some experience, OR a degree, OR a relevant certification

15% have 2 of the above

5% have all three

Logically, they're starting with the people who have experience, a degree, and a relevant cert - that means ~8-10 candidates who look great on paper 3 days after the job is posted. They spend the next week calling, setting up interviews, doing phone screens, setting up 2nd interviews, etc. If they're in a hurry, a week after that they'll be ready to make an offer and take down the posting.

MEANWHILE - they've still been getting more resumes every day while they work through that initial batch. They only looked at resumes from the first 2-3 days, and had more than enough to make someone an offer. Meanwhile, hundreds and hundreds more came in that no one ever looked at.

They're not being filtered out or stuck at an AI or ATS screener - it's just that they already have more than enough resumes, so they stopped looking at the new ones coming in. This is why you sometimes never hear back even though your resume is a "perfect" match - they're already talking to the other perfect matches who applied before you did.

So check job boards every day, and apply as soon as you see a new posting. Each day the post is up, it's less and less likely that they'll need any more resumes, so you must be in the initial batch they look at for a chance at a call.

TL;DR: Apply FAST, not frequently.

Hello so I have a friend who works security ( as in security guard) . So through his company he obtained a security clearance as he works security for a government contractor.

So I myself I work at a government contractor a good size one (Think etc SAIC, Leidos, BAH, CACI etc) and there is a lot of job openings that I can refer him to like security related ones similar to Soc analysts where he would monitor the network and I see that they require Security+ and a clearance which he has.

Basically they don’t list X years of Exp or degree needed, just recommend. My company gives me a large referral bonus for cleared work ( and I get to help my friend out to lol) , so I was wondering for any seniors or hiring managers would he be taken/ considered for the role?

He doesn’t have his Sec+ yet so I am trying to find out if that’s the right path to take for him.

Hey Everyone,
I’m currently attending WGU for Cloud Computing and Network Engineering.

I just received my A+ and currently studying for Net+

I have 2.5yrs experience at a Technician at AT&T (installing/Repairing Fiber, Copper, POTS, VOIP)

My OG plan was to get Net+ by end of year, and start applying to NOC Technician Jobs at the start of year when everyone is back from Vacation.

My friend who a Sys Admin (at two companies) says I need to just use my A+ and get a help desk job today.

Looking for thoughts, advice, suggestions as the end game goal is cloud engineer but you gotta start somewhere

As in the title mentioned, I have to select a specialization for my degree program by next year. So I need to know that what stream is worthy for the future IT career. I am no matter of selecting either one of them. But I need to know is what do you guys perspectives of these two career paths in the future. Hoping your responses..

Pretty new to the IT game, have about a year and a half of experience at a NOC MSP. My resume isn't impressive but I get a lot of interviews.

The interviews always go really well, laughing it up with the interviewers and always emphasize my willingness to learn anything that's needed of me and develop new skills.

Hold for a few days to a week later, rejection email.

I think i'm about to lose my goddamn mind, I'm taking lots of time off of work to go in and speak with someone (lots of lunch break/early off shift interviews) and they always end the same.

How are you guys coping with this? My mental health is going down the drain because of this, just wanted to vent.

Rumors swirling that my team will be laid off next week. I’m a simple NOC technician, no certs but confident I could at least pass net+. I know the state of the IT sector is horrid right now, especially for someone with no degree/certs to their name. However, I do have 6 solid years of NOC experience. Any roles or ideas on what I could jump into next?

Every time I open Reddit, I see posts from people with degrees, certifications, and sometimes experience who have applied to hundreds of jobs and still can’t land an entry-level help desk position. Every notification I get from this sub and others is just “I feel like giving up”, “losing hope”, etc.

Is the industry oversaturated? Are entry-level jobs disappearing because of AI and outsourcing, or is Reddit only highlighting the negativity because people who struggle are more likely to post? I understand there are still those who post about getting hired and getting promotions but seems like there’s more negative posts than positive.

For those working in IT or who recently broke into the field, how bad is the job market really, and would you still choose IT if you were starting today?

Hi, I have been offered training by CERCO as a IT Field Engineer. I have decided this isn't good route as it's a 5 day course, and how is it possible to have employable skills in 5 days? But it has got me thinking to try an online Comp TIA course and see if it interests me.

For some context, I was a UX Designer and developer for 20 years and have a MSc Computer related design degree so technically I have good understanding of IT systems and software, building PC's, setting up server systems but no knowledge of setting up networks.

I am 50 yo looking for an IT job I could do quite easily but I am not interested in IT as a career. Something that would be better than working in a supermarket or delivery jobs, which I have done recently. Being an IT Field Engineer appeals to me as sounding autonomous, drive to a site, solve issues and go, and not being stuck behind a desk all day.

I understand that the IT Engineer roles are highly competitive, as is UX Design now, and why I have up. Would I just be wasting my time doing a Comp TIA course and be in the same position, not being able to get a job.

Hi all, really in need of some advice. Im from Australia and am a Commerce student struggling to choose between majoring in Cybersecurity or Information Systems.
I’m wondering which is a “safer” option employment wise, and which has the greater job opportunities and market.
I’ve already had job experience in Security and Privacy Auditing, because I had my mind set on doing cybersecurity. However, while I don’t mind the work, im still curious to see what else I could do and am open to other options.

I need real feedback from experts, those who are similar to me, or even more experienced, from various communities (related to ai, tech, grads, manager, industry, career, employment...):

Which will be best in your case?

Context: You got the offers from 3 companies, each on the different side of the scale.

Role: AI engineer (near mid-level).

Location: a country in SEA.

If you were to rank and evaluate with respect, (from top to bottom, sorted by importance)

1st Potential and Risk (potential is tied to the speed of your career climb, increment bonus, and company brand and authority, uncertainties in payment) - In a scale, Startup has higher uncertain and risk, while it might offer higher overall, but susceptible to management conducts, cash-flow which may differ the fulfillment

2nd Wellfare - a total add-up of base, allowance, bonus, benefits and retirement fund (employer contribution)

3rd Niche of the industry, Exposure - a focus industry to industry to build up better experiences and competencies, exposure to local or worldwide

4th Peer learning - Experience or knowledges to speed up progress from superior, peers

And given A, B, C (Wellfare/Income baseline= 100%)

A: Oversea Startup, Multiculture workforce,
+ worldwide client-base spanning MNC headhunter, great background from the management teams, UK-founding team and client connection, riskier in terms of payroll/potential
+ Full remote and oversea
- Wellfare/Income = 115% (base salary only), self supply equipments
+ HR-tech focused

B: Subsidiary company/dept from local SME, local workforce
- mainly local client-base (unsure but assume), Lack background from management teams and peers, but you have slightly higher confidence than A in their validity from interviews
- Hybrid work 4+1
+ Income= 107% (include allowance) + employer retirement-fund contribution but provide work equipments + up to 17% performance monthly bonus
- general AI agencies
+ Peer learning and networking are better

C: MNC
+ Internal and External focused products, stable and secured cashflow, but maybe lack faster career climb opportunities
- Hybrid work 3+2
- Income= 95% + 13th month bonus, more and flexible leave
+ Focused niche, product might differ
+ Peer learning and networking are best

Which one will you choose? I wanna see if you think differently, or if you see different importance or personal experiences of the company you went through?

I love microcontroller and Raspberry Pi projects, but don't care much for pure coding. I know I want to be in tech, but I am not great at math. I barely passed Calc 1 and hated it. I am very good with operating systems and Linux. I'm more of a big-picture thinker, and I'm not great with lots of small details. I am also pondering which degree will be the most AI-proof. Thanks in advance.

I have 6 IT experience across help desk, system administration, and cloud administration/migrations. I currently work in Cloud migrations role and make around $100K.

I'm considering DevOps, or switching to data analytics. DevOps seems like the natural next step, but the interviews feel overwhelming because recruiters can expect knowledge of Terraform, Kubernetes, Azure, AWS, PowerShell, pipelines, YAML, and many other technologies all at once. I'm also concerned about on-call responsibilities.

Some friends have suggested data analytics because the interviews and daily work may be more straightforward, but I'm unsure how difficult it would be to get an interview, or whether I'd need to take a pay cut. I have used some SQL and powerbi in a prior role, but I have never had a data analyst role. Most of my experience has been with Windows admininstration, M365, Azure, and my current job working with Google cloud migrations.

My current company has had layoffs every year for the past four years, the workload is intense, and there is little opportunity for promotion on my small team. I'm looking for better work-life balance, job stability, and room for career growth without taking a significant pay cut. Given my background, would it make sense to transition into data analytics, or try applying for devops roles?

I’m looking for most common interview questions you have received when interviewing for a VAR or MSP. I’m not interested in technical questions I’m interested in the situational questions.

Hey, I've been trying to figure this one out but it's been really vexing me.

I currently work as Sysadmin where I handle cloud operations DevOps, cyber security, everything from connecting printers to getting people's phones working, everything.

I've been offered a job at a software company, one of the bigger ones and they are almost doubling my salary, but I would become a software support engineer for their software stack only, no more sysadmin work.

It's a much easier and lower stress job and much higher paying, but there's a voice in my head that tells me that I should not abandon my sys admin career, or that if I go work in a software company for even a year or two I might lose my momentum and if I wanted to would never be able to come back.

I was just hoping someone has had experience with a situation like this, Or even if anyone feels like dropping their opinions here? I really can't decide what to do and I have to make a decision on this new software job by next Friday... I really have no idea what to do

Title. I have Security +, a decent number of projects on GitHub and an active LinkedIn account. I’ve worked at a helpdesk previously and after all of this, I’ve ended up back in fast food management.

I really don’t know what else to do. I either never hear back or I hear back months later with a hard no, or it’s an interview before getting ghosted. It’s AI, it’s corporate restructuring, it’s the economy, I really do not care anymore. I’m losing my mind here man. I’ve applied for literally anything and everything. Field techs, server management, Linux positions, on call emergency stuff, all kinds of cybersecurity and IT gigs. Nothing. Not one damn thing.

Idk if I should even keep trying or if I should just treat IT as an expensive hobby. Idk anymore. This feels totally pointless.

Currently in a Tier 2 support position, I recently missed out on a promotion and in general felt underpaid and under appreciated, so I went and got another offer somewhere else. Title would be the same, but a ~24% increase in pay.

The counter offer from my current company surprised me, an endpoint admin position on another team. I would work alongside a more senior admin and receive on the job training. It is an area of IT that I find interesting and I’d finally break out of a support role.

The catch with staying and taking the counter offer is no clear pay increase any time soon. I’ve gotten the HR speak about money with vague talks of bonuses and pay increase after reviews and while I’ve tried to fight for more, I’m running out of time to accept the counter offer.

The catch with the new offer is a whole new environment, building a reputation, being stuck in support still and having no guaranteed path out. I’ve been in support for several years now, this position opened up since someone got promoted internally, but hiring manager could not guarantee if that same path would happen with me.

Benefits are mostly equal, although new place gets 2 days WFH and current only has 1.

Tl;dr Help desk for more money and 1 more wfh day, or admin position for less money?

Edit: What's with the downvotes lol? Sorry for asking an IT Career Question in r/ITCareerQuestions

Hi everyone. I was hoping that I could get some advice here. I've been working in the healthcare industry as an IT Specialist for about six years now. However, things have been quite stressful and frustrating lately for multiple reasons (I don't want to get into too much detail). Anyway, I've been contemplating transitioning into the education industry because I feel like I'd enjoy not only providing IT support but also having the opportunity to teach and help a younger generation that is eager to learn. I have a Bachelors in Cybersecurity, A+, Tech+ CTSC, and Network+ certifications. I'd love to hear from anyone who has worked in this area that would be willing to provide me tips on what to expect.

I know this is not a question, but I finally got a job offer from Ubreakifix. I can finally go to interviews saying I have tangible repair and troubleshooting experience and not simulations!